Ole Miss Rebels vs Louisville Cardinals
Playoff sting still fresh, Ole Miss braces for Louisville in the week’s lone ranked matchup
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- — Coach Pete Golding has had a simple reminder for No. 9 Mississippi on why the Rebels need to take No. 24 Louisville very seriously.
“The last team that put us out of the playoffs got beat by the team we’re about to play,” Golding said of losing to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals. "So like, if you’re looking ahead to something else, man, there’s there’s something wrong with you.”
They meet Sunday night at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, in this week's only game featuring a pair of ranked teams.
Ole Miss went 13-2 and finished fourth in the final Associated Press Top 25. Golding has had a full offseason to prepare as head coach. Louisville finished 9-4, and coach Jeff Brohm retooled with 34 players through the transfer portal.
The stakes are pretty clear playing a ranked Southeastern Conference opponent to open the season in only the second, neutral site game between these teams.
“They played outstanding last year, got a Heisman-contending quarterback back, a Heisman-contending running back back, and they're both really good," Brohm said. “They've proven that against good competition last year, so this is a battle-tested team that played extremely well. ... We'll have our hands full.”
Brohm isn't just being kind. Ole Miss has promoted both quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy for the Heisman Trophy with ads in Times Square in New York to the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Chambliss is back thanks to a legal fight to be eligible that reached the Mississippi Supreme Court. The decision in March followed Chambliss' decision to return to Ole Miss if given the chance to play a fourth season in six years in college.
Not even the flashy Heisman campaign can distract Chambliss now.
“I’m concentrating on Louisville and making sure my teammates know that I’m doing everything to be the best player I can be," he said.
Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns with only three interceptions after taking over as the starter last season. He also ran for 527 yards and eight more scores. Chambliss helped the Rebels average 36.9 points a game and rank 10th nationally rolling up 489.7 yards per game.
Making the Ole Miss offense even more high-powered is what Lacy brings. He started every game and set program single-season records with 306 rushes for 1,567 yards and 24 rushing TDs.
One of the players Brohm brought in through the portal was quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. He appeared in only 12 games at Ohio State where he threw for 250 yards and one touchdown.
“He was highly recruited and can run and pass," said Ole Miss defensive back Sharif Denson, a transfer from Florida. "There’s not a lot of tendencies on tape (availability) with him, but our coaches have studied the offenses of Coach Brohm and his staff, and what they’ve been successful doing.”
Cardinals RB Isaac Brown led the nation averaging 8.8 yards per carry last season as a sophomore. He also led all FBS players with six rushes of 50 yards or longer despite playing in only nine games last season.
Helping Ole Miss defend Brown is having to face another elite running back in practice in Lacy. Golding called Brown special and explosive: "I think he’s one of the best backs we’ll actually see all year.”
Brohm said fifth-year defensive back Jabari Mack is set to play Sunday night after coming back. Louisville was working to see if linebacker Kalib Perry can become eligible in time to play. Both Mack and Perry are part of the Class of 2022 with four seasons in college.
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AP freelance reporter Chris Burrows contributed to this report.
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