Tale of the Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Ole Miss

The Cardinals kick off the 2021 season against the Rebels in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.

ATLANTA - Louisville (0-0, 0-0 ACC) is set to face Ole Miss (0-0, 0-0 SEC) on Monday, Sept. 6 at 8:00 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. Here's how the Cardinals stack up against the Rebels:

- Rankings:

	Ole Miss	Louisville
Associated Press Top 25	NR	NR
USA TODAY Coaches Poll	25th	NR
SOS	N/A	N/A
SP+	25th	42nd
FPI	20th	52nd

- Offensive Statistics (2020):

	Ole Miss	Louisville
Total Offense	3rd (555.5)	29th (444.2)
Passing Yards	7th (344.9)	48th (244.2)
Yards Per Completion	13th (14.49)	35th (13.30)
Rushing Yards	26th (210.6)	29th (200.0)
First Downs Gained	10th (276)	33rd (230)
3rd Down Con. %	7th (49.6%)	34th (44.8%)
4th Down Con. %	20th (66.7%)	66th (54.2%)
Red Zone Con. %	104th (75.8%)	31st (88.6%)
Turnovers Lost	109th (18)	124th (24)
Interceptions Thrown	121st (14)	113th (12)
Fumbles Lost	27th (4)	124th (12)
Tackles For Loss Allowed	100th (7.20)	121st (8.45)
Sacks Allowed	45th (1.90)	98th (2.73)
Avg. Time of Possession	105th (27:51)	32nd (31:30)

Key: National Rank out of 127 FBS Teams (Value)

- Defensive Statistics (2020):

	Ole Miss	Louisville
Total Defense	126th (519.0)	39th (369.1)
Passing Yards Allowed	125th (312.1)	17th (189.2)
Rushing Yards Allowed	101st (206.9)	80th (179.9)
3rd Down Defensive %	106th (46.7%)	57th (39.6%)
4th Down Defensive %	116th (72.2%)	20th (40.0%
First Downs Allowed	122nd (274)	71st (200)
Red Zone Defensive %	100th (87.8%)	57th (82.9%)
Turnovers Gained	59th (13)	70th (12)
Interceptions Caught	68th (6)	80th (5)
Fumbles Recovered	34th (7)	34th (7)
Sacks Per Game	98th (1.60)	73rd (2.00)
TFL Per Game	107th (4.7)	79th (5.7)
Defensive Touchdowns	N/A	N/A

Key: National Rank out of 127 FBS Teams (Value)

- Special Teams Statistics (2020):

	Ole Miss	Louisville
Net Punting	44th (39.44)	96th (36.59)
Avg. Kickoff Return	23rd (23.95)	67th (19.97)
Avg. Punt Return	62nd (7.00)	113th (3.14)
Blocked Kicks	N/A	34th (1)
Blocked Kicks Allowed	53rd (1)	53rd (1)
Blocked Punts	N/A	N/A
Blocked Punts Allowed	1st (0)	85th (1)
Field Goal Attempts	6-10	13-15
PAT	46-49	40-40

Key: National Rank out of 127 FBS Teams (Value)

- FPI Prediction: Per ESPN's Football Power Index, the Cardinals have a 29.9 percent chance to win against the Rebels. Louisville has an FPI of 3.1 (52nd overall), and Ole Miss' FPI of 10.1 (20th overall) is the second-highest out of the Cardinals 2021 opponents (Clemson - 26.8).

- SP+ Prediction:

Per Bill Connelly's SP+ model, the Cardinals have a 34.24 percent chance to take down the Rebels. Louisville has an SP+ rating of 8.2 (42nd overall), and like with FPI, Ole Miss' SP+ rating of 15.1 (25th overall) is the second-highest out of the Cardinals 2021 opponents (Clemson - 28.8).

- Personal Prediction: Ole Miss 42, Louisville 35

(Photo of Scott Satterfield and Louisville Players: Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports)

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