Ole Miss and Louisville will collide Sunday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Before kickoff, here are five things to stew on about the Rebels’ season-opening matchup with the Cardinals.
1. A COLORFUL GROUP OF BIRDS
While Louisville’s colors are cardinal red and black, another color shows up prominently within this group.
It is Brown—as in the names across the backs of running backs Isaac Brown and Keewan Brown.
They are not related, but they have something important in common: impressive yards-per-carry averages.
Isaac Brown averaged 8.8 yards per carry last season before going down late in the year. That was when Keewan Brown took over during the final few games and averaged 7.3 yards per attempt.
Ole Miss will get a double dose of Brown on Sunday night.
2. BIRDS CAN PULL AN UPSET
Just ask the Miami team that defeated Ole Miss in the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
Louisville showed it could play up to its competition last season, handing the No. 2-ranked Miami Hurricanes an early-season loss.
Ole Miss needs to grab Louisville by the jugular early and quickly dispatch any notion of another Cardinals upset Sunday night in Nashville.
3. THE FAVORED “HOME” TEAM
The Rebels are 6.5-point favorites over Louisville entering game week. There is also the notion that Ole Miss is the true home team—at least according to numerous Las Vegas oddsmakers.
The most common projected final score lands somewhere around 30-25 in favor of the Rebels.
While there is little doubt that Ole Miss will have more fans inside Nissan Stadium, Louisville is only slightly farther from Nashville than Oxford.
Make no mistake: This is still a true neutral-site affair.
4. WE KNOW STEVE ELLIS WELL
I have talked with newly promoted Louisville co-defensive coordinator Steve Ellis quite a bit—perhaps even more than I communicate with some Ole Miss coaches.
Ellis is a Mississippi native who recruits the Magnolia State for the Cardinals. It is no biggie, however, because Louisville no longer recruits in the same stratosphere as the Rebels.
Come to think of it, we have not spoken to Steve since the spring.
LOL!
5. LOUISVILLE’S “NO-LINE”
The Cardinals’ offensive line is a weakness Ole Miss can exploit.
Louisville returns just one starter up front and has retooled the unit with a collection of transfers. Injuries, poor portal evaluations—or some combination of the two—could spell disaster for the Cardinals.
Will Echoles, Kam Franklin and the rest of the Ole Miss defensive line room have likely been licking their chops all week.