NASHVILLE - Pete Golding’s first regular-season win as Ole Miss head coach came down to a kick, and before Lucas Carneiro sent it through from 48 yards out, Golding made sure his kicker didn’t carry the weight of the miss that came before it.
Carneiro had already pushed a 46-yard attempt wide when Ole Miss lined up for the final snap against Louisville on Sept. 6. Golding’s message was simple and direct.
"I told him, 'That was the mulligan. I shank my driver too. We're going to need you to end this thing,'"
Carneiro answered with a clean strike down the middle as time expired, giving No. 10 Ole Miss a 41-38 win.
"The best thing about the kid was, walking off the field, he's like, 'Coach I told you I got you.' Because he felt so bad that he missed it (earlier)," Golding said.
Carneiro finished 2-for-3, connecting from 43 yards and missing from 46 before drilling the winner. He entered the game 31-for-35 in 2025.
For Golding, the moment carried extra weight. It was his first game as a head coach in the regular season after taking over at Ole Miss when Lane Kiffin left for LSU on Nov.
30, 2025. Golding had already guided the Rebels to a 2-1 mark in the CFP, but this was the first chance to run his own team from the start.
That backdrop made the week feel a little unusual, and Golding didn’t hide that. He said getting back on the field felt good even if the game itself was anything but smooth.
"It kind of felt like a therapy session to be honest with you," Golding said. "Now it didn't go very well for half of it, but it was awesome. I think that's what it's all about."
Ole Miss led 10-9 at halftime and spent much of the afternoon trading punches with Louisville. The Rebels built a 14-point cushion in the second half, only to watch the Cardinals erase it and tie the game with 1:28 left.
Golding, who handles the defense, said there’s still plenty to clean up on that side of the ball.
"When you're up two possessions in the fourth quarter and you've got an opportunity to put them away on third down and you don't, then you're going to walk the kicker out there late and see if you can win or not," Golding said.
Golding also weighed in on Kiffin’s LSU debut, which came a day earlier on Sept. 5. LSU rolled past Clemson 51-10, and Golding watched part of it after Ole Miss’ chapel service.
"I thought it was good football team," Golding said. "I thought they played really well on defense.
Some really good players up front. I think they are what everybody thought they were going to be on paper."
Ole Miss next hosts Charlotte on Sept. 12 at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN2, then gets LSU and Kiffin on Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fans ESPN Moment Became A Much Bigger Story Than Expected
The season opener against Louisville gave Ole Miss plenty of drama on the field, but one fans reaction wound up getting nearly as much attention as the game itself. During ESPNs coverage, Sara M. Smith was shown looking understandably stressed after a Louisville touchdown, and the brief moment quickly took on a life of its own once it hit social media.
Smiths anxious expression spread fast enough to turn her into an unintended viral figure, prompting a flood of attention and forcing her to temporarily lock down her Instagram profile. It was a strange little subplot to a wild night in Oxford, where the Rebels eventually finished the job with a 41-38 win on a walk-off field goal. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Win Comes With One Deuce Alexander Debate
Deuce Alexander turned in the kind of breakout day Ole Miss fans will remember from a wild 41-38 win over Louisville, hauling in two 62-yard touchdown receptions to help fuel the Rebels offense. He finished with five catches for 159 yards and two scores, giving the passing game a huge lift in a game that stayed tight deep into the afternoon.
Alexanders second touchdown also left behind a small bit of sideline debate, thanks to a celebration that came immediately after he crossed the stripe. On the play, he flipped the ball behind him and may have let it go before fully reaching the goal line, but the officials did not stop to review it, allowing the score to stand and Ole Miss to keep control of a game it could not afford to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Trinidad Chambliss Answered Ole Miss Biggest Week 1 Question
The most important thing Ole Miss needed to learn in Week 1 was whether Trinidad Chambliss could steady a game that might have gotten away early, and he answered it in a big way against Louisville. After a shaky start that included turnovers, Chambliss settled in and kept the Rebels on course in a back-and-forth matchup, piling up 386 passing yards and accounting for four touchdowns while helping Ole Miss survive a 41-38 finish.
What stood out most was how the game tightened around him late, when every possession mattered and the Rebels needed someone to handle the pressure instead of adding to it. In a weekend when a lot of SEC teams cruised through lopsided openers, Ole Miss got a real test, and Chambliss final drive gave the Rebels a much clearer idea of what they have under center as the season moves into a tougher stretch. [Read more 🡒]