The Week 1 college football schedule kicks off Sunday with three massive matchups, including the Ole Miss Rebels facing off against the Louisville Cardinals at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. This isn’t just a regular season opener, it is a glimpse into who’s ready to dominate early.
Rebels Ready for Dominance While Cards Bring In New Blood
This Ole Miss squad is coming off their best season in the modern era, rocking a 13-2 record overall and a killer 7-1 in the SEC. They even punched their ticket to their first College Football Playoff appearance. Sure, they dropped the Fiesta Bowl semifinal to Miami, but that kind of season momentum is huge. Now, with Pete Golding taking over as permanent head coach after Lane Kiffin’s departure, the pressure is on to keep that train rolling. Their quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, was an absolute beast last season. He threw for a staggering 3,937 yards, the most among all SEC quarterbacks, with 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions on 294 of 445 passing. And if that wasn’t enough, he added 527 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 133 attempts. The dude is a dual-threat nightmare for defenses.
On the other side, Louisville finished their 2025 season with a solid 9-4 record overall and 4-4 in the ACC under head coach Jeff Brohm. They snagged wins against Kentucky in their final regular season game and Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. But here’s the kicker: they are rolling out Lincoln Kienholz as their starting quarterback. He’s the fourth transfer player to start under center in four years for the Cardinals. Kienholz spent three seasons at Ohio State and last season saw limited action, throwing for just 139 yards and one touchdown on 11 of 14 passing in seven appearances. That’s a huge difference in experience and production going into Week 1. Prediction markets are already reflecting this, with Ole Miss trading at $0.71 to win, while Louisville is sitting at $0.29 at Kalshi. SportsLine’s advanced model, which runs 10,000 simulations, has the Rebels projected to win, 33-22, on Sunday.
More Week 1 Gridiron Action
Sunday isn’t just about Ole Miss and Louisville. The action starts even earlier with Washington taking on Washington State at 4 p.m. ET. Later that evening, Notre Dame will face off against Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you are looking for more gridiron intensity, Monday brings another prime-time matchup with Florida State squaring off against SMU at 7:30 p.m. ET. SportsLine’s computer model has locked in predictions for every single FBS matchup, giving you the inside track on what’s expected for this opening weekend.
This Week 1 slate is going to tell us a lot about who is a real contender and who needs to hit the drawing board fast. Don’t miss a minute of the action, because these early results set the tone for the entire season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply