Pete Golding isn’t downplaying Sunday one bit.
Plenty of folks around the Ole Miss program have spent the summer saying the trip to Nashville could end up being the toughest game on the whole schedule.
Now the head coach is saying it too.
I’ve been saying that for a few months now because nothing can de-rail a season with incredibly high expectations like laying an egg in the very first game of the year.
Other teams have seen that put a season where championship chases were planned into trying to avoid a losing record.
Ole Miss sits at No. 9 heading into the opener and Louisville checks in at No. 24, with the game set for Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
Golding made it clear this week that the moment carries real weight.
“It very much feels like a playoff, bowl-game feel to it, as far as the caliber of the team, the quality of the coach and where it’s located,” Golding said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “We’re excited for the opportunity.”
That’s not a coach blowing smoke about a season opener. That’s a coach treating game one like one played in January.
Brohm’s Cardinals bring loaded roster
Golding spent part of his Wednesday call breaking down why Louisville worries him.
He praised Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm’s track record and pointed out the pieces Brohm has to work with on offense.
“They’re very explosive on offense,” Golding said. “The running back is an elite player. They’ve got elite speed in the slot. The two transfers, the kids from Vanderbilt and Florida State, are good players. The tight end is a good player.”
He also flagged Louisville’s defense as a problem to solve up front.
“They create a lot of problems on defense, especially with the edges,” Golding said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, being at a neutral site on top of it.”
Golding said he’s never known Brohm personally but has always respected his work from a distance.
“Watching his tape, he was very innovative on offense,” Golding said. “You see the toughness throughout their team. They’re very well-coached, they play extremely hard and they’re disciplined.”
Rebels won’t treat this like tune-up game
Golding made a point during the teleconference of saying his team isn’t allowed to look past this one just because it’s early on the calendar.
He said the coaching staff reminded players over the summer that last year’s playoff run ended against a team Louisville later beat.
“We talked about it in the offseason,” Golding said. “Look, man, the last team that put us out of the playoffs got beat by the team we’re about to play. If you’re looking ahead to something else, there’s something wrong with you.”
He didn’t try to sell the opener as a normal week-one matchup either.
“Absolutely, I think it’s definitely a different feel than opening up with a I-AA or a mid-major,” Golding said. “It’s a Top 25 team at a neutral site. If you’re not on your best game, you’re going to get beat, as you should.”
Golding says prep week feels normal
According to 247Sports’ Neal McCready, this will actually be Golding’s first Sunday running the show in a regular season contest.
He’s already been through the wringer once, though.
When Kiffin bolted for LSU last November, Golding stepped into the head job on short notice and guided the Rebels through the entire College Football Playoff run.
He went 2-1 in that stretch, knocking off Tulane and then Georgia in the Sugar Bowl before Ole Miss came up just short against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
Golding told McCready that experience made this opener feel less overwhelming.
“It feels like a normal season to me,” Golding said Monday. “I’m so ingrained in the football piece of it. I know we’re playing a really, really good football team, and we’ve got to get this defense prepared to play an elite back, an athletic quarterback.”
He added that getting back into game-plan mode has been a welcome change of pace.
“It’s been nice to get back into the tape, into a game plan, and get away from the outside world a little bit,” Golding said.
Rebels enter fall camp mostly healthy
Golding said depth shouldn’t be a concern heading into Nashville. During the teleconference he described the team as banged up in only minor ways.
“We’re pretty healthy for the most part,” Golding said. “A couple of soft-tissue things still that we’re fighting through, but we expect to have everybody healthy.”
McCready’s report backed that up, noting Golding built a mock game week into fall camp so the staff could rehearse the Sunday kickoff schedule before it counted.
Golding said the staff built out a full trial run of the schedule, working through a simulated game day, following it with a lighter walk-through session.
Then they gave players a full day away from the building before easing back into a normal practice rhythm.
Golding trusts his defense to match last year’s group
One thing Golding didn’t dodge on the teleconference was whether this defense can match the unit that carried Ole Miss through the 2024 playoff run. He said the talent level compares.
“Yeah, I feel like they’re as talented, and that’s kind of what I said in the summer,” Golding said. “It’s a very talented group. Now the consistency in our execution and the communication still have to continue to improve.”
He said the coaching staff’s job now is turning that talent into clean execution once the games start counting.
“From a talent and depth standpoint, we’ve got the pieces we need,” Golding said. “We’ve got to do a really good job of coaching, allowing them to communicate really well and play fast.”
Bottom line for Ole Miss and Louisville
Between the teleconference and his sit-down with McCready, Golding painted a clear picture this week.
He isn’t treating this Louisville game like a typical opener and he isn’t pretending the stakes are small just because it’s the first Sunday of the year.
Ole Miss fans have been saying this game could define the season’s early tone and their head coach just backed that up in his own words.
Kickoff is set for Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, where the Rebs will find out fast whether that playoff comparison holds up.
