FIVE Keys To Victory: Louisville vs. Ole Miss

Louisville an Ole Miss are set to kickoff their respective seasons Sunday Night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. The two programs squared off to start the 2021 season with Ole Miss prevailing relatively easily 43-24 inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Dome.

In order for the Cards to start off 2026 with a win over Ole Miss the Cards are going to have to play well. Here are 5 areas where they will have to excel in order to get the WIN.

1) LINCOLN KIENHOLZ HAS TO SHINE IN DEBUT

This isn't just an ordinary opener. Ole Miss is #9 in the country with Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Running Back Kewan Lacy BOTH returning as Heisman Trophy Candidates. So Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz has to start sharp and has to stay sharp in order to keep pace with the offensive firepower of the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss returns a great deal of last season's #10 overall offense, so it stands to reason that Louisville is going to have to score at a high-level.

Kienholz spent 3 years at Ohio State after dominating the high school level in South Dakota. Kienholz is an all-around athlete and just missed out of winning the starting job over the Buckeye's Julian Sayin.

To date Kienholz has thrown just 36 passes in his collegiate career, BUT he's going to get his opportunity Sunday night. The expectation is that Lincoln also will be a threat to run.

There will be no time to 'get adjusted' as Ole Miss will look to take advantage of his inexperience early.

#2 NEUTRALIZE THE OLE MISS DEFENSIVE FRONT

The Ole Miss defense wasn't exact elite last year, but they weren't bad either. The better parts of their defensive front return from a year ago and they've added some high level transfers up front.

Meanwhile Louisville's offensive line is already being shuffled without playing a game. The projected Left Tackle for the Cards Anwar O'Neal is expected to be out until Week 3 or Week 4 forcing Louisville's only returning offensive lineman Lance Robinson out to Left Tackle and elevating Kentucky transfer Evan Wibberley to start at Center.

If Louisville wants to run the ball or protect Kienholz this is THE matchup to watch.

3) THE NEW KICKING GAME HAS TO GRADUATE

Under Jeff Brohm Louisville 19 of 40 games have been decided within ONE SCORE. The kicking game is going to matter.

Louisville loses both its kicker Cooper Ranvier to Tennesee and its projected punter Carter Schwartz to the Arizona Wildcats. Ranvier is a big loss, but Louisville finished 130th in punting in 2025 and a change was coming to that position.

The good news is that Louisville does return Nick Keller who is likely Louisville's option on kicks longer than 52+, but it remains to be seen if Rhode Island/USC transfer Garth White or Trinity Redshirt Freshman Carson Hilbert will get the call for regular FG duty.

At punter Louisville went to Austrailia and found Niall Hayes. Coach Brohm has said that Hayes has a LIVE leg, but it very raw in understanding the college football game.

Louisville's can not afford special teams miscues against Ole Miss. It may come down to one play.

4) FIND A WAY TO MINIMIZE TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS

Ole Miss started Austin Simmons at Quarterback last year... and found out they had a STAR in Trindad Chambliss. Chambliss took Ole Miss from GOOD to GREAT and threw for 3937 yards and rafor 527. Chambliss accounted for 30 TDs in 2025 and Ole Miss finished as the #2 offense in the country.

Chambliss led Ole Miss to the National Semifinals (Final Four) and narrowly lost to Miami in its attempt to advance to the title game.

Trinidad is going to make his fair share of plays. He's elusive, he's accurate and he's played a lot of football. The key for Louisville's Defense is to "keep coming" and not get frustrated when Trinidad makes a play or two.

Chambliss also does not turn the ball over so it's important for Louisville to stay in the fight and try to create 3rd & Long situations as often as possible without allowing busts in the defense. Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin was EXPLOSIVE and it will be interesting to see if the Cards can slow down those explosion plays enough to give its offense a chance to keep pace.

5) LIMIT KEWAN LACY

Kewan Lacy is a STUD at Running Back for Ole Miss in 2025. 306 carries, 1567 yards, 24 TDs. Durable and effecitve.

At 5-11, 210 Lacy presents a hefty tackling challenge. But the good news is that the Cards were really well against elite backs like Mark Fletcher last season. The Cards allowed just 3.48 yards per carry in 2025 and if they are going to beat Ole Miss keying on Lacy has to be the main key.

Louisville made a change at Defensive Coordinator from Ron English to Mark Ivey and while Louisville has a lot of it's main pieces back on defense in 2026, it's still a big change.

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