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Redshirt sophomore Conner Harrell will get his second career start and first of the season when North Carolina hosts Charlotte on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Harrell was thrust into action when starter Max Johnson sustained a season-ending leg injury in the third quarter of the season opener at Minnesota on Aug. 29.
The Tar Heels (1-0) were down 14-10 to the Golden Gophers when Harrell entered in the third quarter. He was only 2-of-4 passing for 34 yards the rest of the way, but one completion was a 32-yard strike to J.J. Jones in the fourth quarter that led to Noah Burnette's decisive 45-yard field goal with 1:45 left in the Heels' 19-17 win.
"All of us need to rally around Conner and step up because he's really good," North Carolina coach Mack Brown said.
Harrrell started last season's Duke's Mayo Bowl when Drake Maye sat out the postseason affair and was 18-of-27 passing for 199 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the Tar Heels' 30-10 loss to West Virginia.
"We've got to make sure we figure out what he does best and let him do that," Brown said. "Obviously, everybody is going to stack the box to stop (number) 28. So everything you do is to counteract that."
No. 28 in the Tar Heels' backfield is running back Omari Hampton, who rushed for 129 yards and caught five passes in the win at Minnesota.
Charlotte (0-1) is coming off a 30-7 loss to James Madison, but coach Biff Poggi is hoping to have available a couple of the eight starters back after they sat out the opener because of injuries.
"We'll pick up one or two defensive linemen," said Poggi, who has a policy of not naming injured players. "We had three out and we'll pick up one. But he'll be on a pitch count.
"It looks like we've lost an offensive lineman, another one in the game, but I think we're getting one back there. Everybody else should be kind of like they were last week."
Quarterback Max Brown was 22 of 45 for 193 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss to James Madison. Terron Kellman was the 49ers' leading rusher with 76 yards on nine carries.
Sean Brown caught a game-high six passes for a team-high 70 yards, while Isaiah Myers scored Charlotte's lone touchdown - a 26-yarder in the second quarter -- for one of his two receptions.
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Former Heisman winner has bold take on James Franklin, Virginia Tech
It makes sense for the Virginia Tech Hokies to be excited about the addition of James Franklin as their new head coach. Franklin was fired by Penn State for failing to live up to the championship expectations in Happy Valley. For a program looking to get back on its feet and reestablish itself in this new era of college football, though, Franklin is a home run hire. Virginia Tech now has a bona fide head coach who can win games and recruit at a high level. Let's not talk about winning "the big one" for now. Right now, the Hokies just need to get back into that conversation, and Franklin is great for them in that regard. Getting into the conversation is one thing. Staying there is another, and it's worth noting that one college football commentator, former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III, thinks this will be the move that helps put VT back in that stratosphere. “Virginia Tech will become an ACC contender year in and year out with James Franklin as Head Coach,” Griffin said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. James Franklin will need time to turn things around at Virginia Tech It's one thing to be excited about this move for the Hokies because it is a big-time hire for them. To say that they'll be a contender "year in and year out" is a bit of a premature statement at this moment, though. Franklin can absolutely get them there, but it's going to take time for him to rebuild this program. The Hokies have pledged to put $229M into the athletics budget over the next four years, and you can bet a ton of that is going to go to Franklin so that he can hire good coaches and attract players with big-time NIL deals on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal. The Hokies haven't had a 10-win season since 2016, though, so even in this era when quick turnarounds are possible, giving Franklin a year or two of cushion would be smart. His getting VT to the top of the ACC every season is an idea that also flies in the face of the reputation that he earned at Penn State. Sure, the ACC is in no way as stacked as the Big Ten, but Clemson, Florida State and Miami are huge brands with a ton of money and momentum behind them that won't be going anywhere. Though Franklin did get PSU into the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff last season, it's worth remembering that he was 4-21 against AP top-10 opponents at Penn State and 1-18 against top-10 opponents from within the Big Ten. That's a .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams, and that's not going to get magically better just because he's coaching in the ACC now. If he's going to get Virginia Tech back into the college football limelight, it's going to be much harder than just showing up when "Enter Sandman" starts playing. He's certainly talented enough of a coach and recruiter to do it, but let's pump the brakes and let him get settled into his new office before we start talking about Virginia Tech once again being a top program.
Bobby Petrino has 'unfinished business' in Arkansas after he 'hurt everyone' in 2012 scandal
Cowboys' Jerry Jones has made a decision about George Pickens
The Dallas Cowboys made a big gamble in the offseason. On paper, adding George Pickens to the mix was going to work wonders for the passing game. However, Pickens had a long history of character issues, and watching Mike Tomlin essentially give up on him wasn't an encouraging sign. Fast forward to today, and the Georgia product has finally shown what he's capable of. That's why he may not be going anywhere. Jerry Jones wants to keep George Pickens around Cowboys insider Jon Machota of The Athletic reported that Jones affirmed that he's willing to spend big bucks to keep Pickens around, even though he's already committed more than $60 million a year to defensive tackles. Jones had previously been more tight-lipped about this situation, claiming that money would obviously be a factor to consider. But after watching Pickens haul in nine receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown in the 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, he may have changed his stance. Jerry Jones gushes about George Pickens' performance Following the win, the Cowboys owner/GM had nothing but praise for the former second-round pick. "Pickens was — I’ve never seen a performance like that. It was poetic the way that he was making those moves out there. It was like he was in an opera or something out there. A ballet," Jones said, per Pro Football Talk. Character concerns aside, Pickens has all the talent in the world, and his tandem with CeeDee Lamb is one of the most explosive in the league. He's up to 58 receptions on 83 targets for 908 yards and seven touchdowns in his first 10 games with the Cowboys, and he's looking at a big payday this offseason.
