Louisville vs Ole Miss Best Picks 9/6

Louisville vs Ole Miss Best Picks 9/6

It felt like forever, but preview season is in the rearview mirror and the 2026 college football season is finally here. There’s already been plenty of eventful action on the gridiron this week, and we have a loaded slate of Week 1 action on our hands this weekend. One of the marquee games on a special Sunday slate is a fascinating clash between the Louisville Cardinals and Ole Miss Rebels. With this intriguing matchup nearly upon us, it’s time to dive into our expert’s college football predictions and best bets for Sunday’s ACC vs SEC showdown.

Louisville vs Ole Miss Predictions

Pick #1 - Louisville Cardinals +7 over Ole Miss Rebels (-115)

Pick #2 - Under 55.5 (-110)

Pick #3 - Lincoln Kienholz (LOU) anytime touchdown scorer (+235) 

PICK #1: Louisville +7 over Ole Miss (-110)

Ole Miss is a team that we’re going to learn a lot about this season, and it’ll start in Week 1 in Nashville. To their credit, the Rebels were excellent in the College Football Playoff a season ago, as they fared well in Lane Kiffin’s absence en route to an appearance in the semifinals. 

On paper, the Rebels have the potential to win plenty of games and get back to the postseason. After all, Trinidad Chambliss is back at quarterback and he’ll be joined by Kewan Lacy in the backfield as part of an elite duo. However, this season should be one in which the drop-off from Kiffin (and former offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss Jr.) to the likes of Pete Goulding and John David Baker is really felt. It doesn’t help matters that Ole Miss is going up against one of the best coaches in the nation with extended preparation, especially when he’s in the underdog role. 

Jeff Brohm has been elite as an underdog since his days at Purdue, with the Louisville head coach holding an 11-4 record against the spread as an underdog of seven or more points since 2018. Many of those games came when he was outgunned and undermanned at Purdue, which only speaks to his excellent preparation and schematic brilliance. This game is an ideal spot for Louisville given that the Cardinals have running back Issac Brown back at full health, and they should have the element of surprise with new quarterback Lincoln Kienholz at the controls of this offense. Let’s take the points with the Cardinals on Sunday.    

PICK #2: Under 55.5 (-118)

Our expert is bullish on the underdog in this game, which naturally correlates with the under. Louisville is naturally going to lean on its ground attack with Brown in the backfield, and I fully expect the Cardinals to lean on the veteran to stay ahead of the chains throughout this one. Furthermore, Kienholz has excellent speed, and that is something that Brohm has repeatedly emphasized in fall camp. Both teams should take a run-first approach on Sunday, and our expert is anticipating the clock to be running early and often throughout this contest. Let’s roll with the under while it’s above a key number.     

PICK #3: Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville) anytime touchdown scorer (+235) 

As previously mentioned, Kienholz has been repeatedly praised by the Louisville coaching staff as a player with electric speed, and this could be something that Brohm and offensive coordinator Brian Brohm implement around the goal line against an Ole Miss defense that is replacing seven starters from last season’s unit. With that in mind, it’s hard to ignore this price on the new quarterback to find the end zone with his legs in a game script that could call for some power running from the QB.