Rebel Rundown Podcast: Final Takeaways From Ole Miss’ Ranked Win Over Louisville

It took a second half shootout in order to do so, but No. 9 Ole Miss started the 2026 season 1-0 following its, 41-38, victory against No. 24 Louisville in Nashville.

Ole Miss struggled, and excelled, in all three phases throughout Sunday's win, but it will benefit from learning from a ranked win instead of a loss.

In episode 93 of The Rebel Rundown Podcast, host and Ole Miss On SI's Tyler Komis offers final takeaways from the Rebels' narrow season-opening win in Music City. Next up for Ole Miss in Week 2 will be its home opener against the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday, as the Rebels work through a short week.

Golding's Takeaways from Week 1

Sep 6, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Pete Golding on the field prior to a game against the Louisville Cardinals at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"I think it’s exactly what I thought coming off. It’s a tale of two halves," Golding explained. "I think that was the one thing we kind of talked about coming out of camp. Like I knew we had a good hook. We could swing with anybody, but could we take it and then come back and swing again? And I just feel like the first half, we kind of didn’t catch our rhythm on offense, turned the football over.

I thought defensive first half, we were swinging and we were hitting. And then we came out and kind of flipped. I think the offense came out in that second half with a sense of urgency and started swinging. And then defensively, we took it. And so you know that’s the big thing this week. Regardless of who you’re playing, it doesn’t matter. We both got to swing at the same time to deliver that knockout punch. And so that’s something this week. So the good is all three phases show that they got the ability to do it. The bad is all three phases show that they couldn’t at times."

On Injuries

“It was a heavy-weight fight, so we’re definitely banged up. Good news is all X-rays were negative, MRI — Keaton Thomas’ foot, it’s negative," Ole Miss' first-year head coach revealed. "Lot of bumps and lot of bruises. Obviously we’re only 48 hours out right now, so a normal Tuesday was more of a jog through day to try to get some of those guys back healthy. The good news is nothing was significant, nothing’s long term. We’ll manage those rep counts this week as they get healthy and see what this weekend looks like.”

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