Fox Sports’ Will Hill has Louisville as a live dog against Ole Miss, but the matchup still points the other way if the Rebels show up the way they’re capable of. Hill backed the Cardinals to cover the +7 spread, or even win outright, in his weekly “Favorite 'Dogs” column for Sunday’s season opener in Nashville.
The case for Louisville starts with a few real weapons. Issac Brown is the headliner in the backfield, and Jeff Brohm’s experience as a head coach is part of the argument too. Louisville also opens the year ranked No. 24 in the AP poll, with Lincoln Kienholz stepping into the spotlight at quarterback after losing a long battle to eventual Heisman finalist Julian Sayin at Ohio State.
Kienholz brings dual-threat juice, and that can stress defenses that have had trouble with mobile quarterbacks. But he’s also thrown only 36 passes in his college career, which leaves plenty of uncertainty if Ole Miss can make him play from the pocket. Pete Golding is still calling the defense, and that kind of game-planning advantage matters when the quarterback on the other side is still trying to find his footing as a passer.
Louisville’s best path may be on the ground, where Brown can change the whole feel of the game if he’s healthy. He has more than 2,000 career rushing yards and has averaged nearly eight yards per carry, which is the sort of production that can tilt a game quickly. Ole Miss has answers up front, though, with Will Echoles and Kam Franklin on the defensive line and a linebacker group that includes Chucky Mullins Award winner Suntarine Perkins, Keaton Thomas and Luke Ferrelli.
The Rebels still have a few questions at tackle, even if Terez Davis appears set on the left side. The right tackle battle between Tommy Kinsler IV and Carius Curne is still open, though Kinsler seems to be ahead. That said, Ole Miss has a clear edge in the middle of the trenches, where three returning starters anchor the interior offensive line against a Louisville defensive front that is still sorting itself out.
That Louisville front does have pieces on the edge, with AJ Green, Clev Lubin and Tyler Thompson, but the interior is where the Cardinals are least settled. Nose tackle DeMeco Kennedy and defensive tackle Joshua Donald are transfers, and that gives Ole Miss a chance to create movement inside. If the Rebels do that, Kewan Lacy could be in for a big day.
Lacy is coming off a 2025 season in which he scored 24 touchdowns, and he has more help around him this year thanks to new running back transfers. That could make him even more dangerous snap to snap. If he gets going, Ole Miss can force Louisville to commit extra attention to the run and open things up elsewhere, including for Trinidad Chambliss and potentially Johntay Cook.
There’s also the coaching angle. Brohm is entering his fourth year at Louisville, while this is Pete Golding’s first Week 1 as a head coach. Brohm is 3-3 against teams that finished the season ranked in the top 16 during his three seasons with the Cardinals, while Golding went 2-1 in the playoffs last season, including a semifinal loss in which Ole Miss was leading with less than 15 seconds left.
John David Baker is new as offensive coordinator and play caller, but he already knows Oxford well after coaching at Ole Miss for three seasons, including 2022 and 2023 as co-offensive coordinator. That familiarity only reduces the concern about Ole Miss’ staff being thrown into something unfamiliar.
Golding’s approach to Louisville, treating them “like an SEC game,” only reinforces the belief that the Rebels are prepared for this one. Louisville has enough talent to make things interesting, but Ole Miss has too much across the roster to be treated like a fragile favorite.
The pick here is Ole Miss to win by more than seven and cover.
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Dabo Swinneys Ole Miss Fight Still Has One Huge Unanswered Piece
Ole Miss transfer market has been under a brighter-than-usual spotlight since Clemson linebacker Luke Ferrelli arrived in Oxford after first signing with the Tigers, and Dabo Swinney made sure the move did not slide by quietly. The Clemson coach publicly accused Ole Miss of tampering and pushed for an NCAA investigation, turning what might have been a routine personnel story into a much bigger debate about how far programs can go when chasing roster help in the portal era.
The league office has already dug in enough to examine phones belonging to Ole Miss staff and Ferrelli, which gives the case a seriousness that goes well beyond posturing from rival coaches. What has not come yet is any resolution, and until the NCAA finishes sorting through the evidence, the Rebels are left in the middle of a dispute that could say as much about the sports transfer rules as it does about one players path to Oxford. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Opens Against LSU With A Roster Fight Suddenly Looming
The seasons opening-week spotlight is already sharpening on LSU, with the Tigers set to face Clemson while a separate eligibility fight hangs over their roster. Georgia attorney general Chris Carr has now weighed in with a letter to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, pressing the conference to use every option available if LSU is found to be leaning on former NFL players in a way that runs afoul of league rules.
A Baton Rouge judge is scheduled to rule on the status of several athletes, including Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, after a hearing in which both LSU and the SEC will make their cases. The conferences new eligibility rule remains blocked from enforcement for now, but the broader question is whether the league will be forced to act before the Tigers ever settle into the season they are about to start. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Defense Faces One Big Test Before Louisville
Ole Miss wrapped up two team scrimmages in August as part of its offseason buildup, and the defensive side has spent the month trying to turn that work into something it can carry into real game week. Veteran Florida transfer Sharif Denson said his adjustment to the Rebels has included getting used to the way the program prepares, while also noting the level of defensive talent and the leadership being provided by coach Pete Golding.
Now the focus shifts to the opener against No. 24 Louisville on Sept. 6 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, a matchup that should reveal plenty about where the defense stands after a long summer of internal competition. For a unit trying to settle in around new voices and proven pieces alike, this first test will matter as much for what it exposes as for what it confirms. [Read more 🡒]