Carneiro's 48-Yard Field Goal Gives Football 41-38 Win Over #24 Louisville

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Louisville	3	3	18	14	38
Ole Miss	0	10	14	17	41

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 9 Ole Miss football opened its 2026 season in dramatic fashion Sunday night, defeating No. 24 Louisville, 41-38, at Nissan Stadium in the Music City Kickoff game.

The Rebels battled back from a 13-10 deficit in the third quarter before taking a 14-point lead in the fourth. Louisville rallied to tie the game at 38-38 with 1:28 remaining, but Ole Miss drove into Cardinal territory to set up Lucas Carneiro for a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score, and Deuce Alexander totaled 159 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his first start as a Rebel.

Offensive Leaders
Chambliss finished with 336 yards passing on the day for his ninth 300-yard game of his career, ranking him seventh in school history just behind Eli Manning's 10. Kewan Lacy added 61 yards on the ground with a second-quarter touchdown, tying him with Archie Manning on the career rushing scores list at Ole Miss now with 25.

Alexander would haul in a career-best 159 yards, highlighted by a pair of electrifying 62-yard scores. Tight end Caleb Odom would bring in his first touchdown of his collegiate career, finishing with 66 yards on three receptions.

Defensive Leaders
Linebacker Keaton Thomas made his Ole Miss debut with eight total tackles, while fourth-year Rebel Suntarine Perkins disrupted the backfield with 1.5 TFL and 0.5 sack. Perkins now owns a career total of 33.5 TFL's, tying him for the fifth-most in school history with Sam Williams. Defensive back Jaylon Braxton would finish with eight total tackles and a pass breakup.

First Quarter
Following a punt on the opening drive for Ole Miss, a pair of penalties and a tackle for loss by Kam Franklin helped keep the Cardinals out of the end zone, as Louisville settled for a 3-0 lead. Nearing the end of the first quarter, Chambliss found Traylon Ray for his first reception in an Ole Miss uniform, a 31-yard completion that moved the Rebels to the Louisville 31-yard line as the clock expired.

Second Quarter
Carneiro put the Rebels on the board and tied the game at three with a 43-yard field goal to begin the second quarter. On the ensuing Louisville possession, the Ole Miss defense forced the Cardinals to bring out their punt team, with a bad snap sailing deep and giving the Rebels possession at the Louisville 12-yard line. Four straight rushes from Lacy culminated in a touchdown, giving Ole Miss a 10-3 advantage.

Louisville closed out the final moments of the first half with a drive down to the Ole Miss 36-yard line before converting a field goal to cut the Rebel lead to 10-6 at the midway point.

Third Quarter
Louisville opened the second half with a lengthy scoring drive, finding the end zone on a rushing touchdown to take a 13-10 advantage. Ole Miss answered immediately, as Chambliss connected with Alexander on a 62-yard touchdown pass to put the Rebels back in front, 17-13.

The Ole Miss defense held Louisville in check on the ensuing possession, forcing a punt and giving the Rebels the ball at their own 32-yard line. After Ole Miss was forced to punt, Louisville took over at its own 22 and drove down the field, settling for a field goal to pull within one at 17-16 with 4:47 remaining in the quarter.

The Rebels answered with another explosive play, as Chambliss again found Alexander for a 62-yard score, extending the Ole Miss lead to 24-16 with 1:01 remaining. Louisville responded with a 62-yard touchdown pass of its own and converted the ensuing two-point attempt to tie the game at 24-24 with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter
Ole Miss opened the fourth period with a scoring drive that featured a key 17-yard scramble from Chambliss to move the Rebels into Louisville territory. Two plays later, Chambliss found Odom for a 35-yard touchdown, putting Ole Miss back in front, 31-24, with 12:45 remaining.

Franklin then came up with a big play on the defensive side, recording a sack to halt the Cardinals' ensuing drive and force a punt from deep in Louisville territory. Ole Miss took over at its own 45-yard line, before a roughing-the-kicker penalty by Louisville on a field goal attempt kept the drive alive for the Rebels. Two plays later, Chambliss rushed for a touchdown to double the Rebel advantage at 38-24 with under seven minutes remaining. The score marked the sixth game of Chambliss' career in which he has both thrown and rushed for a touchdown.

Louisville quickly cut the deficit to seven, using a six-play drive that lasted just two minutes and ended with a 54-yard touchdown reception to make it 38-31. After an Ole Miss three-and-out, the Cardinals took over at their own 23-yard line with 3:09 remaining.

Louisville opened the drive with a 25-yard pass to move near midfield. Following the two-minute timeout, another big pass play moved the Cardinals inside the 10-yard line after a 31-yard completion. Louisville then tied the game at 38-38 on a seven-yard quarterback keeper by Lincoln Kienholz.

Taking over at their own 25-yard line with 1:28 remaining, Alexander got the drive started for Ole Miss with a quick 15-yard completion to the Ole Miss 40-yard line. On third down, Chambliss fired a strike over the middle to Odom for an 18-yard completion to the Louisville 38. Inching the ball forward, Ole Miss would call their final timeout with three seconds remaining at the Louisville 31 yard line.

Carneiro's 48-yard field goal sailed straight through the uprights as time expired, giving the Rebels a thrilling 41-38 victory over No. 24 Louisville to open the 2026 season.

Next Up
Ole Miss will return home and host Charlotte next Saturday, Sept. 12, in Oxford. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Tickets are still available at OleMissTix.com.

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Players Mentioned

Deuce Alexander

Jaylon Braxton

Lucas Carneiro

Trinidad Chambliss

Kam Franklin

Kewan Lacy

Caleb Odom

Suntarine Perkins

Traylon Ray

Keaton Thomas

Team Stats

Chambliss Trinidad

The University of Mississippi Athletics