Date and kickoff time finalized for Louisville football's 2026 opener against Ole Miss
The University of Louisville football program will open its 2026 season against the University of Mississippi for Nashville’s inaugural Music City Kickoff game over Labor Day weekend, with the game’s official date and kickoff time now being announced.
The Cards will now meet the Rebels for the second time in program history on Sunday, Sep. 6, with kickoff from Nisaan Stadium set for 7:30 PM. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
“We’re excited to partner with Ole Miss, ESPN, and the Nashville Sports Council to bring this season-opening matchup to Nashville,” said University of Louisville Vice President and Director of Athletics Josh Heird. “This game presents a tremendous opportunity for our program, our student-athletes, and our fans. Nashville is home to a strong and passionate Cardinals presence, and the chance to showcase Louisville Football in a premier venue against elite competition on a national stage is one we fully embrace.”
In 2025, the Cardinals won nine games for the third consecutive season under head coach Jeff Brohm. The schedule was capped off by a bowl win for the second straight season, a 27-22 win in Bush’s Boca Raton Bowl of Beans over Toledo.
You can find Louisville’s complete 2026 football schedule here.
Next season’s opener against Ole Miss was scheduled in lieu of the Cardinals’ original SEC opponent, Georgia, which canceled a two-year series. At the time, Heird cited the reasoning behind cancelling the football series with Georgia, while also affirming that the two programs were hoping to schedule a single-game non-conference game (similar to the one Louisville has with Ole Miss) in the early 2030s. The biggest cause for the schedule change is the SEC and ACC’s recent adoption of a nine-game conference football schedule starting in 2026.
The Cardinals will also face Villanova (9/11) and Kentucky (11/28) as part of next year’s non-conference schedule.
Ole Miss is coming off a tumultuous offseason with major staff changes and will be under a first-year head coach in Pete Golding. Golding led the Rebels through their run to the College Football Playoff semifinal after Lane Kiffin left for the head coaching job at LSU. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will return as a Heisman Trophy candidate after leading Ole Miss to a 13-2 record last fall.
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