I’m happy to finally share and release I project that I’ve spent the past several months creating: The Charlotte Hornets Roster Rundown.

It’s exclusive to SportCLT Paid Subscribers, and within it you’ll find comprehensive information on every single player: strengths and weaknesses, goals for the upcoming season, quantified value, contract information, projected stats, and so much more.

Additionally - and this is the feature I’m most excited to see you all use - you’re able to build your own rotation with Hornets players and simulate the season.

• You can prioritize youth and see your players develop more as a result, or you can prioritize winning and let the veterans run the show.

• If you make the play-in or playoffs, you can simulate each individual result.

I truly believe this is the best team-specific guide ever created for a Charlotte sports team, and I’m excited for you all to view and interact with it.

N.C. State picked up its first ACC win of the season last week after a promising 31-28 win over a favored Louisville team.

The victory sent sparks of hope through Wolfpack Nation as the team looks to shake off a rocky start and get back to where its fans hoped it’d be coming into 2026.

N.C. State received a more favorable conference schedule compared to other ACC hopefuls, but it’s not without its challenges.

The team was tested right out of the gate with a game against 2025 ACC runner-up Virginia to open the year and failed, losing 34-8. That loss looks even worse in recent weeks as the Cavaliers are also playing below their preseason expectations.

Everyone saw the late-game collapse in its lone Power Four non-conference game against Vanderbilt. Solid play from quarterback C.J. Bailey was forgotten as he fumbled away the win in the end zone with no time left.

Even in a win over App State, the Wolfpack looked like they could be in for a long season.

Coming into the game against Louisville, it felt must-win for both sides. The Cardinals started the year as the No. 24-ranked team in the nation. They were projected as one of the ACC’s more talented programs and expected to compete for a spot in the conference title game.

They’ve since dropped completely out of the polls, and after the State loss, fell to 2-3 on the season. So, should Wolfpack fans actually feel good about a three-point win they nearly squandered again in the second half? Or was that game actually a turning point in the Wolfpack’s season?

How the team performs during its next slate of games will decide that.

Carolina rivals and California challengers await

The Wolfpack will look to clear another hurdle this weekend as Wake Forest makes the trip to Raleigh. The Demon Deacons have been one of the surprise teams in the ACC this season, sitting 4-1 overall, with a respectable loss to Miami.

This is the start of a four-game stretch that sees the Wolfpack play two strong-standing in-state rivals with a pair of California contests in between.

After Wake, the Wolfpack will travel to Stanford, host Cal and host undefeated Duke. If N.C. State can knock off one, or even both, of its fellow North Carolina schools and take care of business against the West Coast teams, the Wolfpack should head into its final three games near the top of the conference standings.

However, if things go south, N.C. State’s highest expectations will become unachievable, and the team will have to settle for another year of middling results.

The Wolfpack will be underdogs against Wake Forest, despite the home field advantage. The Demon Deacons have earned the right to be favored with wins over Stanford, Louisville and Purdue.

Quarterback Gio Lopez has flourished in his new spot, sitting fifth in the ACC in passing yards, sixth in touchdowns and has thrown just one pick this year. Slowing him down will be a must for the Wolfpack defense. Forcing the team to rely on the run could be an avenue to cooling Wake’s offense. The rushing attack has been sound, but not nearly as explosive for the Deacons.

On the flip side, this game should be a great opportunity for Bailey to shine against a defense that is currently 13th in the ACC at stopping the pass. He’s coming off a career-high 373 yards against Louisville.

The ground game will still need to be a viable option, and Wake has been much more successful in stopping the run, holding both Louisville and Stanford under 100 yards on over 30 carries.

Duke Scott has looked good this season for N.C. State but left the game last week with an injury. He’ll miss at least the Wake game, so the load falls on backup Davion Gause.

Regardless of who’s in, if both teams’ previous outings are any indication, this could be an exciting shootout.

State will get a week of rest after the Wake game, and should be favored against Stanford and Cal, setting up an interesting meeting with Duke down the line. The Blue Devils have been another surprise team, jumping to a 4-0 start, featuring wins over Tulane, Illinois and Stanford.

While more untested than the Demon Deacons, Duke has perhaps the best playmaker in the ACC on its team in Nate Sheppard. He will be a handful for any team the Blue Devils play this season, but stopping him is the key to stopping that offense.

Duke’s defense is another story. So far, the Blue Devils have looked like one of the top defenses in the conference, holding three of four opponents to seven points or less. Duke also has the second-best defense in terms of yards allowed per game, just behind Miami.

These next few weeks should give everyone a clearer picture of Duke’s ceiling as the team gets deeper in ACC play. By the time the Blue Devils and Wolfpack face off, it could just be for bragging rights, but it could also have legitimate ACC championship implications.

Week 5 was a separation Saturday across college football, and the Carolinas are no different. The cream rose to the top, and the rest shrunk when the spotlight was brightest. Below are my takeaways from the various games across the Carolinas and what it means for each program.

South Carolina

As of today, head coach Shane Beamer remains in charge at South Carolina; however, his seat is scorching hot after a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky. The Gamecocks have looked helpless the last two seasons, and when South Carolina manages to find occasional success, it regularly ends with blowing the lead. Beamer’s Gamecocks built a 17-0 lead in the second quarter and appeared to be firmly in control against Kentucky. However, South Carolina once again vanished around halftime and blew the lead by the end of the third quarter. Despite forcing overtime, South Carolina still lost after allowing the Wildcats to clinch a win with a wide-open pass on a two-point conversion.

There’s only so much goodwill that a coach can build up without making the College Football Playoff. Beamer’s first four years were successful in my eyes, after posting winning records in three of four seasons, defeating rival Clemson twice, and falling just shy of the playoff with an impressive nine-win campaign in 2024. The program appeared to be climbing into the upper half of the SEC. The recruiting also looked promising as the Gamecocks regularly landed blue-chip prospects and dominated in-state recruiting. Then the program collapsed, and nothing has gone right since 2025. The Gamecocks are now just 2-11 against Power Four competition the last two seasons, and it’s now been over a full calendar year since South Carolina won an SEC game.

The roster isn’t in dire shape. The offensive line has improved and running back Matt Fuller is emerging as a star. Various defensive players have flashed in spurts, including cornerback Vicari Swain and edge rusher Anthony Addison. Yet everything remains inconsistent. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers is taking plenty of criticism for his regressions, which is most evident by his erratic accuracy. Still, the issues go beyond him when receivers drop passes, defensive backs bust in coverage, and the defensive line fails to generate pressure, especially in second halves.

The schedule will only get harder for South Carolina, with teams like Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee still on the schedule. Beamer used most of his options to buy time in previous seasons, such as staffing changes. One lever that Beamer could still pull to try to save the season is a quarterback change and replace Sellers with Cutter Woods as the starter. It’s the nuclear button of options, and even with that option, it is likely already too late for Shane Beamer to turn around and save the season.

NC State

Entering Saturday, the Wolfpack faced Louisville in a must-win game for both sides. The Cardinals are a more talented squad, but NC State jumped ahead for a 28-14 lead. For the third week in a row, the Pack blew a double-digit lead, but managed to hit a late field goal and escape with a 31-28 win. The victory is NC State’s first in ACC play and gives the Pack a very narrow path to still make the ACC title game. Now holding a tiebreaker over Louisville and facing a relatively easy schedule moving forward, NC State has an opportunity to make its move for a big season, despite the disastrous start to the year.

One thing became quite clear about the Wolfpack when facing Louisville: NC State can’t win games in a low-scoring defensive fashion as head coach Dave Doeren typically has throughout his career. Instead, the Pack will need to put up points in bunches and play opportunistic defense to force turnovers. The Wolfpack forced five fumbles and recovered three of them, including arguably a season-saving forced fumble by edge rusher Harvey Dyson late in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Popo Aguirre Jr. set a program record by recovering three fumbles, showcasing the instincts that allow him to always be near the ball. It certainly wasn’t a vintage Wolfpack defensive performance with several missed tackles mixed in, but the defense did enough to support the offense.

Quarterback CJ Bailey tore apart the Cardinals’ secondary with 373 passing yards in what was Bailey’s best showing of the season. It’s no secret that Bailey is talented, but a slow start to the season quieted hype around the junior. For the first time this season, Bailey appeared to trust all his weapons and distributed the ball to several new additions, including receiver Jojo Trader, who had five catches. It’s critical that Bailey gets the passing game going as the Wolfpack is dealing with key injuries on the offensive line and at running back. Backup running back Davion Gause stepped up admirably with 21 carries, but was a clear step down from starter Duke Scott.

Overall, NC State’s still not winning pretty, but has quietly turned the season around. With a huge game hosting Wake Forest coming up this week, NC State will face another tough test before the bye week. After the bye week, the schedule truly opens up with several winnable games. Can Doeren’s team capitalize? Often Doeren does his best work in the back half of the season, so there’s reason for optimism. However, every NC State fan also knows that expectations are Doeren’s worst enemy.

Subscribe now

North Carolina

Yes, North Carolina lost by double digits when hosting Notre Dame. However, the 37-26 loss to the Fighting Irish was an encouraging sign. The Tar Heels fought hard and nearly tied the game with a kickoff return touchdown to open the second half. However, a botched PAT killed momentum, and Notre Dame pulled away. Still, this result would have been unthinkable last season, and it’s a sign that head coach Bill Belichick is slowly fixing things in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heel defense struggled against Notre Dame, which shouldn’t be a shock given how talented the Irish are. Failing to record a single sack, Notre Dame QB CJ Carr had enough time to pick apart the Heels’ defense. With little pressure on Carr, the Tar Heels also failed to force any turnovers, despite rainy conditions that often present chances for chaos. Furthermore, Notre Dame successfully established the run and averaged over five yards per carry. To get back in the win column, UNC will need more from its defense. Outside of a game against Miami, however, Carolina won’t face many offenses like Notre Dame’s.

QB Billy Edwards saw his share of struggles, which included a pair of picks in the first half that nearly buried the Tar Heels. However, there were signs of life as multiple weapons stepped up to support Edwards. Receiver Jordan Shipp looked outstanding with a team-high seven receptions, while tight end Jelani Thurman remained a reliable option for Edwards. If the running game can make improvements, which there is reason to believe Benjamin Hall is growing nicely into a lead back, the Tar Heels will have a potent enough offense. Next week’s matchup against Pitt, who lost starting quarterback Mason Heintschel to a torn ACL this week, will be pivotal for Carolina. Despite the scoreboard, I’m buying stock in the Tar Heels this week.

Clemson

Miami walked into Death Valley and did what Clemson did for years to teams: slowly but surely torch an underdog’s upset bid. With the ABC primetime treatment, Clemson found itself on a familiar stage. However, the magic of head coach Dabo Swinney is gone, and so are the primetime wins for the Tigers. There was never much doubt during this game that Miami would win; the question was simply how bad would it get for Clemson.

Going into the game, I expected Miami to be able to name a final score and then post it. While it wasn’t quite that lopsided, as the Hurricanes only won 41-13, there were very few bright spots for the Tigers. Freshman QB Tait Reynolds couldn’t keep pace with the explosive Miami offense, despite throwing for nearly 300 yards. Receivers Bryant Wesco Jr. and Tyler Brown did a good job of getting separation and combined for 19 catches. However, the rest of the Clemson offense looked incapable of challenging Miami.

Defensively, the Tigers were bludgeoned in the run game. Running backs Mark Fletcher Jr. and Javian Mallory time and time again. The only time Clemson wasn’t worn down in the run game was when QB Darian Mensah found his go-to receivers Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate for explosive plays through the air.

The reality for Clemson is that the Tigers are nowhere near elite and will be fighting to simply achieve a winning record. I’d expect Clemson to be an underdog in at least three more games this season when facing Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Duke. Even if Clemson can pick off one of these games, handle business against weaker ACC competition, and close the year with a win over rival South Carolina, the standard won’t be met. Until further notice, Clemson is an average ACC football program, a far fall from its recent glory as a model program of the sport.

As the dawn of a new campaign for the Charlotte Hornets starts, I have just one question for all of the Hornets faithful — aren’t you glad they got that one out of the way?

