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Ole Miss to open 2026 season in Nashville against Louisville

11by: Jake Thompson5 hours agoJakeThompsonOn3

The entire 2026 football schedule will be announced on Thursday but Ole Miss got the ball rolling a day early by revealing where it will start the season next year.

On Wednesday the Rebels announced it will take on Louisville for their season opener on Labor Day weekend. The game will be played either September 5 or 6 inside Nissan Stadium for a neutral site non-conference matchup.

An exact date, kickoff time and television network will be finalized and announced at a later time.

“We are thrilled to open next season with a premier matchup in a destination city like Nashville,” Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter said in a statement. “Louisville is an outstanding opponent, and Coach Golding will have our team up for this great challenge. With our strong alumni base in Nashville, we expect the Ole Miss family to arrive in full force and experience an exciting game in the Music City.”

Next September’s game will mark the second meeting between the Rebels and Cardinals. The first was also a neutral site game with Ole Miss getting the 43-24 win over Louisville in the 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

Playing at the Tennessee Titans home stadium is nothing new for the Rebels as they have played there three previous times. The most recent being a 25-17 win over Georgia Tech in the 2013 Music City Bowl.

With the Southeastern Conference schedule expanding to nine games in 2026 that leaves three non-conference games on the Rebels schedule. Wednesday’s announcement means Ole Miss will now have seven home games inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (two non-conference, five SEC games) next season.

“We are excited to host Ole Miss and Louisville and to open the College Football Season on Labor Day Weekend in Nashville,” president & CEO of the Nashville Sports Council, Scott Ramsey said in a statement. “We appreciate the partnership between the schools and ESPN Events to make this happen. It will be exciting to kick off the college football season in the final season of the current Nissan Stadium.”

The full 2026 schedule will be revealed at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday during a special to air on the SEC Network.

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