Louisville heads into Sunday night’s matchup with Ole Miss as a 6.5-point underdog, and the pick split around the game says plenty about how people see this one playing out.
Three of the eight Courier Journal sports writers are taking the Cardinals to pull the upset, while Brett McMurphy expects Louisville to cover the spread. On the other side, the Clarion Ledger is backing Ole Miss in a close game, and Athlon has the Rebels winning by a touchdown.
Matt McGavic of WHAS-11 is also going with Ole Miss, but only by a field goal. Brad Thomas of The Sporting News sees Louisville covering in Nashville.
One prediction that fits the general mood: Ole Miss 28, Louisville 23. The thinking there is that the game should stay tight, especially because Ole Miss has kept its schemes mostly familiar even after a coaching overhaul. The changes may be getting a little too much attention, but Louisville has enough talent to keep the Rebels under pressure until the finish.
The Cardinals should have Isaac Brown available, and he’s fully healthy and ready for Sunday night. Louisville is also expected to be without left tackle Anwar O’Neal and another backup offensive lineman, though the rest of the roster is expected to be mostly healthy.
Brown isn’t the only Cardinal drawing attention. Lamar Jackson is fired up to watch Brown and Louisville on national TV tonight, and Brown said he is ready to show the world just how different he is.
There’s also confidence coming from the Louisville side that Jeff Brohm can handle this kind of spot. Ole Miss may be the favorite for good reason, but Brohm has a fairly lengthy history of winning these types of games.
Around the program, there’s plenty else happening. Louisville volleyball picked up its third top 20 win of the young season by sweeping No.
18 TCU on Friday afternoon, and the Cards face Texas in Nashville at noon on ABC. The Louisville rugby team also knocked off reigning national champion Tennessee on Friday.
On the recruiting front, Ballard High center Mason Grivna, a class of 2029 prospect, is set to take an unofficial visit to Louisville on Oct. 9.
DeMarcus Henry’s official visit to U of L also appears to have gone well, while top hoops recruit Jordan Mitchell explained why he left Male High for a prep school. In women’s basketball, Kaleena Smith, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2027, has in-home visits lined up with Louisville, Baylor, UConn, Arizona State, Washington and UCLA.
Elsewhere in Louisville sports, Jeff Walz is working with a loaded roster and high expectations for 2026-27, and Brooks Holton recently compared the men’s basketball non-conference schedule to the rest of the ACC. The Cardinals are also listed as the 19th most experienced power conference college football team for 2026.
There’s plenty of interest beyond the Cardinals too. CNN.com has a piece on Bo Zhang’s path from China to college basketball at Louisville, Sean McDonough discussed Louisville-Ole Miss, Greg McElroy and being recognized in New Zealand, and the NCAA cleared the University of Cincinnati of any wrongdoing in its handling of former quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
And yes, the buildup has been real in Nashville. There’s been a lot of bro’ing out between the two fan bases so far. Well then … I guess … it’s on.
In Other News...
Louisvilles ACC Path Is Opening Up For Jeff Brohms Team
Louisvilles season opens with the kind of early test that can tell a team a lot about itself, but the path after that looks far friendlier for Jeff Brohms group. The Cardinals are set up to navigate a conference slate that, on paper, leaves them with a real chance to build momentum if they can survive the front end of the schedule and take care of the opportunities in front of them.
Recent results elsewhere have only sharpened that outlook. Virginias lopsided win over NC State and Colorados narrow victory over Georgia Tech changed the feel of a couple of Louisvilles biggest ACC matchups, and the Cardinals now have a schedule dotted with several lower-performing teams that could help keep the door to the ACC Championship Game open deeper into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces An Early Reality Check Against Playoff-Caliber Ole Miss
Week 1 offers Louisville an immediate measuring stick, and Ole Miss brings the kind of opener that can expose what is real fast. The Rebels have undergone a coaching change, but they return enough continuity to look every bit like a playoff-level challenge, while the Cardinals are leaning on their ground game and a roster full of transfers to help steady things early. Louisville will try to lean on Isaac Brown and an offensive identity built around running the ball, because this matchup is less about style points and more about whether the Cardinals can survive a team built to test them from the jump.
The pressure points are obvious, even before the ball is kicked. Ole Miss has the pieces to make life difficult on Louisville's offense, and the Cardinals are being asked to prove they can handle that kind of speed and disruption while still finding enough balance to stay in the game. For a team trying to establish itself early in the season, the opener is less a warm-up than a verdict on how much progress has already been made. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Backfield Just Got More Interesting For One Huge Reason
Louisvilles offense should get a major boost in the backfield next season, with Isaac Brown expected to be part of the mix again after his injury-shortened year. The junior from Miami gave the Cardinals another dynamic option when he was on the field, and his return should help take some pressure off the rest of the offense while giving Louisville a chance to spread the workload more evenly.
Jabari Mack also looks set to be available for the 2026 season, giving the Cardinals another experienced piece to lean on in the secondary. The fifth-year defensive back from Jacksonville brings depth and know-how to a unit that always benefits from steady veterans, and his presence adds to the feeling that Louisville could have more balance on both sides of the ball heading into next year. [Read more 🡒]