Lucas Carneiro drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired for ninth-ranked Ole Miss, which escaped Nashville with a 41-38 victory over No. 24 Louisville on Sunday night.
After both teams struggled through a mistake-laden first half, the Rebels (1-0) and Cardinals (0-1) unleashed a track meet in the second half. After combining for 16 points and 231 yards in the first half, the same two teams racked up 63 points and 726 yards in the second. Ole Miss totaled 488 and Louisville 469 for the game.
Trinidad Chambliss threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-36 passing. He also added a 5-yard rushing score that gave the Rebels a 38-24 lead with 6:43 remaining. That score was set up by a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a missed 57-yard field-goal attempt by Carneiro that allowed Ole Miss to stay on the field.
Deuce Alexander caught five passes for 159 yards, including a pair of 62-yard receiving touchdowns in the second half. However, the Rebels lost running back Kewan Lacy, a Heisman Trophy hopeful, midway through the third quarter with a reported leg bruise. He also reportedly banged up his shoulder in the first half as he finished with 61 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Louisville quarterback Lincoln Kienholz made his first start at any level in nearly four years and looked the part in the first half. However, he became the first Cardinals signal-caller to throw for 300 yards in his debut. He finished 18-for-29 for 307 yards and two touchdowns.
Kienholz was just 7-for-14 for 46 yards in the first half and committed two delay-of-game penalties in the red zone on Louisville’s opening drive, forcing the Cardinals to settle for a field goal.
The transfer from Ohio State also led the Cardinals’ 162-yard rushing attack with 69 yards on 14 carries, with his 7-yard scramble tying the game at 38 with 1:28 left.
Tre Richardson caught four passes for 83 yards, including a 62-yard catch-and-run in the final minute of the third quarter to tie the game at 24-all.
Ole Miss led 10-6 at halftime as the Rebels committed a pair of turnovers in the first half and saw Carneiro make a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter. He also missed a 46-yard attempt in the second quarter.
The only touchdown in the first half, a 1-yard dive by Lacy, was set up by a botched punt snap by Louisville that gave the Rebels the ball at the Louisville 12.