No. 9 Ole Miss spent most of Sunday night looking like a team about to let a ranked opener slip away, then Trinidad Chambliss stepped in and made sure the Rebels walked out of Nissan Stadium with the kind of win that sticks.
Lucas Carneiro capped the rescue job with a 48-yard field goal as time expired, sending Ole Miss past No. 24 Louisville 41-38 in the Music City Kickoff.
The game had already swung wildly by the time Louisville tied it with 1:28 left, when quarterback Lincoln Kienholz scored on a 7-yard keeper to finish off a rally from 38-24 down. That left Chambliss with one last chance.
He handled it like a quarterback who wanted the ball there.
Starting at his own 25, Chambliss guided Ole Miss into Louisville territory and delivered the biggest throw of the drive on third-and-6, hitting Caleb Odom for 18 yards. From there, Carneiro finished the job and the Rebels escaped with a win that felt far harder than it should have been.
Chambliss’ night did not begin that way. The veteran quarterback coughed up a fumble and threw an interception in a messy first half that left Ole Miss with just 10 points. Even so, the Rebels went to halftime up 10-6 despite never really finding a rhythm.
The game flipped after the break.
Chambliss struck twice on 62-yard touchdown passes to Deuce Alexander in the third quarter, then found Odom for a 35-yard score and later added a rushing touchdown of his own. By the end, he had gone 21 of 36 for 336 yards and three passing touchdowns, plus the score on the ground. Alexander was just as explosive, finishing with five catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Louisville refused to go away, though. After Chambliss’ rushing touchdown stretched the Ole Miss lead to two scores with 6:43 left, the Cardinals answered with Kienholz’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Lawayne McCoy and then mounted one more drive to force the tie. Kienholz, making his first start after spending three seasons behind other quarterbacks at Ohio State, threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss left with the victory, but not without a pile of issues to sort through. The Rebels turned it over twice, gave up 32 second-half points and nearly squandered a 14-point lead late. Running back Kewan Lacy also exited after dealing with leg and shoulder issues, according to the postgame report, and finished with 61 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
For Pete Golding, it was his first regular-season win since taking over for Lane Kiffin. For Ole Miss, it was a reminder that even in a sloppy opener, a quarterback can still change everything. Chambliss did exactly that.
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Louisville Saw Enough From Lincoln Keinholz To Fuel A Bigger Question
Lincoln Keinholzs first start for Louisville gave the Cardinals a real opening to assess where they stand at quarterback, and there was plenty to like in the way he settled in against Mississippi. The debut came in a high-scoring opener that asked a lot of him early, and he responded better as the game went on, showing clear progress in the second half as Louisville hung around in a back-and-forth matchup.
Jeff Brohm left the night with a familiar mix of encouragement and concern, praising the way his team competed while also pointing to the need for more plays against quality opponents. For Louisville, the bigger question now is not just what Keinholz showed in the opener, but how much of that performance can carry over when the schedule tightens and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Found A Quarterback Fans Can Dream On
Louisville came up just short in its Week 1 battle with Ole Miss, but the game still offered a glimpse of something the program has been searching for at quarterback. Lincoln Kienholz, the 4-star transfer from Ohio State making his first start, settled in quickly and gave the Cardinals a legitimate dual-threat presence, throwing for 307 yards while adding 69 on the ground.
The debut mattered because it showed Louisville more than survived a tough opening test against a ranked opponent, it found a passer who can tilt a game with both his arm and legs. Kienholzs production also put him in a rare category for the program, with the kind of early return that can change the feel around an offense even in a loss, and now the bigger question is how far that carryover can go once the schedule keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Just Took A Painful Recruiting Hit At Center
Louisvilles frontcourt recruiting board took a hit when five-star center Darius Wabbington backed away from the program, ending a run that had the Cardinals among his final six schools. Wabbington, one of the top centers in the country, had been scheduled to make an official visit on Sept. 11, but that stop is now off the calendar as Louisville loses ground in a pursuit that once looked promising.
The timing makes the setback sting a little more, because the Cardinals are still trying to stay active with another elite big man in Lewis Uvwo. Louisville has made a late push there, but Duke is currently out front, leaving the Cardinals searching for a way to recover from one miss while trying to keep another high-end option within reach. [Read more 🡒]