Make no mistake, the preseason opener between the Nets and the Hornets was a messy, wet sloppy slog (mainly in the 2nd half). The slogginess (if that’s a word) only exacerbated by the fact that Kon Knueppel, Coby White, Grant Williams, Christian Anderson and Brandon Miller weren’t playing. Plus, it’s preseason basketball where you might see 50% effort by most vets during these games as everyone’s trying not to get hurt.

That said, the fact that the Charlotte Hornets are dealing with this many injuries within two weeks of camps opening is another kick in the nuts to a fanbase that might be tired of getting hit below the belt. Whether or not this is the basketball gods toying with the Hornets on these injuries, this fanbase can only take so much after management removed the offensive engine that made a 44-win team go.

Which is why it was imperative that the Hornets at least show some sort of concept of a plan tonight. Unfortunately that was not the case. What fans will likely remember (if they were still watching) is a second half that quickly went off the rails and reminded fans of the all-too-real growing pains that this team is going to have to face.

Hopefully, Sunday’s game vs. Milwaukee might be a better glimpse into what the plan might be.

• Despite the slog that was the 2nd half, the 1st half showed promise: Grayson Allen spraying 3’s, Naz Reid punishing switches, Royce O’Neal having a great floor game. Point Sion (sort of) working. The Hornets, when there was proper adult supervision, were a watchable bunch that if you squint, you might begin to see the vision with this team.

• Liam McNeely, rotation player: The 1st half was a mixed bag for me, for one, Liam had a hard time not fouling. Where I struggle with Liam’s performance is that you can CLEARLY see an NBA rotation player in there at minimum, but there are some things he clearly needs to clean up (largely his handle). His 14 points in the 3rd quarter is truly the only reason to watch this game again. Were they largely open threes and simple drives? Yes. But need I remind you that we’re not all that far removed from DaQuan Jeffries donning a Hornets jersey and playing crucial minutes for this squad down the stretch. There’s a part of me that hopes Charles Lee and the coaching staff locks Liam in a room and has him watch nothing but Sam Hauser film. Because a properly developed Liam McNeely isn’t just an NBA rotation guy, but he could also be a guy on the podium after swinging a crucial playoff game (and series) with his shooting.

• Ryan Kalkbrenner, the invisible 7-footer: It’s rare when you can say that a 7-footer had a relatively non-descript game. But that’s kinda what Ryan Kalkbrenner did on Tuesday night. Outside of one challenge at the rim, what was even semi-memorable about his performance. What makes this worrisome is that Kalkbrenner came into the league slightly older and to this point through summer league and one preseason game, hasn’t shown that he’s added much to his game so far.
  
  If this team is to take another step, they’re going to need Kalkbrenner not only to change more shots at the rim in this upcoming campaign, but also add some scoring punch of the non-dunk variety as well. If we’re talking about the Hornet that probably concerned me the most in that Nets game, it’s Kalk. Which leads me to …

• The clock is ticking on Tidjane: Long time readers of Dispatches know I’m a Day 1 Tidjane guy, but it’s year 3 and there’s negligible growth between Rookie Tidjane and Year 3 Tidjane (so far). The annoying part is that if you take a look at the 1st half performance, when all he does is defend, shoot the open jumper and not try to do to much, he’s fine. The problem is that when left to his own devices (like in the 2nd half), the kid tries to experiment, try to dribble into the paint and end up firing up a fadeway layup that at 6’10 he’s just too damn big to be doing at this stage of his career.
  If I’m honest, there’s a part of me that’s accepted that if Tidjane turns into an NBA player that it won’t be in Charlotte. But at the same time, those that want to tell me that the italicized if in my statement is doing yeoman’s work, you’re right.

Carolina waited eleven years for another audition to host on Sunday Night Football. After nearly a decade, the NFL scheduling committee decided to give the NFC South champions a test against a potent Detroit Lions offense, perhaps expecting Carolina to fail.

Well, to the shock and possible dismay of most of the people who picked the winner of this game, the Carolina Panthers passed the test.

Entering Week 4, Detroit had scored 31 points in each of their first three contests, and were looking to face a Carolina defense recently bereft of its two star corners.

Despite the deficiencies, Carolina held Detroit to a season-low 26 points, and took home the 32-26 victory.

Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but the Panthers showed the world that they are ready for more primetime games and are a force to be reckoned with, particularly on offense.

Fresh off of the win under the lights, let’s take a look at how the Panthers were able to pull off the home “upset.”

Defensive Gameplan

One of the keys to victory in last week’s preview column was having this banged-up defense keep everything in front of them. Without Horn and Jackson, it was always going to be difficult to try and man up against the Lions’ elite weaponry.

Credit to Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero, because outside of a few poor reps from Akayleb Evans, this defense did just what I asked them to.

Yes, Jared Goff ended the game with a whopping 412 passing yards on 52 (!) attempts, but the vast majority of those yards were dink-and-dunk throws that Carolina wanted Detroit to get.

In the run game, star tailback Jahmyr Gibbs only rushed for 46 yards on 15 attempts (3.1 yards per carry). Carolina’s linebackers, corners, and safeties were flying down in run support, stuffing Gibbs at the line and cleaning up any second chances.

And all of this success came without a real threat of a pass rush for 99% of the game! Carolina’s DL was unable to consistently pressure or move Jared Goff off of his platform, but did an excellent job at getting their arms up to bat or tip passes.

Derrick Brown is one of the best in the league at this, and had himself a few bats in this contest.

Aside from Brown, LB Devin Lloyd was phenomenal in his return after missing the game against Cleveland. Lloyd directed and helped nullify the Lions’ otherwise-potent run game.

Perhaps the most impressive defensive performance came from rookie corner Will Lee III. Lee, primarily covering Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams through the course of the game, was excellent.

Not only did Lee help lock down the Lions, but he also was part of the 4th down stop that ended the game for Carolina. In summary, Lee answered the call, stepping in for Horn and Jackson.

The same can’t be said for Evans, who allowed well over 150 yards in coverage, but that’s an issue the Panthers can look to address during the bye week.

Sure, Carolina’s defense gave up yards, but against one of the best offenses in the league, they hunkered down when they needed to, and helped give the offense opportunities to put up points.

And boy, did the offense put up some points.

Offensive Masterclass

For three weeks, everyone has been asking Carolina and Brad Idzik to get the run game working. With the entire nation watching, they finally pulled it off.

Not only did Chuba Hubbard rush for 122 yards on 20 carries (6.1 yards per carry), but the ability to set up the run went much smoother as well.

In Carolina’s first three matchups, it’s safe to say the offensive line got bullied in the run game. Against Cleveland specifically, Hubbard was routinely hit in the backfield, ending run plays before they even began.

Against Detroit, Carolina helped the offensive line by leaning into 12 and 13 personnel (2 and 3 tight ends on the field) looks, giving Hubbard more blockers to work with.

It certainly helps that the Detroit Lions don’t have as stout a DL unit as Chicago, Atlanta, and Cleveland, but Brad Idzik and the offensive line still deserve credit for helping create the lanes that haven’t been there this season.

Hubbard being able to take advantage of better looks was also a function of a nearly-unstoppable passing game, led by Bryce Young.

Young had another excellent performance, adding 329 yards and two touchdowns to his season totals. Bryce Young still leads the league in passing yards (1268) this season, and has yet to have one of the inconsistent performances that had plagued his first few years in the NFL.

With Jalen Coker absent in this matchup, star receiver Tetairoa McMillan was the main recipient of Young’s distribution of the ball. On the night, TMac had 14 receptions, 192 yards, and two touchdowns - all career highs for the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Carolina’s triumvirate was unstoppable. Whenever Detroit would attempt to change their defensive looks, Carolina would have answers. The RPO (run-pass option) game allowed Young to dictate how the defense would respond, setting up easier looks throughout the rest of the game.

In summary, Brad Idzik and his offense were ready for whatever Detroit could throw at them. And when the Lions would zig, Young and the offense would zag. The high-octane offensive performance culminated with both fans and players giving chants that we haven’t heard in Carolina in a decade.

Where Are We Now?

Despite the highs of winning a shootout in primetime, the injuries continued to pile up for an already-depleted Panthers squad.

In the 4th quarter, both EDGE Jaelan Phillips and OT Monroe Freeling left the game and did not return. Dave Canales was hopeful in his Monday press conference that both players would play in Week 6 - losing even more starters isn’t something the Panthers need right now.

Fortunately, the Carolina Panthers have the earliest-possible bye week this season. Sure, you’d like to have a bye week later in the year to rest up for a potential playoff push, but no team needs a break right now more than the Panthers.

A Week 5 bye week also gives the opportunity for players placed on injured reserve to be activated and see their first football of the season. Guys like RB Trevor Etienne, OL Brady Christensen, and OT Taylor Moton could all be coming back to the team over the break.

Getting back anybody at this point would be huge. The Panthers have a date in Philly following the bye, and a division matchup against Tampa Bay soon after. Carolina’s remaining schedule tracks to be even more difficult than the first four games, so reinforcements are desperately needed.

For a team to have to wait eleven years for their shot on the big stage of Sunday Night Football, the Carolina Panthers understood the assignment.

From a downpour of offensive firepower to a tailor-made defensive scheme, the Panthers were ready for battle and emerged victorious.

With showings like these, Sunday Night Football will be back soon - ready to show off the Whitewater Center, Rural Hill Corn Maze, Reed Gold Mine, and just how passionate the Carolina Panthers fanbase can be.

With the Carolina Panthers on their bye week, there’s no better time to announce SportCLT’s new merch line, including the Queen City Skyline tee.

Use code “CLTJACOB“ to get 10% off your first order at merchclt.com!

I’m incredibly excited and grateful to be able to share one of the many projects that we’ve been working on: Merch by SportCLT.

From the very beginning of SportCLT we knew that there would be an opportunity to create quality, Carolina sports-based merchandise with our own unique style and flavor.

And before I go any further, I wanted to first thank all of our readers for believing in the vision of SportCLT. As a token of that appreciation, we’re offering everyone that reads this announcement a $5 off coupon to use on our first product launch at merchclt.com.

Code: MERCHCLTLAUNCH

Offer expires October 9th at midnight.

The Vision and Some Transparency

Before we committed to creating a physical product, we wanted to ensure it would be of a high standard, affordable, and fit the SportCLT brand.

We have an in-house designer, Zachary Branham, who created every graphic and print you’ll see. His vision drove the visual and artistic style of everything we created.

We priced our shirts to be as inexpensive as possible. Everything T-shirt launched today is at most $30 (and at most $25 if you use the coupon above) and made with a Comfort Colors shirt rather than a cheaper brand that will see the merch immediately shrink in both size and quality.

We are currently planning to do a new product line every month, so you’ll consistently see new, unique, and quality T-shirts and merchandise. We’ll have hats, embroidered products, hoodies, and dedicated women’s merchandise in the very near future.

Now, I get to actually show off the merch, starting with one I think you’ll like a lot.

The “Hum Diddly Dee” tee is one of my favorites, and one imprinted in Charlotte’s basketball culture. You can purchase this shirt HERE.

One of the other products we’re launching is this “Skyline” tee. We tinkered with the design over a few weeks until landing on this final version, which makes for a really nice back-of-tee print. This shirt also features our flagship pennant logo on the front of the shirt. You can purchase this shirt HERE.

I won’t go over every product in detail, but just know there was time, effort, and a lot of focus put into the quality of each shirt. I’ll include some of the other products in the image gallery below.

It’s nearly time. After almost 11 years, the Carolina Panthers will host Sunday Night Football at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Panthers will don their all black uniforms and helmets to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

There is a lot at stake in this game. Not only are the Panthers trying to show the schedule-makers that they belong more on primetime, but the team is also trying to avoid the dreaded 1-3 start to the season.

In both of the previous years of Dave Canales’ tenure at Head Coach, Carolina has started 1-3. Both of those seasons resulted in losing records.

A 1-3 doesn’t necessarily mean the season is over, but it certainly doesn’t help for a team that entered the season with playoff aspirations. If Carolina wants to avoid being behind the eight ball before the bye week, a victory is much-needed.

