No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels and 24th-ranked Louisville square off in the lone weekend matchup between Top 25 teams in Nashville.
Pete Golding gets his chance to lead Ole Miss for a full season in 2026 after taking over the Rebels when Lane Kiffin jumped to LSU at the end of the regular season last year and guiding them to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Promoted from his defensive coordinator role to head coach, Golding inherits an offense that ranked second nationally, racking up nearly 490 yards per game, and has its top playmakers returning in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
Lacy enters his junior season after rushing for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. Chambliss, who arrived at Ole Miss last season after leading Ferris State to a Division II national championship, threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading the Rebels to a 13-2 record and finishing eighth in Heisman Trophy voting.
Chambliss returned courtesy of an injunction granted by a Mississippi district judge, who ruled the NCAA should have awarded the quarterback a sixth year of eligibility due to respiratory problems caused by chronic tonsillitis that kept him off the field for the entire 2022 season.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm called the Rebels “a proven team,” and said Chambliss and Lacy are each capable of winning the Heisman this season.
“They’re both really good,” Brohm said. “They’ve proven that against good competition last year. This is a battle-tested team that played extremely well last year.”
The Cardinals finished 9-4 last season, their third straight season with nine-plus wins. But a three-game losing streak in November derailed their playoff hopes and left a sour taste.
They are considered a dark-horse candidate to make the CFP this season, and a win over the highly ranked Rebels would certainly help that cause.
Entering his fourth season at his alma mater and 13th as an FBS coach, Brohm has a knack for knocking off highly ranked teams. Last season, the Cardinals went on the road Oct. 17 to beat then-No. 2 Miami — the same team that edged Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.
The Cardinals are typically known for their offense, but last season’s defense ranked 16th nationally in total defense, giving up 303.1 yards per game. Five starters return from that squad, including edge rusher Clev Lubin. He led the Cardinals with 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us,” Golding said of Louisville’s defense. “I would say the length on the edges and the athletic ability up front stand out. They look like an SEC football team.”
For the fourth straight season, Louisville will rely on a transfer portal addition to lead the offense. This season, it will be Lincoln Kienholz, who comes to the Cardinals after three seasons as a backup for Ohio State.
The Cardinals also return a pair of explosive running backs. Isaac Brown, who missed four games with injuries, ran for 884 yards and seven scores, averaging 8.8 yards per carry last season. Keyjuan Brown averaged 7.3 yards per carry while amassing 704 yards and six touchdowns.
Ole Miss’ defense will be led by defensive tackle Will Echoles, who recorded 5.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss last season.
