Louisville vs. Ole Miss Prediction: Week 1 Odds, Picks & Best Bet

After Lane Kiffin’s new squad beat the brakes off Clemson Saturday, my Louisville vs. Ole Miss prediction anticipates that Kiffin’s old team will want to leave its impression on Week 1, too.

No. 9 Ole Miss returns plenty of firepower for its battle with No. 24 Louisville today. The Rebels are a 6.5-point betting favorite, with kickoff from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC).

🏈 Louisville vs. Ole Miss picks & predictions

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💰 Louisville vs. Ole Miss prediction & best bet

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Ole Miss -6.5 (-115 via DraftKings)

There’s a reason Lane Kiffin sought to lure QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy from Ole Miss when he left for LSU -- but Pete Golding held serve, compelling both Heisman candidates to return to Oxford.

With this duo leading the charge for the CFP run, Ole Miss averaged 35.6 PPG over three games under Golding’s head coaching tutelage. I don’t trust the Cardinals defense enough to anticipate them slowing down the Rebels attack.

I wasn’t impressed with how Louisville leaked points against middling ACC offenses last season. The ramp up to facing elite SEC competition will have the Cardinals chasing this game, and I’m not sold on former Ohio State backup QB Lincoln Kienholz being able to keep pace.

We’re seeing the spread at Ole Miss -6.5 across the board, with -115 odds available from several spots. If we see the spread push back up to -7, I’m still on the Rebels up to that line.

Is Louisville's Kienholz up for this?

Lincoln Kienholz has had one piece of exposure to the SEC in his career, going 6-for-17 for 86 yards against Missouri in Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl loss in 2023. In two years since, he’s thrown just 11 completions for 139 yards in garbage-time duties.

Perhaps Kienholz is this year’s Chambliss, breaking out into stardom from relative obscurity. But for now, he’s simply too much of an unknown to anticipate him keeping this game close.

Score prediction: Ole Miss 34, Louisville 23

📊 Louisville vs. Ole Miss odds

Louisville vs. Ole Miss opening odds

• Moneyline: Louisville +200 | Ole Miss -250
• Spread: Louisville +6.5 (-110) | Ole Miss -6.5 (-110)
• Over/Under: Over 55.5 (-110) | Under 55.5 (-110)

📺 How to watch Louisville vs. Ole Miss: Week 1

• Date: Sunday, Sept. 6
• Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tenn.)
• TV: ABC