With the stage set, let’s take a look at what the Panthers need to accomplish on Sunday in order to enter the bye week without a losing record.

Keys to Victory

1) Stay healthy

Easier said than done for this Panthers team so far, but Carolina cannot afford any more crucial injuries this early in the season. To date, the following players have already missed at least one game or are slated to miss the matchup against Detroit:

• Ickey Ekwonu

• Damien Lewis

• Taylor Moton

• Brady Christensen

• Chris Brazzell II

• Xavier Legette

• Jonathon Brooks

• Nic Scourton

• Pat Jones

• Bobby Brown III

• Turk Wharton

• Devin Lloyd

• Jaycee Horn

• Mike Jackson

• Nick Scott

Most of these players are starters/key contributors to their positions. In order to survive not only the matchup in front of them, but the prolonged NFL season, Carolina must get through one week with a relatively clean bill of health.

2) Get the run going

Offensive Coordinator Brad Idzik has stated just how important the run game is to this offense. Still, the Panthers have not been able to have a successful run game through three weeks of NFL football.

As we saw in Cleveland, if the offense is one-dimensional, even if Bryce Young has a high-output performance in the pass game, it won’t always lead to wins.

Detroit presents a unique matchup in fielding many backups on defense. Being able to get the run game working on the outside, where reserve defensive backs will have to make tackles is one way to try and build the run to compliment the pass.

Using backs other than Chuba Hubbard is key as well. Outside of one series against the Browns, AJ Dillon didn’t see the field, even on short yardage scenarios. New practice squad callup Tre Tyus didn’t touch the ball once on offense.

Having a stable of running backs that can spell Chuba Hubbard for a few drives will allow the team captain to stay fresh and be able to work late into games as a runner.

3) Keep everything in front on defense

For perhaps the first time ever, this column is imploring Carolina to deploy the softer zone defensive coverages. With the absence of both Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn, it is imperative that Ejiro Evero help out the reserve corners with more zone looks.

Because the Lions are so potent and able to score at will, keeping everything in front and not allowing them to beat the defenders over the top is almost the only way to stay in this game.

Will Lee III and whoever is his running mate on the other side of the field have their work cut out for them. The defense can’t afford to have Lee bite on any double moves in this contest.

4) Win the shootout - don’t let up

It it apparent that Carolina’s defense, ravaged by injury, will likely give up a lot of points. Fortunately, Detroit is in the same boat - both starting safeties have been out all season, and the Lions defense is porous along the back end.

In order to win this game, Carolina will have to outscore Detroit. I know, this isn’t necessarily hidden wisdom, but the odds are that this game will be a high-scoring affair.

For Carolina to win, it is imperative to limit mistakes and score on as many drives as possible. And by score, it needs to be touchdowns, not field goals. Don’t shy away from being aggressive in moving the chains just because it didn’t work in Cleveland.

The more touchdown drives, the better.

Perhaps it’s being hopelessly optimistic as a Carolina sports writer, but the Panthers absolutely have a chance to win this contest.

Like the keys above state, scoring a ton of points will be the path to victory for Carolina in the Sunday Night Football battle of the big cats.

Being 2-2 at the bye week wouldn’t be half bad for a team sporting as many injuries as Carolina is to this point. In order to make that happen, the Panthers will have to do something they still haven’t done through three weeks - play a complete game.

Late Wednesday (9.30) morning, Carolina fans were hit with some tough news. Star corner duo Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson were both placed on injured reserve, missing at least the next four games each.

Coming into the season, corner was probably the strongest spot on the Panthers roster. Compared to the rest of the NFL, Carolina had one of, if not the best set of starting corners.

Now, after just the third game of the season, the Panthers will be without their stars along the back end of the defense for the foreseeable future.

Head Coach Dave Canales indicated in his presser on Wednesday that Horn and Jackson are both expected to return to the team, but it will be much later in the season.

Unfortunately, Carolina’s options at corner are both limited and bad. With a date on Sunday Night Football with the Detroit Lions coming up, let’s take a look at what Carolina can do to patch up the corner conundrum in the interim.

Internal Options

Any list that Carolina has made in replacing Horn and Jackson has to start with Will Lee III. The fourth round pick rookie has already seen significant playing time this season, and has had both really good and really bad reps.

The initial plan with drafting Lee was to allow him to learn as a boundary corner, while Jaycee Horn got to move inside to the slot on tougher assignments. Lee’s experience (albeit limited) on the outside is actually a positive going forward, as he will most likely have to be one of the boundary corners for the next handful of games.

Where Lee will have to improve is in keeping his eye on both the ball and his assignments, too often has he been out of position on deep, developing route concepts.

As the de facto CB1, Lee will be thrust into the most difficult matchups that he could possibly see (when in man coverage). In the long run, this will likely help his development, but in the short term, expect some big plays courtesy of Lee.

Carolina’s remaining in-house options are as follows:

• Akayleb Evans, mainly special teams/reserve corner

• Chau Smith-Wade, has mostly played the slot, smaller for an outside corner

• Corey Thornton - practice squad

• Robert Rochell - practice squad, just signed in wake of Horn and Jackson injuries

• DeVonta Smith - rookie UDFA, practice squad

• Zion Childress - practice squad

At least for Week 4, expect to see a lot of Akayleb Evans and Chau Smith-Wade. Both of Evans and CSW have reps on game day, and are the most familiar with Ejiro Evero’s system.

Going forward, however, it’s hard to see the Panthers not looking externally for corner help. The team can’t and probably shouldn’t be comfortable with leaving a rookie and mainly special teams players alone against some of the better offenses in the NFL.

Free Agent DBs

If Dan Morgan wants to avoid giving up draft capital, which has been his M.O. through most of his tenure as General Manager, then the free agency market is the place to turn to for help.

While the Panthers internal options don’t inspire confidence, the free agency market is probably worse. Here are the top corners on the market, according to Spotrac:

The market is even thinner than it appears, as Kenny Moore has already signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

If Carolina is serious about replacing Horn and Jackson with high-end talent, there is one more option.

Trade Targets

Sending draft capital or players away is never a palatable choice, but if Carolina wants to fill the void with a bit more talent than what is currently on the roster or in free agency, making a trade might be the best choice.

Joey Porter Jr. is a popular name among trade talks, as he has wanted and not materialized a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers following the extensions of other top young corners.

While Porter would certainly be the most talented of likely available options, he doesn’t necessarily fit the zone-heavy scheme that Ejiro Evero tends to deploy.

The cost in a Porter deal would likely be too rich for Carolina to give up as well. It’s been rumored that the Steelers would want a 2nd round pick for Porter, and I can’t see Morgan parting with such a high draft pick for someone that doesn’t necessarily fit.

Another name that could make since is LA Chargers and former Carolina corner Donte Jackson. After signing in LA in free agency a few seasons ago, Jackson has lost the starting role to the young corners the Chargers have developed.

Jackson was certainly an up-and-down player among the fanbase, but would cost much less than Porter and is familiar with the Carolinas.

Good corners often aren’t available for trade, especially in-season. Any other name would likely be on the edge of another team’s depth chart, and at that point, it probably makes more sense just to play the players familiar with Carolina’s system.

Potentially 8+ weeks without your top two corners is close to a death sentence for a defense. If Carolina doesn’t make at least some low-level moves while waiting for Horn and Jackson to return, the secondary will likely be a huge weak point.

Both the fans and the Panthers alike will have to hope for the development of Will Lee III and other corners on the depth chart to hold it down for the time being.

One quarter of the college football season is in the books! Texas has risen to the top, Georgia isn’t far behind, and many Southeastern Conference teams have found their way into the Week 4 AP Poll.

Week 4 is significant around the college football landscape.

Most of the Power 4 teams have started conference play, we’ve usually gotten fun, ranked matchups by this point, and teams have started separating themselves as College Football Playoff contenders.

As you can tell by the title, this week’s focus will be on the SEC ranked matchups that have taken place this past weekend. We got upsets, blowouts, and everything in between.

Today, let’s look at the most talented conference’s biggest week of conference play so far, and how those games impacted the draft stock of some of the country’s best players.

Florida stuns Ole Miss

One of the most anticipated matchups of the week brought Ole Miss, hot off of their victory against LSU, down to The Swamp to face a feisty Florida offense.

Unfortunately, with Kewan Lacy absent, we weren’t able to get RB1 vs. RB2. Still, RB1 Jadan Baugh showed out, putting up another ridiculous stat line of 142 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries.

Baugh’s backup Duke Clark also had a day, rushing for 126 yards and his own touchdown. Clark isn’t eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft, but is someone to keep an eye on.

In total, Florida mustered 6 rushing touchdowns and 52 points against an Ole Miss defense that doesn’t lack for talent. Defensive lineman Will Echoles held his own against the dominant Florida rush attack.

Echoles has been one of, if not the best interior defensive lineman in the country this season. With matchups against Texas, Georgia, and the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State later in the season, he will become a household name quickly.

Ole Miss’s offensive stars did their part as well. Trinidad Chambliss had three total touchdowns on the day. His lone passing score was to speedster Deuce Alexander, who was really the only player to get going against the Gator defense.

Alexander will be a name to watch more as draft season starts to heat up. His strong route-running, combined with near game-breaking speed have drawn comparisons to former Alabama star Jameson Williams.

While I’m not quite there yet on Alexander, his tantalizing traits will certainly have his name pushed up when the evaluation process starts in earnest during early 2027.

Mississippi State defeats Missouri

The 2028 QB-off did not disappoint. Both Austin Simmons and Kamario Taylor were able to light up each other’s defenses, leading to a pretty fun game.

Taylor began and ended the game with 14 point quarters, showing off his arm and the unstoppable moon ball it produces. Taylor ended up with 360 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a win.

Taylor’s main recipient of these passes was Anthony Evans III. The former Georgia Bulldog, Evans is already off to a hot start this season, leading the entire SEC in receptions at 28.

While not the biggest or strongest, Evans is a reliable target that is able to churn yards after the catch. Should he continue his pace, he would likely end up around 1200 yards and 12+ touchdowns, numbers that are hard to ignore in the preliminary draft process.

On the other side of the ball, Simmons diced up the Bulldogs’ defense, throwing for his own 295 yards and three scores. The main target for Simmons is this game was Cayden Lee, a transfer from Ole Miss.

Lee, just like Evans, is another 4th-year intraconference transfer that is making waves on his new team. Lee is a bit smaller, but has the speed and ball skills to burn defenders deep.

Both teams and their quarterbacks are rewarded after this matchup with more ranked games. Mississippi State will host (7) Alabama this weekend, and Missouri gets to host (8) Florida.

Texas barely holds off Tennessee

In the battle of the oranges, Texas ultimately held off a Tennessee team that didn’t want to play until the second half. While the previously-mentioned games were hallmarked by strong offensive play, this match was all about the defense.

For starters, Longhorns edge rusher Colin Simmons had himself a day. The future Top 10 pick ended the day with 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and FIVE (5) sacks on true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon.

Five other players registered a sack for the Longhorns, as the defensive front just shut the Volunteers down. Pitt transfer Rasheem Biles had 11 tackles and a sack to himself.

Tennessee’s defense got after the quarterback as well, producing six sacks on Arch Manning. Senior linebacker Arion Carter led the way with 11 tackles.

As good as the defenses were, the quarterback play was equally as poor. This was Brandon’s first test as a highly-recruited true freshman, and he did not pass.

For Arch Manning, a strong performance against a ranked team in his senior season would’ve been nice, but the Tennessee defense turned it from his usual up-and-down play into a pretty poor performance.

Both teams will have the opportunity to bounce back soon. Tennessee faces off against Auburn this week, and Texas gets a bye before the Red River Showdown on October 10.

LSU gets back on track against Texas A&M

There isn’t much to say about this game other than LSU avenging their horrible loss from last season to the Aggies. The Tigers dominated A&M in this match, finishing the day with a 35-6 victory.

LSU’s offense had a field day, with Sam Leavitt throwing for 312 yards and two scores, and multiple skill players scoring two touchdowns a piece. Leavitt has had a disappointing start relative to the expectations he garnered transferring from Arizona State, so a stable performance was good for him.

