Ole Miss opens the season against No. 24 Louisville on September 6. The ranked matchup marks the first time the Rebels will face another Power Four opponent to open the season since the Rebels' last game against Louisville in 2021.
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm has been with the team since 2023 and has gone 28-12 in that time. Brohm has the coaching ability and his team has the talent to possibly limit Ole Miss' two main offensive stars and Heisman contenders, Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy .
If the Rebels want to win, or at the very least win comfortably, playmakers besides Chambliss and Lacy have to step up. With Louisville's strong defensive line and linebacking corps, as well as starting cornerback taking away other receiving threats, a player like Syracuse transfer wide receiver Johntay Cook has the chance to make his presence felt for the Rebels immediately.
Former Syracuse wide receiver Darrell Gill Jr. (15) and former Syracuse wide receiver Johntay Cook (2) celebrate a touchdown by Cook. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Louisville has a lot of defensive talent. Louisville on SI projects Clev Lubin , Tyler Thompson and AJ Green to have solidified spots at defensive end. Green and Lubin are both returning to Louisville while Thompson is a transfer from UNC. The three combined for 19.5 sacks last season.
A thriving pass rush against an Ole Miss offensive line with some question marks could create a scenario where Ole Miss needs to either play through the running game with main running back Kewan Lacy or rely on more quick passes to avoid tackles for loss and sacks.
The Rebels will likely be hesitant to use Kewan Lacy as heavily as they did last season considering the new portal running backs Makhi Frazier , JT Lindsey and Joshua Dye and how beat up Lacy was as a result of his usage in 2025. It especially makes sense to take it slow on the first game back since it's against Louisville and returning linebackers such as Stanquan Clark and TJ Banks, who are looking for breakout seasons.
This leaves the passing game, which would usually run through returning wide receiver Deuce Alexander. The problem this week is with the cornerback covering him, Louisville has cornerback Tayon Holloway returning as their starter and the matchup between him and Alexander is one of the big question marks for both sides heading into Sunday.
Louisville has much bigger questions around its other starting corner. Louisville on SI projects Elon transfer Brycen Scott to be the corner on the other side of Holloway. Scott only had one year of starting at corner for Elon before transferring to Louisville, leaving a possible vulnerability for Ole Miss secondary wide receivers to attack.
Of the non-Alexander receivers on Ole Miss' roster, arguably none have as much hype as Johntay Cook does to have a breakout season establishing his spot in the receiving corps. Cook transferred to Ole Miss this offseason following a season that saw him put up more than 500 yards.
Cook is no stranger to big-time SEC football, having spent time at Texas out of high school before landing in Syracuse. Being with the Rebels provides him with a second chance to be the high-level SEC player he's shown the potential to be, and there's no better time than Week 1 to start making the most of that chance.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/olemiss as The Ole Miss Player Louisville Could Force Into a Huge Role .
