NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The only game of Week 1 featuring two ranked teams will be contested Sunday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville as No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 24 Louisville meet in a critical SEC vs. ACC showdown. The Rebels are looking to prove last season's run to the College Football Playoff semifinals was no fluke as they return star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and star running back Kewan Lacy from a 13-2 team.
Louisville and fourth-year coach Jeff Brohm will be looking to make an early statement of their own after a 9-4 campaign diminished by three straight November losses. Brohm owns a reputation for slaying higher-ranked opponents (see last year's win at Miami as an example), and the Cardinals are talented enough to make a CFP charge of their own. Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz will be making his first career start at quarterback, but the Cards are led by star running back Isaac Brown. It was no coincidence that Louisville's lackluster stretch last season came while Brown was out due to injury. Now, he's healthy and poised to go toe-to-toe with Lacy in a must-see running back battle.
Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis as Ole Miss battles Louisville in a Week 1 showdown.
A high snap put Ole Miss behind the chains after an easy 9-yard dump off to Kewan Lacy on first down. That was surprising considering that Brycen Sanders is back at center after starting 15 games there last season. Faced with a third-and-22, Ole Miss played it conservatively and was forced to punt. Bad sequence to start for the Rebels, and Louisville takes over in good field position.
Louisville won the toss and deferred, so Ole Miss will get the football to begin the only game of Week 1 between two ranked teams. Pretty strong turnout on both sides considering the travel required for both fan bases.
Greetings from the press box at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Pregame festivities included a successful marriage proposal for a couple of Louisville fans that was shown on the video board. Even the Ole Miss fans clapped for that one. But that should be the end of the evening's pleasantries. The stadium clock still shows more than 10 minutes. So kickoff won't be until around 7:45 ET.
I know who Jeff Brohm is as a coach. I know what to expect from a Jeff Brohm offense, particularly when he's had plenty of time to put together a game plan. I love Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss, but my biggest question mark about the Rebels heading into 2026 is how strong the defense will be. It wasn't overly incredible last year, as it ranked 62nd nationally in EPA per play. If there's a drop-off with some of the talent the Rebels lost, it will make it far more difficult to cover a full touchdown against a Louisville team that may not be a national title contender, but may prove to be one of the best teams in the ACC. The Pick: Louisville +7
In Blake Brockermeyer's preseason top 150 player rankings, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy came in at No. 8 while Louisville back Isaac Brown landed at No. 45.
The Rebels may no longer employ Lane Kiffin or Charlie Weis Jr., but they do have two of the 10 best players in the sport -- and both on the offensive side of the football. Lacy was a game-changer for the Rebels a season ago, rushing for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground with 42 explosive runs. Lacy excels as a north-south runner with good contact balance and cutback ability for chunk yards. Lacy also caught 29 balls a year ago. He is a great candidate to be RB1 in the 2027 NFL draft.
Brown may not be the biggest back in the country, but few are more dangerous in space. He thrives in Louisville's outside-zone scheme with explosive acceleration, sharp one-cut ability and the speed to score from anywhere on the field. Brown averaged an eye-popping 8.8 yards per carry despite logging just 101 rushing attempts. Durability remains the biggest question.
The only Week 1 game featuring two teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 pits No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 24 Louisville on Sunday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. It marks an immediate and massive test for two established programs with College Football aspirations but unforgiving schedules.
Louisville is a rare team with 11 Power Four opponents on its slate, and Ole Miss faces an unforgiving league grind during the SEC's first season with a nine-game conference schedule. Thus, the stakes will be high for a meeting between two teams with major offensive expectations.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding retained star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and standout running back Kewan Lacy amid the transition away from coach Lane Kiffin. Those two spearheaded the Rebels' charge to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff last season and have designs on making another deep postseason push.
Louisville finished 9-4 last season, but the Cardinals were left to wonder what could have been following a 7-1 start that included a road win over then-No. 2 Miami. November losses to Cal and Clemson by a combined four points wrecked the Cardinals' hopes of a truly special season and should serve as motivation entering 2026.
Ole Miss has a savvy veteran playmaker at quarterback who led the Rebels to key victories in major moments last season. Simply put, it's not smart to bet against someone like Trinidad Chambliss, even if the Rebels are breaking in new receivers and two new offensive tackles. Louisville's defense will be tested as they seek to contain Chambliss and star running back Kewan Lacy, and the Rebels should eventually be able to break the dam to build a two-possession lead. Pick: Ole Miss -7
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss enters the season with legitimate Heisman Trophy aspirations after totaling nearly 4,500 yards from scrimmage last season. But he'll be throwing to a mostly new group of targets in 2026. Who will step up? Deuce Alexander is the leading returning target after reeling in 44 passes for 684 yards last season. After that, it will be on a group of transfers. Among them are Darrell Gill Jr. and Johnny Cook II (both from Syracuse), Isaiah Spencer (Virginia Tech) and Cameron Reed (Kentucky). Gill and Cook each surpassed 500 yards receiving within a weak Syracuse passing attack last season and should flourish within a better system. But whether the Rebels' passing attack can click immediately may determine how this Week 1 showdown pans out.
In each of his three seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals have slayed a top-11 opponent. Last season, it was No. 2 Miami. In 2024, it was No. 11 Clemson, and in 2023, Louisville knocked off No. 10 Notre Dame. The trend goes back to Brohm's Purdue tenure, when the Boilermakers slayed a pair of top-5 opponents in 2021 (Iowa and Michigan State) after stunning No. 2 Ohio State in 2018. As a veteran coach who's had an entire offseason to implement a game plan for Ole Miss, expect to see some creativity from Brohm as the Cardinals try for another head-turning victory.
Louisville's expectations of an elite passing game didn't quite pan out like expected last year with USC transfer Miller Moss at quarterback. His production tapered off significantly in the season's second half, and Louisville's running game wasn't good enough to make up the difference. Fourth-year coach Jeff Brohm went back to the portal in 2026 to land ex-Ohio State backup Lincoln Kienholz. The former four-star prospect was edged by Julian Saying in a quarterback battle last year and is raring for his first starting opportunity as a redshirt junior. He's expected to bring an element of elusiveness to the Louisville offense that quarterbacks in Brohm's system don't always have.