Where the focus needs to lie in this game is on Texas A&M quarterbacks Marcel Reed.

Reed helped lead the Aggies to a near-undefeated season in 2025, relying on pushing the ball deep to star receiver Mario Craver. Ultimately, Reed was good enough to help send A&M to a playoff game.

With expectations that Reed would improve this season, he has done nothing but disappoint. Too often are the red flags from last season - slow processing, bad decision-making, lack of field vision, etc. - showing up this year.

A&M has added weapons on offense as well, but it just isn’t materializing for Reed. There are still eight games to go, and plenty of time to turn the season around, but Reed and the Aggies offense has been one of the major disappointments to start the 2026 season.

Alabama embarrasses South Carolina

If what LSU did to A&M was a strong win, than this was an embarrassment for South Carolina. In a matchup that has been surprisingly difficult for the Crimson Tide over the past few seasons, Alabama handled the Gamecocks, 49-18.

During last week’s column, I placed Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell in the “standby” section, as someone who could potentially be a first rounder in 2028’s NFL Draft. It’s safe to say we don’t have to be on standby anymore.

In his fourth game as a starter, Russell put on a show, going 21/27 for 365 yards and four touchdowns. Russell also ran for one score.

Four different Alabama players carried the ball multiple times, star receiver (with his gloves back on) Ryan Coleman-Williams had a two touchdown performance, and blocking tight end Josh Ford had an early entry for catch of the year.

On defense, Red Morgan added another touchdown (pick six), linebacker duo Caleb Woodson and Luke Metz combined for 24 tackles, and star edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre registered another half-sack.

Outside of the first drive on both sides of the ball, there wasn’t much Alabama did that wasn’t a positive.

For South Carolina, this was a strong opportunity for LaNorris Sellers and the offense to get back on track following a collapse against Mississippi State. While running back Matt Fuller was able to make a few good plays, the offense mostly didn’t work for the Gamecocks.

Sellers continued his slower, indecisive play in this contest, ultimately only ending up with one touchdown and one interception against a Tide defense that was missing multiple rotation players.

The opportunities aren’t going to get much easier for the Gamecocks offense throughout the rest of the season. SC has dates with Kentucky (24), Florida (8), and Tennessee (17) all in a row, and faces Georgia (2) and Clemson in consecutive weeks to end the season.

If Sellers doesn’t revert back to his redshirt freshman form, his draft stock may continue to plummet.

Despite the Gamecocks offensive woes, the story of this match was the meltdown of star edge rusher Dylan Stewart. Stewart, who nursed a back injury entering the season, did not have a strong performance.

He ended the game without a tackle or sack (albeit on limited snaps), and picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. To be frank, Stewart is lucky he wasn’t penalized more, as he got away with punching Alabama players throughout the game.

This is not the first time Stewart has accumulated penalties of this nature. Ever since starting as a true freshman Stewart has drawn superfluous penalties that have hurt the team’s chances at winning.

Ultimately, Head Coach Shane Beamer has decided to suspend Stewart following his conduct in the loss to Alabama.

It’s unclear when, or if Stewart will play again this season. What is clear is that Stewart’s own conduct has likely hurt his draft stock, should he choose to enter in 2027.

Someone who was once thought of as a lock to be drafted within the Top 5-7 picks, may see his stock drop due to concerns not related to his immense talent.

Georgia dominates Oklahoma

Probably the most boring of last week’s SEC matchups was Georgia’s rout of the Sooners. In what became a 41-13 victory, the Bulldogs led from the start and never looked back.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton had a pretty pedestrian day, by his standards, only throwing for 171 yards and a score (plus an interception), while rushing for a net of 0 yards.

The Bulldogs defense did most of the heavy lifting - linebacker Chris Cole ended the day with 8 tackles and a sack. Sure, Georgia is a stout defense, but Oklahoma made it easy for them.

Continuing with the theme of once-hyped quarterbacks that have let down expectations, Oklahoma QB John Mateer has had a rough start to the season.

Mateer, the former Washington State transfer, got off to a strong start to the 2025 season before suffering an injury to his throwing hand, forcing him to miss time. Since then, Mateer has been average at best and destructive to his team’s chances at worst.

It’s hard to envision Mateer returning to form given his recent play, but the Sooners may need to see it quickly if they want to get the season back on track.

Oregon overcomes USC

This one clearly isn’t an SEC matchup, but the game between the Trojans and the Ducks was one of the more significant contests over the weekend.

Early in the game, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore suffered a horrible hit to the upper body, which removed him from the game and ultimately resulted in a concussion. Thankfully, Moore seems to have avoided major complications, but is in the concussion protocol.

When Moore went out of the game, backup and former 5 star quarterback Dylan Raiola was tasked with stepping in, and boy did he deliver.

In Raiola’s first real action of the season, he posted 19/25 passing, for 289 yards and two touchdowns on the way to leading Oregon to the win. In total, Oregon finished the game with over 500 yards and with 41 points against a previously-unbeaten USC team.

While the circumstances are the opposite from ideal, Raiola’s willingness to test defenses downfield and operating quicker in the pocket may be just what the Ducks needed to get their season back on track.

Earlier in the year, the offense would stagnate and seemed lifeless, but with Raiola under center in this game, the talent that Oregon has at its disposal seemed to come to life.

If Raiola is forced into starting multiple games, Oregon’s playoff chances could be back on track, given Raiola is able to operate at a similar level compared to what he did against USC.

For Dante Moore, the most important thing is coming away healthy and ready to play whenever the team needs him again.

Player of the Month

There have been many impressive players across the first month of the college football season. Some of them have been expected, guys like Colin Simmons and Jadan Baugh were already on the radar.

Someone who was not on my personal draft shortlist to start the season is Cal safety Kingston Lopa.

Lopa spent his first two seasons at Oregon, redshirting his first year and getting into the rotation with Dillon Thieneman in year two. Now, as a starter for Cal, Lopa has lit the college football landscape on fire.

Through four games, Kingston Lopa has 20 tackles, one tackle for loss, and FIVE (5) interceptions, with 104 interception return yards and one pick six.

Lopa has been an absolute revelation for the Golden Bears, who, despite being 2-2 to start the year, can get into shootouts with anyone behind the arm of Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele.

If Lopa even keeps up half the pace of his first four games, he will be in strong consideration of going in Round 1 of a stacked 2027 NFL Draft.

Player of the Week

I couldn’t go an entire month without mentioning a performance from who many consider to be the best player in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Through four games, Jeremiah Smith leads all of FBS with 617 yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Last week’s performance may have been the most impressive of that total.

Against Illinois, Smith amassed 217 yards and four touchdowns on 12 receptions. Unreal numbers for the majority of receivers to have ever played college football, but just another Saturday at the office for Smith.

Smith has already set the Ohio State record for most receiving yards from a Buckeyes player, and will likely break both the receptions and receiving touchdowns school records as well.

It’s hard to see Smith slowing down, and if he doesn’t we’ll be discussing him in rare air among the likes of DeVonta Smith, Randy Moss, and Larry Fitzgerald.

Don’t think that the ranked SEC matchups are over just yet. Despite some teams sliding down the rankings, there are still plenty of fun games to watch this weekend.

Keep your eyes on these particular matchups, including College Gameday’s first trip to Iowa City in twenty years!

• Pitt vs. Virginia Tech (Friday)

• Notre Dame (3) vs. North Carolina

• Vanderbilt vs. Georgia (2)

• Florida (8) vs. Missouri (25)

• Clemson vs. Miami (4)

• Alabama (7) vs. Mississippi State (16)

• Ohio State (3) vs. Iowa (14)

Subscribe now

Expectations were not very high for Duke’s football team heading into the 2026 season.

The Blue Devils are coming off a surprise ACC championship win in 2025, their first since 1989, but had nothing but negative headlines in the offseason.

Quarterback Darian Mensah entered the transfer portal at the 11th hour to go to Miami and took top receiver Cooper Barkate with him. Duke fought the move in court before eventually settling and having to turn elsewhere in the portal with very limited options.

At the start of the year, the Blue Devils were projected to finish 10th out of the conference’s 17 teams. Duke had one of the lowest percentages of returning contributors in the ACC, and many other teams made more notable additions.

However, four games in, Duke is looking a lot better than the 10th-best team in the ACC. In fact, the Blue Devils look like they can make a run to a second straight ACC championship appearance and are on the verge of an AP top-25 selection.

Here’s what they have to do to get there.

Keep leaning on their Heisman-level running back

Everyone knew sophomore running back Nate Sheppard was going to be a focal point of the Duke offense, but few expected his impact to be this profound.

Sheppard enters this week as the nation’s leader in rushing yards, running for 644 in Duke’s first four games. Against Tulane, he ran for 227. He had 147 against Illinois. He ran for 154 more in the win over Stanford, and last week against William and Mary, he had 116 yards on just nine carries.

His contributions haven’t stopped on the ground as he’s been a viable weapon in the pass game, catching 10 balls for 70 yards. He’s found the end zone nine total times this year.

“The level he’s playing at right now is as good as any running back that I’ve seen,” head coach Manny Diaz said during a recent appearance on the ACC Network. “The best stat about Nate is everyone knows to stop Duke, you’ve got to stop number 20, and he’s had 100 yards at halftime in [our first] three games.”

Nobody has been able to stop him, and Duke’s approach so far has been, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The Blue Devils have relied heavily on his production to open up other aspects of their offense. While other teams are busy watching Sheppard, things start to open up downfield for new QB1 Walker Eget.

That makes Duke’s offense dangerous.

As the Blue Devils get deeper into ACC play, it will be important not to lose the identity they’ve established early. Sheppard proved last season what he can do against conference competition. You just have to be sure to keep him healthy.

Maintain their success on both sides of the ball

In Diaz’s first two seasons, one side of the ball has always been significantly weaker than the other.

In 2024, the Blue Devils had the ACC’s seventh-best defense, but sixth-worst offense. 2025 saw the team produce the conference’s highest-scoring offense, but the Blue Devils allowed the fourth-most points.

This season, the team is looking a lot more balanced. Duke enters this week in the ACC’s top-10 for both offense and defense. They’re getting production from both new and returning players, and against William and Mary, some of the young guys got to shine.

Receivers Kavon Simmons and Javion Solomon each caught a touchdown pass. Linebacker Bradley Gompers led the team in tackles, and future potential starting quarterback Dan Mahan got some run.

“Run the football on offense, limit big plays on defense and make people have to earn it,” Diaz said. “That’s gone back, stood the test of time on how to win a football game.”

Duke is outscoring teams 145-44 so far this year. 27 of those points came in one game against Illinois.

The Blue Devils look greatly improved on the defensive line, showing no problems generating pressure. The offensive line is holding strong and creating gaps in the run game. Even the special teams unit is setting Duke up with favorable position most times out.

The schedule will get tougher, and there are a few areas the team can improve on.

Duke will have to limit explosive plays and generate some of their own on offense. The team will also need to clean up its penalties. It could and has cost the program games in the past.

The Blue Devils should be favored in their next four outings against Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia and Boston College.

If Duke can make it through that stretch with little to no damage, it could set up a very interesting meeting on Nov. 14 against No. 4 Miami and their former quarterback Darian Mensah.

Continue developing their vertical passing game

While Nate Sheppard is the center of Duke’s offense, the Blue Devils will need to continue working on their downfield passing attack to balance things out and avoid becoming one-dimensional.

Eget has looked a lot better since a rocky first outing against Tulane.

He was excellent in the narrow win over Illinois, going 15-of-21 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. However, he looked a little less efficient in the win over Stanford, completing 14-of-24 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

In the win over William and Mary, he looked closer to what he did in the Illinois game, connecting on 16-of-22 attempts for 182 yards and two touchdowns before being pulled to rest.

Even though the numbers have looked solid, the team has lacked any form of explosive plays in the pass game. Before William and Mary, it was mostly check-downs and dump-offs.

The Blue Devils finally broke through against the Tribe and had multiple successful passes deep downfield. Duke scored its first 20+-yard passing touchdown of the season, and then did it again four times after that.

Obviously, future opponents won’t be William and Mary, so time will tell whether Duke continues trending in the right direction.