Major domino falls for Yankees with Trent Grisham decision
Outfielder Trent Grisham is accepting his $22.025M qualifying offer and will return to the New York Yankees in 2026, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Players who accept a QO are considered free-agent signings and are thus ineligible to be traded prior to the following June 15 unless they consent to the move. Trent Grisham had a breakout season It’s at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate that saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month, and a thin outfield market in free agency, the stars seemed to align for him to pursue a weighty multi-year contract this winter. Instead, Grisham returns to the site of his breakout and will hold down a key role in an outfield that’s also currently slated to include Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. The Yankees are interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger, have been linked to Kyle Tucker and also have DH Giancarlo Stanton at least loosely in the outfield mix. (He played 132 outfield innings in 2025.) How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the Yankees? Grisham’s return muddies the waters a bit, but GM Brian Cashman said recently that even if he accepted, it wouldn’t impact the team’s pursuit of a new deal with Bellinger, via the New York Post’s Greg Joyce. The Yankees wouldn’t have made the QO to Grisham if they believed his acceptance was a roadblock to bringing back Bellinger or signing Tucker. They’re surely glad to have him back. Even though his defensive grades took an unexpected downturn in ’25, he has the best defensive track record in center of the Yankees’ in-house options. While Grisham could have looked to cash in this winter, he’ll instead take a hefty one-year payday in what amounts to a bet on himself. Though he’s a left-handed bat, his power output was hardly a product of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch. In fact, Grisham hit just .195/.326/.376 at home this season, compared to .254/.364/.506 on the road. If he can replicate this year’s huge power production, he could hit the market next offseason on the back of consecutive plus seasons at the plate and without the encumbrance of a qualifying offer. A big enough showing this year could realistically position Grisham for a $100M+ contract — particularly if his defensive grades rebound, too. The looming potential for a work stoppage is one other wrinkle to consider, but if anything, today’s glut of QO decisions suggests that players aren’t necessarily going to shy away from short-term deals that put them on the open market next year — at least not en masse. Grisham is one of four players to accept the QO, joining Gleyber Torres, Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff in that regard. In a vacuum, any one of the four accepting his QO wouldn’t be considered a major surprise — but all four accepting in the same offseason is downright atypical. This marks the first time since the inception of the qualifying offer that more than three players have accepted a QO. With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees’ projected payroll for the upcoming season jumps to about $263M, per RosterResource. They’ll now have about $286M of luxury-tax obligations, placing them just over the third penalty line. That means that the Yankees’ top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by 10 places, unless they’re able to sneak their luxury count back under $284M. Given the wide swath of offseason dealings that’s likely still on the table for Cashman and Co., that doesn’t seem to be a very likely outcome. In all likelihood, the Yankees will wind up in the top CBT penalty tier, just as they’ve done in each of the past three seasons. How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the rest of MLB? Turning to the rest of the league, Grisham’s early removal from the free-agent market — to a team that didn’t clearly need to retain him, no less — subtracts arguably the top center field option from the market. Bellinger, of course, can still play center but barely did so in 2025. Most teams probably consider him more of a corner outfielder/first baseman who can play occasional center field. Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins are the two most notable options still on the market, though the former has been more of a part-time player and the latter is looking to bounce back from an awful 2025 showing. The market was light on center fielders to begin with and is even more so now, so teams looking for help at the position might be more inclined to turn to the trade market to address that deficiency.
Concerns continue to mount after No. 12 Kentucky's latest loss
After falling to in-state rival Louisville for the first time since 2020 last week, No. 12 Kentucky had its second test of the season on Tuesday night when it took on No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. The end result was no different, with the Wildcats falling, 83-66. In fact, the performance was even worse than one week ago as similar issues presented themselves once again. Kentucky's defense is a problem Michigan State entered the night shooting 21.7% from three-point range. Kentucky allowed the Spartans to go 11-of-22 from deep and 32-of-64 from the field overall. That came one week after Kentucky gave up 96 points to Louisville as it continues to struggle getting stops. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 24 and fell behind by at least 15 points in the first half for the second time this season. The issue, though, was not just on defense. Kentucky just simply looked lost on both ends of the floor and could not get any rhythm going on offense, shooting 35% and just 7-of-30 (23%) from long range. It only had 13 assists the entire game. For comparison, Michigan State sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 assists by himself, speaking to the lack of chemistry and ball movement in the halfcourt. Senior guard Otega Oweh was Kentucky's leading scorer, but he only had 12 points (4-of-12 FG), which speaks to the lack of a go-to option for the Wildcats. There just seems to be some disconnect within this group at the moment. ESPN's Kris Budden reported that Kentucky's players were "barking at each other" in a timeout while trailing by 14, which prompted head coach Mark Pope to step in and tell them to get on the same page. Whatever the issue is, there is a clear chemistry problem with Kentucky right now, and the road ahead only gets tougher. A pair of home games against Loyola (MD) and Tennessee Tech will give them some rebound opportunities, but a brutal nonconference slate lies ahead, beginning with No. 18 North Carolina on Dec. 2. The season is still young, but if Kentucky does not improve its defense and get on the same page, the concerns will only grow larger as this team looks to find its identity after another disappointing loss.
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