Louisville’s season opener has the kind of spotlight Jeff Brohm wanted.
After Georgia backed out of a home-and-home, Brohm pushed to get Ole Miss on the schedule, and now the Cardinals and Rebels will meet in the only AP top-25 matchup of Week 1. Louisville, ranked No. 24, faces No.
9 Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, with ABC carrying the game nationally.
It’s a stage Louisville can use. The Cardinals don’t get many chances like this on a schedule that doesn’t carry the same weight as Ole Miss’ slate, and Brohm has made a habit of cashing in on those moments.
In each of his first three seasons, Louisville knocked off at least one AP top-10 team. He also owns a 6-6 record against SEC opponents.
The game also gives Ole Miss a first look at Pete Golding as a full-time head coach. Golding, a longtime defensive coordinator, took over after Lane Kiffin left for LSU during the Rebels’ College Football Playoff run and finished that stretch 2-1.
After the loss to Miami in the semifinals, he spent the offseason filling out his staff, recruiting and getting ready for his first full season on the job. His defensive résumé is strong - Ole Miss led the nation in sacks with 52 and tackles for loss with 120 in 2024 - but the Rebels’ offensive setup is a little different.
Joe Judge is listed as the head coach of the offense/quarterbacks coach, while John David Baker, the former East Carolina OC and quarterbacks coach, has full play-calling control as offensive coordinator.
Louisville is trying to stack another big year on top of the last one. The Cardinals posted a third straight nine-win season in 2025 and closed it with wins over Kentucky in the Governor’s Cup and Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. Now they’re chasing a fourth straight, something the program hasn’t done since Bobby Petrino’s first four years, from 2003-06.
The receiver room looks very different on both sides. Louisville lost four of its top five pass catchers in the offseason: Chris Bell, Caullin Lacy and Dacari Collins all entered the NFL draft, while Antonio Meeks transferred to Wake Forest.
TreyShun Hurry is the lone returning starter at wideout, though he was limited in his reps and finished with 122 yards and a touchdown on 15 catches. Tight end Jaleel Skinner is back as the team’s leading returning receiver after putting up 204 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions.
The Cards also reloaded through the portal, bringing in Tre Richardson, who led Vanderbilt in receiving last season while playing through a bone spur in his foot, and Lawayne McCoy from Florida State. That group gives Louisville more flexibility, with players who can line up in the slot or outside.
Ole Miss had a major turnover at receiver too. Deuce Alexander is the only returning wideout who topped 30 yards last season, but he was still the Rebels’ third-leading receiver after catching 44 passes for 684 yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels answered by adding five receivers through the portal, including Darrell Gill and Johntay Cook, who are expected to start alongside Alexander after serving as Syracuse’s top two receivers last year.
A few names stand out on the Louisville side.
Isaac Brown, the preseason All-American running back, led the Cardinals with 884 rushing yards despite an injury-hit sophomore season. He heads into his junior year determined to make it his best yet, and he’ll open against an Ole Miss defense that ranked 48th nationally last season.
Lincoln Kienholz will make his QB1 debut after spending the past nine months learning Louisville’s system. The Ohio State transfer has a strong supporting cast around him, but the first college start still asks plenty of a quarterback.
On defense, Clev Lubin is the anchor. He led Louisville with 13½ sacks and 8½ tackles for loss in 2025 and is the lone returning starter on the defensive line. His production, leadership and experience will matter immediately against the Rebels.
Ole Miss has its own set of difference-makers.
Trinidad Chambliss is back after putting up 3,937 passing yards and 22 touchdowns last season, along with 527 rushing yards and eight more scores. He won another year of eligibility in the offseason and gives the Rebels continuity at quarterback.
Kewan Lacy was even more explosive on the ground. The 2025 All-SEC first-team selection ran for 1,567 yards, tying the program record, and scored 24 times while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He’s on the Doak Walker Award watch list and will be central to Ole Miss’ offense.
Then there’s Suntarine Perkins, whose versatility gives the Rebels another edge. After setting the school’s single-season sack record with 10½ in 2024, he played more of a linebacker role in 2025 and still found ways to disrupt plays, finishing with 12½ tackles for loss.
This one shapes up as a tight opener, and the prediction here leans Louisville: 31, Ole Miss 28. The mix of a night game, a national audience and two ranked teams should make for a sharp start to the season, and Brohm has earned the benefit of the doubt in games like this.
Who: Louisville vs. Ole Miss
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6
Where: Nissan Stadium; Nashville
TV: ABC
Radio: Louisville Radio Network (93.9 FM and 970 AM)
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Ole Miss arrives trying to back up its top-10 billing, while Louisville has a clean shot at landing the kind of win that changes the tone around a season before September really gets going. With both teams expected to push the pace and the game projected to stay competitive, this has the makings of the sort of opener that can swing momentum fast for whoever handles the moment better. [Read more 🡒]