It won’t all be on Eget. The receivers will also have to step up, and someone will need to separate themselves as a viable first option.

Jeremiah Hasley, Jonah Burton and Solomon have led the way so far.

“What we’ve been seeing in practice is now starting to show up on game day,” Diaz said. “ When those guys would get confidence, look out because we really think we’ve got some talented young receivers.”

Avoid the same mistakes that burned them before

Duke is currently experiencing one of its most successful four-year stretches in program history. It is by far the best stretch in the team’s modern era, but one can’t help but feel they could’ve achieved more.

Despite winning the ACC last season, Duke was left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff field because of its 8-5 overall record.

The Blue Devils’ non-conference losses to Tulane, UConn and Illinois, plus its two ACC losses to Georgia Tech and Virginia, were too much for the committee to overlook. Three of those games were winnable, and perhaps winning just one of them would’ve put the team in the playoff.

Even in prior seasons, Duke has lost crucial games that kept it out of ACC title contention. Last-second scores, game-changing penalties and careless losses have followed the team from the Elko era.

Duke took advantage of the ACC tie-breaker system last season, but those rules are gone. This year, the team will need to avoid the midseason bump that previously knocked it off the path to contention.

That means winning the games you’re supposed to, and stealing one or two you aren’t.

Well, the Panthers played a football game on Sunday.

I’m not quite sure you could call it a full game, considering the woes on both sides of the ball, but the Panthers were certainly present and on the field in Cleveland. The problem was, the Cleveland Browns were wholly overprepared and wanted the win more.

From the offensive line being gashed, to more defensive soft spots in coverage, to a litany of key injuries by the end of the contest, Carolina was woefully outmatched.

It’s worth highlighting the positives of this game before getting too deep into the doom and gloom. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald was a perfect 4/4 on field goal attempts (he did not take any extra point attempts).

New receiver and former Alabama teammate of Bryce Young John Metchie III had his first touchdown as a Carolina Panther. Brycen Tremayne was also effective in relief of Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, totaling 83 yards on four receptions.

Maema Njongmeta, in his first game this season, forced a fumble on the second half kickoff, which Thomas Incoom recovered.

Alright, that’s it. It’s hard to say there was much more positive about this game.

Despite the score finishing 21-18, Carolina was thoroughly dominated during this contest. Let’s take a look at what happened to allow such a loss, and see if the issues shown in this game are fixable in the short term, or if they portend worse losses down the line.

Schematic Defensive Issues

It wouldn’t be a Panthers review without a critique of how the defense is deployed. In fairness, this side of the ball played well for portions of the game. Mainly in the second half, the defense forced multiple punts to give the offense the chance to take a 12-10 lead.

However, the same points that this column, along with every Panther fan on social media brings up, were still present. The soft coverage/playing far off of the line to gain on money downs has to stop.

On the first play of the second quarter, Cleveland had a 4th and 3 opportunity on the Carolina 38 yard line. A stop means a turnover on downs with decent starting field position.

To the boundary, Akayleb Evans, in relief of Mike Jackson, is lined up eight yards off of the line of scrimmage. As I mentioned above, Cleveland only needs three yards to convert. This is a cushion of five yards.

Deshaun Watson takes the snap and finds KC Concepcion for a four yard gain, moving the chains.

Luckily for the defense, Cleveland committed a plethora of penalties on this drive that would back them out of field goal range, resulting in no points and a punt back to Carolina.

The result of no points on this drive doesn’t matter - giving up 3rd and 4th downs because of a soft scheme has been an issue over the past four seasons. It’s largely how Carolina lost in the playoffs against the LA Rams.

A soft, zone-heavy scheme might work if Carolina could get pressure with four rushers, but throughout every game this season, Carolina’s front has failed to contain quarterbacks in the pocket even when they get pressure.

Too often was Deshaun Watson able to turn back the clock seven years and scramble around the pocket to find open receivers. Frankly, the Panthers are lucky he was pretty inaccurate on the day, otherwise the 21 points allowed would look much larger.

While talent may have been an excuse through Weeks 1 and 2 in this department, both Jaelan Phillips and Pat Jones played in this game. These are your two big-bodied edge rushers that can set the edge while rushing, but failed to do so during the majority of this contest.

It gets to a point where if the talent can’t make plays, no matter who is out there, you have to start looking at the top for answers. The brass in Carolina have largely been noncommittal when it comes to defensive changes, but something has to change going forward.

All due respect and credit should be given to Cleveland for being ready and prepared to win in this game, but the Browns are not the Lions, Bengals, Ravens, Eagles, Saints, Seahawks, etc. on offense.

If Carolina’s defense doesn’t tighten up soon, playoffs will be the least of this team’s concerns.

The Offensive, Offensive Line

Entering Week 3, Bryce Young was the most-pressured quarterback in the NFL, having faced 31 pressures in two games.

Against Cleveland, Young faced 30 pressures, almost doubling the already league-leading season total.

There was such dysfunction among the blocking patterns that Young would often step up into the pocket to avoid pressure, only to get hit by another rusher.

The hog mollies didn’t fare much better in the run game. Chuba Hubbard was hit behind the line of scrimmage on multiple occasions, and only once AJ Dillon came in for a series late in the game did the run start to become viable.

Getting the run game going has been an issue all season - this team cannot continue to be one-dimensional on offense. Bryce Young, broken and battered from this game was still able to throw for 291 yards and a score, but it wasn’t enough.

Perhaps the worst part about this is there isn’t much to do in terms of change. Aside from simply waiting for Taylor Moton or Ickey Ekwonu to return to the lineup, Carolina will likely have to stick with what they’ve got. And what they’ve got isn’t great.

Mason Graham alone had seven pressures, as well as two sacks, one of them being on the 4th down attempt that seemingly sparked Bryce Young’s injury.

For the most expensive offensive line in the league, this can’t continue to keep happening. Yes, Ekwonu and Moton aren’t playing, but there have been plenty of resources invested in this unit to keep being the worst in the league.

And with Damien Lewis’ injury, it might just keep getting worse.

Injuries

Injuries aren’t necessarily something to try to find fault or blame, they’re just an unfortunate part of the NFL game. Carolina has been one of the most injured teams this season, and on Sunday, the list of injured players got much longer.

In this game alone, Carolina had the following players sustain injury:

• CB Jaycee Horn

• CB Mike Jackson

• iOL Damien Lewis

• QB Bryce Young

• WR Jalen Coker

This isn’t even taking into account that LB Devin Lloyd, S Nick Scott, and WR Xavier Legette all didn’t play vs. Cleveland.

The most significant of these injuries belongs to Jaycee Horn. As reported on Monday, it is feared that Horn tore his quad, and will likely be placed on the injured/reserve list.

Horn is probably the most important piece of Ejiro Evero’s defense. With the addition of Will Lee III this offseason, Horn was moved around a lot more on defense, going into the slot and following receivers like Drake London throughout the game.

Without Horn, Carolina will likely have to use each corner in stationary spots, making the defense even more predictable for opponents.

This prognostication isn’t even considering the possibility of Mike Jackson also missing time. If both of Carolina’s top corners can’t go, things on defense will begin to look dire quickly.

The possibility of looking outside the league for corner help can’t be ruled out. Dan Morgan has been hesitant to trade picks for players, but losing someone of Horn’s (and possibly Jackson’s) caliber may force Morgan’s hand to find a suitable replacement.

Jalen Coker’s injury is also concerning. Without the talented receiver in the game, the passing attack fell apart. Tetairoa McMillan has struggled to separate this season, and without Coker on the field, Cleveland was able to hone in on TMac to shut him down.

Coker entered the week with a nagging ankle injury, and left the game with a quad. If the injuries Coker has sustained make him unable to go against Detroit, this team is in for a rough time under the lights.

This was a rough one. Like I mentioned above, the 21-18 score isn’t necessarily indicative of the performance Carolina gave in this contest.

The Panthers were the more talented team going into this game, Cleveland just out-coached and outperformed the Cardiac Cats. Individual efforts like dropping multiple interceptions, or fumbling a 2-point conversion attempt certainly don’t help either.

Carolina will have to take stock of some rough injury luck, and take a long look in the mirror and at the tape before Week 4. For the first time in eleven (!) years, the Panthers will be hosting Sunday Night Football.

If the Panthers want to avoid embarrassment under the lights, these issues that have been persistent and obvious need to be addressed. Otherwise, Sunday will be the first of many national performances that don’t go their way.

Coming into the season, this was likely the least interesting game in the eyes of a lot of Panthers fans. Cleveland has long been the laughing stock of the NFL, and despite hiring a new coach, there didn’t seem to be a lot of faith in the Browns.

This sentiment was exacerbated by new Head Coach Todd Monken naming local pariah Deshaun Watson as starter instead of the fan-favorite Shedeur Sanders, and then promptly getting blown out in Week 1 in Jacksonville.

Then, in the middle of a monsoon in Tampa, things changed. Watson led his team from a 16-6 deficit to a 23-19 victory, throwing two touchdowns in the second half to finish the comeback.

Cleveland’s defense also played well in this game, but the uncharacteristic clean and confident play from Watson is what sealed the win - and likely his spot as the starter for the Brown’s home-opener this weekend.

While myself and every other Carolina fan are grateful for Cleveland beating the Buccaneers last week, the Panthers cannot let them get two in a row.

Not only would that put Carolina at 1-2 in a suddenly-contested NFC South, but the road schedule for the Panthers is much less favorable later in the season (GB, PIT, MIN, PHI, TB, NO) compared to the games before the Week 5 bye.

For a team that has struggled on the road during the Bryce Young era, the Panthers need to take as many as they can get.

Carolina is currently by 2.5 points on the road. Let’s take a look at some of the keys the Panthers need to hit in order to start a road win streak, and a win streak as the pre-game favorites.

Keys To Victory

1) Make Watson uncomfortable

As I mentioned above, Watson’s clean game in Tampa is not necessarily the norm. Throughout his time in Cleveland, Watson’s much-maligned statline reads 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in 21 games across four seasons.

Creating pressure on Watson will be important in this matchup. Coming into the season, Cleveland has fielded an entire new cast of starting offensive linemen who have never played together before.

Rookies Austin Barber and Spencer Fano have looked promising, but are still rookies that can be schemed against with matchups against the Panthers defensive front.

This will need to be a big game from guys like Jaelan Phillips and Pat Jones, as limiting the run and containing in the pass game can makes things fall apart quickly for Watson.

The health of the defensive front seven will be something to watch as the week progresses.

2) Contain Cleveland’s young weapons

One way to make life difficult for Watson on Sunday is to contain the explosive ability of the Browns young skill players. Between Harold Fannin Jr, Denzel Boston, and KC Concepcion, the Browns have a bevy of explosive pass-catchers that can do damage.

Boston in particular has had a strong start to his rookie season. The young receiver is averaging 77 yards per game and has two touchdowns, one of which helped spark the comeback victory in Tampa last week.

Concepcion and Fannin are also unique matchup problems. Concepcion is a pure speedster that, if given the opportunity, could take advantage of the soft coverage the Panthers like to deploy.

Fannin is a yards after catch (YAC) machine, and can cause trouble matching up against linebackers and safeties that struggle with coverage. If Carolina is forced to play reserves in this game due to some early injuries, Fannin will be a point of emphasis on defense.

3) Keep trying the run

Yes, Bryce Young has been on an absolute heater to start the season as a passer. But, the Panthers still need to find a more balanced approach on offense, especially early in the season before the competition gets a bit tougher.

Finding footing in the run game may be more difficult than anticipated with the placement of Jonathon Brooks on IR, but Carolina still needs to push through.

Against Tampa Bay, Cleveland allowed 137 yards rushing, a number that would easily be the Panthers season-high.

Getting Chuba Hubbard, AJ Dillon, and practice squad call-up Tre Tyus each a good amount of touches against a weaker run defense should be enough to get a strong run performance started for this season.

If the run doesn’t work, at least Brad Idzik has shown he can lean on Bryce Young.

4) Erase penalties

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Panthers blowout win in Atlanta was the performance of the offensive line. Against a beleaguered Falcons defensive front, Bryce Young was pressured on 51% of his dropbacks, and the run blocking was much better.

Despite all of this, the part that is most concerning in my opinion were the penalties. Throughout the entire first half, penalties from the offensive line disrupted the progress made by Young and the skill players.

Rob Hunt alone had three penalties on the first two drives, almost knocking Carolina out of scoring range.

Through two weeks, Carolina ranks top five in both penalties accepted and penalty yardage - numbers would do not want to see.

If reckless and undisciplined play continues, it may end up losing games for the Panthers down the stretch.

There’s a lot at stake for Carolina this week.

Sure, it’s only Week 3, but stealing a second consecutive road win, and having two wins this early in the season would be massive in terms of playoff positioning.

In the Bryce Young era, the Panthers have gotten their second win in each of the following weeks:

• 2023 - Week 15, vs ATL 9-7

• 2024 - Week 9 vs NO, 23-22

• 2025 - Week 5 vs MIA, 27-24

For a team with playoff aspirations, the Panthers need to stack road wins and early wins.

Both of those can be achieved with a strong performance in Cleveland.

Subscribe now

The 2027 NFL Draft Class is one for the ages. There are talented players at every position that continue to make plays every week that deserved to be talked about.

Unfortunately for those wide receivers, edge rushers, etc., those darn quarterbacks keep stealing the spotlight.

After one quarter of the season under the belt of most teams, there have been a number of QBs that have displayed why they need to be given recognition.

In our Week 1 Draft Report, I mentioned some of the quarterbacks whose names were already pretty well-known among most of draft fans. Today, I’d like to talk about even more QBs that have shown out during the first few weeks of the college football season.

At the risk of leaving even more QBs off the list, let’s take a look at some of the signal-callers making a name for themselves.

Spotlight

During Week 1’s report, I mentioned how Lincoln Kienholz was a QB that had an up-and-down opener, and needed to show some more. Well, he clearly reads this column, and decided to prove what he can do.

In an incredible match between SMU and Louisville, the Cardinals prevailed for a ranked win and a boost in the ACC standings, behind the legs of RB Keyjuan Brown and behind Kienholz’ stellar play.

Kienholz’ yardage total on the season was actually at its lowest in this game (177 passing), but three total touchdowns and limiting mistakes allowed Louisville to consistently move the ball down the field and score.

An interesting trait about Kienholz that may go under the radar is his running ability.

In the prior three seasons, Louisville’s starting QBs have posted the following rushing stats:

• Jack Plummer - 98 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD

• Tyler Shough - 42 carries, 19 yards, 1 TD

• Miller Moss - 54 carries, -65 yards, 9 TDs

Through only three games, Kienholz already has 32 carries for 153 yards and four touchdowns.

It should be noted that sacks are registered as rushing yards in college football, so Kienholz already having more rushing yards than his predecessors is even more impressive.

Again, it’s early. But Kienholz firmly has my attention. It’s going to be hard to dethrone someone with the pedigree of Arch Manning or the pure talent of Drew Mestemaker (if he declares) for the QB1 spot, but Kienholz is certainly on his way to inserting himself into that conversation.

Showstoppers

One of the byproducts of the NIL era and players being granted more and more years of eligibility is the burying of players on depth charts, forcing them to transfer. Lincoln Kienholz is a perfect example of this.

Maybe the poster child of this new landscape is Trinidad Chambliss (who had himself another huge game against LSU), who after taking the starting role last season, has fought for and been granted another year at Ole Miss.

The player he replaced at Ole Miss, Austin Simmons, had to transfer to Missouri to get his chance, and he has not disappointed.

Through three contests, Simmons has accumulated 652 yards and 8 touchdowns, but it isn’t the counting stats that have Simmons on my radar.

Simmons’ traits are incredible, the ball absolutely flies off his hand.

Yes, the competition the Tigers have faced has not been elite, but Simmons has shown the ability to operate his offense and use his arm to access every area of the field. I’d like to see Simmons use his mobility more as a weapon, but he hasn’t really had to so far.

Simmons is still only 20 years old in his third season playing collegiate ball, so his ceiling is still much higher than what he’s already shown. While he could declare for 2027, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him stay and play for the 2028 NFL Draft Class.

Another member of the 2028 Class will be Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor.

Unfortunately, Taylor is still a sophomore, but like with Cal’s JKS, Taylor will be discussed for much of this upcoming draft cycle as someone teams can’t wait for.

Through three games, Taylor has amassed 832 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, and a rushing score. This past week in Columbia, SC, Taylor absolutely dominated the Gamecocks defense, dissecting the secondary with his arm.

I’d go as far as to say no quarterback has been as impressive as Taylor through the first quarter of the college football season. This week, we’ll get a fun matchup between Taylor and Simmons as the Tigers travel to Starkville for Taylor’s SEC home opener.

After facing (19) Mizzou, Taylor and Bulldogs face quite the gauntlet:

• (8) Alabama

• (10) LSU

• Oklahoma

• (1) Texas

• Vanderbilt

• Auburn

• A relief game against Tennessee Tech

• (4) Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl

If Taylor can keep up his pace through a plethora of ranked conference opponents, we might see the first underclassman Heisman winner since Bryce Young and Caleb Williams in 2021-2022.

And the scary part is - Taylor still has another year to go before being drafted.

Steady Hands

Aside from the Arch Manning’s and Dante Moore’s, CJ Carr was a name to watch entering the season as a potential top QB. So far, Carr has been pretty efficient, earning 726 passing yards and 6 touchdowns on 72.6% completion. Carr has also rushed for one score.

Perhaps it’s because Notre Dame hasn’t faced an impressive opponent yet, but Carr’s name has somewhat flown under the radar. However, Carr has quietly been one of the best deep passers in the nation.

On passes 10+ yards down the field, Carr is 15/22, for 424 yards and 3 scores so far this season. Carr has also yet to throw an interception.

Once Carr’s Fighting Irish face more prominent opponents ((9) BYU, (6) Miami, and (22) SMU are all in the second half of the season), he will become more of a household name.

Efficiency and willing to throw deep are traits that NFL teams covet; if Carr keeps it up we’ll hear his name on Night 1 next April.

Show Us Some More

Kamario Taylor’s opponent from last week, LaNorris Sellers, has had an up-and-down draft process so far.

Early in his career, Sellers looked to be a Cam Newton-lite prospect, someone with a massive frame, the strength to be hard to bring down in the pocket, and a massive arm that could hit every area of the field with ease.

Following a 2024 season where Sellers accounted for over 3000 total yards and 25 combined touchdowns, it seemed that he would continue to improve and fill the mold of an ascending prospect.

Unfortunately, partially due to injury and a poor offensive line, Sellers regressed a bit in 2025, totaling fewer touchdowns and more turnovers. Instead of declaring for the draft or transferring, Sellers decided to stay at South Carolina for one more season.

2026 will be huge for Sellers. If he can recapture the form he had in 2024, he can play himself into first-round talks with his talents. It seems like this season is off to a bit of a slow start, but a matchup with (8) Alabama could be the stage Sellers needs to show off his abilities.

The old school, stand-in-the-pocket statue quarterbacks with a strong arm are a dying breed. In today’s NFL, you have to have some semblance of mobility. Even the more pocket-passer type players like CJ Stroud, for example, can make you pay with their legs if you don’t contain.

Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey might be the last one. The Golden Gophers signal-caller had a strong sophomore season, but has only followed it up with 4 touchdowns through 3 weeks.

Lindsey will have the opportunity later in the season with (18) Michigan, (17) Iowa, (5) Indiana, and (13) Penn State to show off his arm. If he is unable to recapture some of the magic of last season, it will be an uphill battle during the draft process.

Standby

We’ve talked about JKS and Kamario Taylor as potential headlines of the 2028 NFL Draft Class, but Alabama’s Keelon Russell may have also just played himself into that tier.

After a few rocky offensive performances (despite the scores), Russell was absolutely electric against Florida State. In what became a 50-36 shootout, Russell dominated the Seminoles’ defense, adding 320 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 56 rushing yards, and a rushing score.

Russell is Kalen DeBoer’s first recruited quarterback to start for the Crimson Tide. With a pedigree of multiple first round quarterbacks (Michael Penix Jr (8) and Ty Simpson (13)), Russell could be on his way to becoming the next Bama QB to hear his name called on Night 1.

Player(s) of the Week

In keeping with the theme of offensive players, I wanted to highlight a player that drove his team to an upset win over then-ranked Top 10 Texas A&M.

Kentucky RB CJ Baxter, after a letdown against Alabama, bounced back for 115 total yards and two touchdowns on the way to upsetting the Aggies.

Baxter originally started his career at Texas, but injuries to his knee in 2024 slowed down what was once a promising start, following the lineage of players like Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathon Brooks.

Now, at Kentucky, Baxter has a chance to reignite his 5 star status and drive his name up draft boards.

With Florida’s Jadan Baugh and Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy, the running back class is in good hands. If Baxter can continue to show out, he can push his name toward the top half of the draft as well.

I know that I said QBs won’t be the only focus of this newsletter, and I stand by that. I promise that we’ll be highlighting more of the talented skill players, linemen, and defenders in this draft class as the season progresses.

With conference play started for everyone, here are some of the key Week 4 matchups to keep an eye on this week:

• (14) Tennessee vs. (1) Texas

• (18) Michigan vs. (17) Iowa

• (8) Alabama vs. South Carolina

• (12) USC vs. (20) Oregon

• (10) LSU vs. (23) Texas A&M

• (24) Mississippi State vs. (19) Missouri

• (21) Florida vs. (4) Ole Miss

Week 3 proved to be a chaotic weekend for college football teams across the Carolinas. With several teams playing big games, you’d expect to find answers to questions. Instead, I found myself asking more questions about most programs, with the lone exception being Duke.

Subscribe now

South Carolina:

I made my way down to Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend to watch the Gamecocks host Mississippi State. Despite jumping ahead to an early 16-0 lead, South Carolina managed to collapse and ultimately lost 41-34 in the SEC opener. This isn’t head coach Shane Beamer’s first mid game collapse. Last year the Gamecocks blew a 30-3 halftime lead at Texas A&M in what was one of the biggest collapses I’ve ever seen. USC has also blown double digits under Beamer against Florida in 2023 and LSU in 2024.

There’s still time for South Carolina to turn things around, but another blown lead heats up Beamer’s seat. The schedule will only get tougher with five AP top 25 teams remaining on the schedule, plus games against Kentucky and Oklahoma who just missed the cut. This season is likely the end of a window with edge rusher Dylan Stewart and potentially with other talented players like QB LaNorris Sellers.

One of the biggest issues for the Gamecocks is that LaNorris Sellers isn’t playing anywhere near his potential. After a genuinely elite 2024 season, Sellers hasn’t captured that same magic since. Now as a third year starter, Sellers somehow looks worse than when he played as a redshirt freshman. That’s an indictment on coaching for failing to put a talented player in a position to succeed.

Another glaring issue is Beamer’s game management. When holding a lead, USC regularly turns into a shell of itself by depending too much on the run. While milking the clock is important, that can still be done while remaining aggressive through the air. With a mobile quarterback in Sellers and playmakers like Nyck Harbor and Donovan Murph available, leaning too much on the run removes advantages and becomes predictable. Furthermore, it becomes more likely that when the offense does pass, it’s in third and long situations, leading to desperate throws and turnovers. I’d also add that Beamer’s early use of timeouts, which became a problem against the Bulldogs, creates an opportunity cost to save clock to score late in the half.

It’s also worth noting that the Gamecock defense grew worse throughout the game against the Bulldogs. Defensive coordinator Clayton White did a good job of making MSU quarterback Kamario Taylor uncomfortable early when he tried to attack the middle of the field. Good teams adjust though, which Mississippi State did by pushing their passing game towards the perimeter. Mississippi State found its first points by attacking the sidelines vertically and began to pick on cornerback Judge Collier, a talented player who lacks top end speed. This is just one of a few examples of the defensive backs being asked to take on matchups they are unequipped to handle. Moving forward, it’ll be critical to make better defensive adjustments.

Overall, South Carolina will need to find ways to hold a lead if the Gamecocks are going to be anything more than a five win team. Beamer’s teams have a tendency to significantly improve from September to November, but that won’t matter if they can’t find SEC wins early. The Gamecocks are too talented this season to afford a third losing season in four years, which is why I believe Beamer is coaching for his job for the first time during his time at USC.

NC State:

NC State legend Phillip Rivers once said “Wolfpack ain’t for soft people” in a speech to the 2016 Wolfpack football team. Those words have never been more true than this week after the Pack invented a new way to lose a football.

Leading by 3 points with just six seconds left at Vanderbilt, NC State had the ball on fourth and seven from its own five yard line. While a rare situation, it’s not challenging to navigate; the universal move here is to drop back and take a safety. If the Pack had done just that, NC State would leave Nashville with a 31-30 victory. Instead, quarterback CJ Bailey opted to roll to his right in the end zone in an effort to kill the clock with defenders in his face. The Commodores successfully punched the ball out from Bailey, who inexplicably was loosely carrying it with one hand. Vanderbilt of course recovered the fumble in the endzone and stunned the Pack 35-31, dropping NC State to 1-2 this season and continuing the Wolfpack’s 24 year drought of non-conference Power Four road wins.

You could blame Bailey for refusing to take the safety. You could also blame head coach Dave Doeren for failing to prepare Bailey for this situation. You could also blame Doeren for letting a fumble prone QB run the final play when backup QB Will Wilson was available and doesn’t have a fumbling problem. To me, this is a collective failure by both Bailey and Doeren. In a scenario where only several key mistakes could allow Vanderbilt to have a chance to steal the win, the Wolfpack made sure to make every mistake possible.

The other problem NC State needs to solve is avoiding being in a position where Vanderbilt can win at the end. The Wolfpack led 14-0 after the first quarter, firmly in control of the game. However, a recurring theme under Doeren is the refusal to deal the knockout blow when holding a lead. NC State’s drives in the second and third quarters finished as follows:

• Punt

• Field Goal

• Punt

• End of the First Half

• Interception

• Touchdown

• Punt

So what went wrong for NC State during that stretch? The Wolfpack tried to start draining the clock early and stubbornly stuck with the run. Unfortunately for the Pack, the offensive line failed to get any push, leaving running back Duke Scott helpless. Throw in an ill-timed interception plus Vanderbilt’s offense finally heating up and it became clear the Commodores would have a fighting chance in the fourth quarter.

Things turned truly disastrous in the fourth quarter. Defensive coordinator DJ Eliot, who’s struggled with in-game adjustments throughout his time in Raleigh, once again failed to adjust when Vanderbilt fully committed to letting freshman QB Jared Curtis air it out in the fourth quarter. Reeling off 163 passing yards in the fourth quarter alone, NC State’s defense looked helpless against Curtis, who was making his first ever collegiate start. Even with a late interception by safety Brody Barnhardt, which should have put the game away, NC State’s defensive fourth quarter performance was shameful. Letting the Commodores hang around ultimately is the mistake that allowed the Wolfpack to become just the second team in the last 20 years to lose a college football game despite having the ball and the lead with 10 seconds to play.

Duke:

Buy stock now into Duke football. As crazy as it may sound, the Blue Devils look like the most competent football team in the Carolinas. I can only imagine how good Duke would be if quarterback Darian Mensah didn’t leave Durham at the eleventh hour in the transfer portal. Still, head coach Manny Diaz has built a roster built to win with enough playmakers on both sides of the ball to be dangerous.

As expected, Duke’s offensive attack is built around running back Nate Sheppard. Against Stanford, it took a quarter for Sheppard to get rolling, but by the time the second quarter began Sheppard was steam rolling through the Cardinal’s defense. Sheppard broke through the middle of the defense, cut to the left to avoid multiple defenders for Duke’s first touchdown, then caught another touchdown before halftime and punched another touchdown in early in the third quarter. By the end Sheppard racked up 154 yards with an average of 6.7 yards per carry. While Duke will face tougher defenses later in the season, I thought Sheppard’s elusiveness looked good enough to make him a force against better competition. Additionally, the Blue Devils have found a suitable backfield partner for Sheppard in running back CJ Campbell Jr., who enjoyed his best game of the season. Keeping Sheppard fresh is critical and Campbell is equipped to be the Robin to Sheppard as Batman.

The passing game remains a work in progress for Duke with quarterback Walker Eget. Known as a gun slinger at San Jose State, Eget showed his interception tendency early. Rolling to his right on an early 4th and goal, Eget tried to fit a pass into double coverage, which was picked off. Duke’s receivers will need to get better separation, but Eget also deserves blame for not looking elsewhere. With the gameplan focused on running the ball, Eget’s numbers don’t show it but he did settle in afterwards and continues to build chemistry with tight end Jeremiah Hasley, who led the team with five receptions and 88 yards. Moving forward, I’d like to see receiver Jaivon Solomon get more involved after making his first two catches of the season, including high pointing a deep pass down the sideline.

Defensively, Duke caused chaos up front and clearly made Stanford QB Davis Warren uncomfortable. Both edge rushers Tyshon Reed and Kevin O’Connor got multiple sacks, which is a positive sign for the Blue Devils after last year’s pass rush appeared inconsistent all season. Having a one-two punch off the edge sped Warren up and allowed the secondary to make plays. While Duke didn’t pick any passes off, they blanketed Stanford’s receivers and knocked away several passes.

Moving forward, Duke is a legitimate candidate to have a big season. I can’t envision the Blue Devils upsetting Miami on the road and a trip to Virginia will be challenging, however the rest of Duke’s schedule is incredibly manageable. Teams like Clemson, NC State, and Georgia Tech appear worse than preseason projections, while teams like Boston College and William and Mary pose very little threat. The talent is in place for Duke to win eight plus games this year and once again finish towards the top of the ACC standings.

Clemson and North Carolina:

I’ll keep my thoughts brief here as SportCLT will have a more in depth breakdown on the Clemson-UNC game. However there are a few things to take away from the Tigers 28-20 comeback win over the Tar Heels.

For Clemson, this is another example of the Tigers looking unprepared early. LSU made Clemson pay in Baton Rouge for a lethargic offensive performance, while Georgia Southern lacked the talent to take advantage of Clemson’s offense spinning in circles. Against UNC, it appeared that Clemson finally found a team of a similar caliber.

Head coach Dabo Swinney elected to start freshman QB Tait Reynolds, who appeared functional but didn’t elevate the offense. Early in the second half Reynolds made a key mistake by throwing a pick, which is to be expected for a freshman. However, given the state of the Tigers’ offense, turnovers will be costly since there’s little room for error. On a positive note, the Tigers’ defense improved throughout the afternoon and gave UNC QB Billy Edwards Jr. trouble. The path for Clemson to see success will be winning the turnover battle and successfully play bend-don’t-break defense.

For North Carolina, the second half collapse after leading 14-3 at the halfway mark is a red flag. Tight end Jelani Thurman disappeared and similar to last season Carolina became dependent on star receiver Jordan Shipp bailing out the offense. The run game did support the offense well as both running backs Benjamin Hall and Demon June were efficient between the tackles. The offense isn’t broken, but it will need one or two more playmakers to assist Edwards and keep the chains moving.

The good news for the Tar Heels is they looked prepared early. Carolina punched out a fumble on Clemson’s first drive and of course picked off Reynolds. With the change at defensive coordinator elevating Brian Belichick into the role, the Tar Heels successfully forced Clemson into field goals and stopped them from finishing drives. That bodes well for Carolina, especially in a road performance. Given that UNC was missing star defensive lineman Melkart Abou Jaoude, the Tar Heels’ defense will improve when he returns.

With a bye week before a stretch of five games that features brutal tests against the likes of Notre Dame, Miami, and rival Duke, UNC is hitting the most intense section of its schedule soon. However, there’s enough pieces to pull off an upset, keep the season afloat and be in position to finish the year strong, especially if Thurman can reemerge in the passing game.

Bill Belichick and Dabo Swinney are two of the most accomplished coaches in the game, but their teams came into their opening ACC matchup with a lot to prove.

Two programs looking to quiet separate narratives.

The Tar Heels are hoping to show the Belichick experiment is working. There’s been a lot of off-field headlines in recent weeks, but coming into the Clemson game, the on-field results were positive.

The Tigers were embarrassed on national television in week one versus LSU and had an uninspired effort in week two versus Georgia Southern. Many questioned Swinney’s roster-building abilities in this new age of football, but he was insistent that his team would improve.

In the end, both teams left their meeting with many of the questions surrounding them still unanswered.

North Carolina got off to the better start, but a 2.5-hour rain delay was enough time for Clemson to regroup and steal the win in the final eight minutes, 28-20.

As both teams shift gear and prepare for a rough road ahead, there are a few lessons to be learned from this game that could help down the line.

Let’s take a look at some of the top takeaways for both teams.

Clemson’s youth fuels comeback

Tait Reynolds looked a lot more comfortable leading the Clemson offense as he had time to settle into the game.

The freshman finished 20-of-29 for 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He wasn’t perfect, missing a few throws and making some bad reads, but he got better as the game progressed and avoided mistakes on the closing drives.

“If you can’t see Tait Reynolds and be excited, I don’t know what you’re looking at,” Swinney said.

Reynolds wasn’t the only young star to shine.

Sophomore Gideon Davidson had his best game of the season so far, breaking the 100-yard mark and finding the end zone to put the Tigers ahead.

Juniors Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore and Christian Bentancur had a solid game as the leading receivers, combining for 150 yards.

With how dire things looked the first two weeks, Clemson can go into week four knowing there were positive signs of life on offense against the Tar Heels.

While still a far cry from their glory days, the Tigers can be a competitive ACC team by having competent offensive production.

UNC’s offense is too one-dimensional

On the contrary, alarm bells should be going off inside North Carolina’s locker room because they have a huge problem. The offense is too predictable.

It didn’t hold the Tar Heels back early, but Clemson’s comeback was in part fueled by UNC’s own failure to get anything going.

Quarterback Billy Edwards looked overwhelmed, finishing the game 13-of-30 for 135 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It was easily his worst game of the season, following two decent but far from exciting outings against TCU and ETSU.

The Tar Heels understood his limitations early and leaned on their run game, with a mix of quick, short passes.

This game plan helped UNC build a 17-3 lead about 20 minutes into the game, but Clemson’s defense adjusted accordingly. North Carolina earned 179 yards on its first four drives, but got just 63 on its next four.

Out of the delay, the Tar Heels moved into the red zone and could’ve gone up nine in the fourth quarter. The team tried three straight run attempts inside the 10, but failed and had to settle for three.

“We missed an opportunity down there. I’ll just leave it at that,” Belichick said.

Clemson took the lead, and the Tar Heels had no response, turning the ball over on downs and throwing a pick on the final two drives. The pass game just couldn’t get going and match what Clemson had.

The loss undermines a strong outing from running back Benjamin Hall. He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

His efforts were not enough to overcome the rest of UNC’s offensive shortcomings.

The path ahead gets challenging

This meeting was just one of the first in a string of upcoming tough games for both teams, making the results of this meeting all the more important.

Clemson’s playoff hopes are still intact, as an early ACC loss to an unranked UNC team would’ve deflated any confidence the team could make it there.

The Tigers will travel to the West Coast next to play Cal. Then comes the most interesting stretch of the season as the team’s next three conference games are against No. 6 Miami, James Franklin’s Virginia Tech and Florida State.

To achieve what they want this season, Clemson will likely need to win at least two of those games.

North Carolina’s upcoming schedule is somehow even more difficult.

The Tar Heels’ season could quickly get away from them as the team travels to Notre Dame before jumping back into conference play with games against Pitt, Duke, Syracuse, Miami and Louisville. Excluding Syracuse, the other four teams are a combined (11-1) this season.

A once promising start to the year will either quickly sour or surprise. One thing that’s for sure, by the end of that stretch, we’ll have a better idea of Belichick’s future in Chapel Hill.

Subscribe now

Was there ever any doubt?

Following Sunday’s win, Bryce Young is now 5-1 as a starter against the Atlanta Falcons, with the lone loss coming in Young’s first career game back in 2023.

Not only have the Panthers won pretty consistently against Atlanta in the Young era, but the wins have always been electric.

2024’s season finale gave us a five touchdown, overtime thriller from Young. In 2025, Carolina gave the Falcons a 30-0 skunk at home, and Young set the franchise passing record later in Atlanta.

Subscribe now

Now, in Week 2 of 2026, the Panthers have done it again.

From the first play, where the Panthers forced and recovered a fumble, to the end of the game (another fumble), Carolina never really let the Falcons into the game.

Sure, Atlanta was down to QBs three and four in Cooper Rush and undrafted rookie Jack Strand, but Carolina was still largely in control.

However, despite the 34-3 final and most of the key starters getting to sit during the 4th quarter, there are still areas of concern. If Carolina wants to become a bona fide playoff team, they’ll have to clean up some of these mistakes.

The Great

Bryce Young - his 287 passing yards and three touchdowns certainly weren’t as Herculean of a performance as last week’s, but are still impressive numbers to hit. Through two weeks, Young is now second in the NFL in passing yards, behind only fellow NFC South QB Tyler Shough (Shough also played in overtime Week 1).

Eight different receivers were the beneficiaries of Young’s day, including Darren Waller, who caught two touchdown passes, and Xavier Legette, who made an excellent catch on a 50-yard bomb from Young.

Legette’s catch wasn’t the only downfield play on the day, Young routinely tested Atlanta deep, and was successful.

Since Brad Idzik took over the play-calling duties, Young has had many more opportunities to be aggressive down the field, and has taken advantage. This trend will hopefully continue next week in Cleveland.

Devin Lloyd - this is what Carolina linebacker play should look like.

After six years of mediocre to poor linebacker play, the Panthers finally have their star at the position again. Against Atlanta, Devin Lloyd put up the following:

• 9 tackles (including no missed tackles)

• 3 passes defended

• 2 tackles for loss

• 2 interceptions

• 1 interception returned for a touchdown

• 1 sack

This was a generational performance by Lloyd against the Falcons. Yes, Atlanta’s QB woes certainly helped, but Lloyd deserves the majority of the credit here.

It’s hard to ask for this type of performance on a weekly basis, but if Lloyd continues his excellent play, another All-Pro season is waiting for him.

The Good

Individual Defensive Performances - Lloyd wasn’t the only player that helped contribute to the near-shutout. Fellow starting LB Bobby Okereke had his own interception and was sound as a tackler.

Jaycee Horn locked down his assignments throughout the game, allowing only one reception on four targets and adding two passes defended.

Rookie safety Zakee Wheatley forced a fumble on his first ever NFL play! Nick Scott and Aaron Hall also recovered fumbles, Hall’s to end the game for the Falcons.

These are the types of individual performances that were lacking in the game against Chicago, where the Bears were able to do whatever they wanted.

If the talent on the roster can step up like this as the season progresses, the Panthers will be in good shape.

The Bad

Run Game - just like against Chicago, the run game was unable to get going. In Atlanta, Carolina only rushed for 68 yards, most of them coming from Chuba Hubbard on 4.4 yards per carry.

So far, Bryce Young has been able to carve defenses through the air. However, this may not be the case every week through the rest of the season. A stable run game to compliment the pass attack needs to be found over the next couple weeks before the bye.

Jonathon Brooks leaving the game with a groin injury doesn’t help; the buck will fall mainly on Chuba Hubbard and AJ Dillon is Brooks misses time.

Broader Defensive Issues - it’s hard to nitpick a game in which the defense doesn’t allow a touchdown, but I’m going to do it anyway.

Too many times were the Falcons allowed to convert 2nd and 3rd down opportunities because the defense played so far off of the line of scrimmage. All due respect to Cooper Rush, but this shouldn’t be happening against a backup quarterback.

If a better signal-caller had suited up for Atlanta, I’m not sure that the Falcons would’ve only ended with 3 points.

A perfect example of this is the play in which Will Lee III broke up a deep shot before the first half ended. Lee is very far out of position, but is only able to recover due to a poor ball hanging in the air for Jahan Dotson.

If Carolina continues to allow teams to convert on 3rd downs and move the chains, better offenses and quarterbacks will take advantage of the defense. Just look at Week 1.

The Ugly

Offensive Line - this was probably the most disappointing part of an otherwise strong performance from Carolina. Bryce Young faced pressure on 51% of his dropbacks, a frightening number given Atlanta’s injuries to their pass rushers.

Not only was the line consistently giving up reps to Atlanta’s backups, but the penalties were killer in the first half. Rob Hunt had three (3!) penalties on the first two drives alone that pushed Carolina backward.

For a time in the first half, it seemed like the Falcons could get back into the game, as the offensive line’s play, particularly close to the red zone, would force Carolina to take field goal attempts instead of touchdowns.

It wasn’t until Young’s connection with Legette that the offense started humming again.

Panthers fans knew that the retooled offensive line would likely perform below what it would if both Ekwonu and Moton entered the year healthy. But the performance of the line in the last two contests has been an issue.

Chicago and Atlanta’s defensive fronts are not imposing compared to the rest of the league - this is a problem that needs to get solved quickly.

Cleveland will likely offer more of a challenge along the interior, but Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson will be Monroe Freeling’s first true test as an NFL tackle.

We can nitpick until the end of time, but Carolina still got a huge road division win over their rival Atlanta Falcons. The next division matchup isn’t until Week 7 against Tampa, so getting an early win is significant for the division standings.

This week, Carolina will get a chance to continue the road win streak in Cleveland, against a team that had to wait almost 5 hours to complete their victory against Tampa.

Hopefully, Carolina can continue the strong play of their stars on the road before coming home to host Sunday Night Football for the first time in over a decade.

Subscribe now

The NBA offseason has come and gone, and I think it’s more present than ever that the Charlotte Hornets placed an emphasis on analytics.

Throughout the past few months we got numerous quotes from Hornets GM Jeff Peterson about analytics and the role it plays within the organization.

While I wouldn’t classify Charlotte as a team enslaved by numbers, it certainly appears to be a guiding principle of how the front office wants to go about building a team.

That’s why I wrote an article in early May predicting who the Hornets would be higher on in the 2026 NBA Draft based on an analytical equation based upon what I consider to be traits the franchise values most.

Here’s how I did in my predictions.

Read more

Week 3 has arrived and conference play is finally kicking off for several teams. From an SEC shootout to an ACC defensive battle, here are the biggest games of the week locally.

Subscribe now

Mississippi State at South Carolina

This game has all the makings to be the most entertaining game of the week. Featuring a QB duel between Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, there will be offensive heroics and fireworks all afternoon.

Edge rusher Dylan Stewart is expected to make his season debut against the Bulldogs. Adding the speedy, wrecking ball that is Stewart to this defensive line will be huge as the Gamecocks look to contain Taylor. Torching both UL Monroe and Minnesota, Taylor has been incredibly effective through the air and on the ground. However, he’s faced very little pressure and has been sacked only once. South Carolina’s pass rush will be the toughest matchup for the Bulldogs so far. If the Gamecocks can get to Taylor quickly, watch for the secondary to capitalize with turnovers.

Offensively the Gamecocks received good news as left tackle Jacarrius Peak is expected to return and make his USC debut. It’s impossible to know if South Carolina’s offensive line has improved based on two wins over lower level opponents. However, what I can say confidently is that Peak is a better offensive lineman than anyone USC has had in a few years. Inserting that caliber of player on the line should help the Gamecock offense.

South Carolina will likely need to work around Mississippi State cornerback Kelley Jones, one of the best defensive backs in the nation. One way for USC to do so is to push the ball away from Jones by incorporating running backs and tight ends more into the offense. Additionally, I’d expect a healthy dosage of Matt Fuller on the ground.

One of the most interesting aspects of the matchup is the mirror image of both teams’ offenses. Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby and South Carolina OC Kendall Briles, who are brother in-laws, both run up tempo offenses built to spread defenses horizontally. With nearly identical offenses, the question is who has the personnel to run it better? I like South Carolina to take care of business at home and for Sellers to remind everyone why he became the talk of college football in 2024.

North Carolina at Clemson

Before the season started, I would’ve considered this game unwinnable for North Carolina. Now that both sides have played a pair of games, the Tar Heels look like they’ll be a competent team while the Tigers’ stock is plummeting.

The big story for Clemson is that QB Tait Reynolds, a true freshman, will be starting for the Tigers. Reynolds saw the bulk of the work against Georgia Southern and underwhelmed. Failing to top 200 yards, throw a touchdown, or complete 60% of his passes against a Sun Belt defense doesn’t inspire much confidence. Now Reynolds will face a Tar Heel defense that’s been built by UNC head coach Bill Belichick, who regularly confused and smothered inexperienced QBs at the NFL level.

One wrinkle for the Heels is the departure of defensive coordinator Steve Belichick this week. Safeties coach Brian Belichick will now be the defensive coordinator. However, I’m expecting Bill Belichick to be heavily involved with what the defense runs.

Clemson’s defense successfully shut down Georgia Southern last week, but appeared helpless when facing Lane Kiffin’s LSU offense. Which Clemson defense is the real one? It’s impossible to tell, but I suspect the defense will be the Tigers’ stronger side of the ball this season. UNC QB Billy Edwards will have his toughest task of the season, entering a hostile environment and facing a step up in competition. For UNC to win this game they don’t need Edwards to be Superman; instead they’ll need him to make smart throws and find his playmakers. Tight end Jelani Thurman will be at the top of Edwards’ target list, followed by receiver Jordan Shipp. If Edwards can get those two involved early, Carolina will be in business.

This is one of the toughest games of the week to pick. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has made an example out of North Carolina before in a “we’re still Clemson” game, as recently as last season. This could certainly be another spot where the Tigers put the foot down. However, I don’t believe Clemson has the talent anymore to do that and will be taking the Tar Heels to pull off the upset.

NC State at Vanderbilt

When was the last time NC State football won a road non-conference game against a power four team? You’d be correct if you guessed 2002, when the Wolfpack won a 51-48 shootout at Texas Tech. The Commodores appear to be vulnerable after winning in uninspiring fashion over Austin Peay and Delaware. However the same can be said about the Pack, whose 34-8 loss at Virginia remains a stark reminder of all of NC State’s flaws this year.

Vanderbilt is pushing the chips to the table for this win by starting true freshman Jared Curtis for the first time. Ranked the No. 2 high school prospect in his class by 247Sports, Curtis appeared in both of the Commodores first two games, but wasn’t the starter. If the offense is truly handed over to Curtis, I’d expect Vanderbilt to be explosive on offense. The most dangerous thing for NC State is the threat of Curtis tearing up the defense on the ground after struggling to contain UVA QB Beau Pribula, who ran for 110 yards against the Pack. If NC State manages to pull the upset, it will almost assuredly start with slowing Curtis’ legs.

The Wolfpack will also have to find a way to contain Vanderbilt’s top two running backs, Sedrick Alexander and MK Young. Alexander has 99 yards and Young has 62 yards through two games. While neither has been particularly impressive so far, both had strong seasons last year, averaging over 5 yards per carry. NC State’s run defense has already looked like barbeque chicken once vs Virginia; there’s a strong possibility it happens again here. However unlike the UVA game, NC State is now without its starting WILL linebacker, AJ Richardson. The pressure for NC State will be on linebacker Popo Aguirre Jr. to step up in Richardson’s absence.

For NC State to have a chance in this game, CJ Bailey will have to put together a strong performance. Bailey’s numbers decline sharply when he plays on the road, which is a real concern even if the atmosphere at Vanderbilt isn’t particularly daunting. Last year, Bailey threw nine interceptions, eight of which came in road games. Then in the opener at Virginia, Bailey tossed another pick. It’ll be critical for offensive coordinator Kurt Roper to give Bailey easy reads on short, quick passes to establish a rhythm early.

While the Wolfpack has a chance against Vanderbilt, I wouldn’t pick NC State to win this one. The matchup pits Vanderbilt’s strengths against the Wolfpack’s weaknesses. Even after taking all its anger out on Richmond last week, I don’t trust NC State yet after the debacle at Virginia.

Stanford at Duke

Duke is in a classic let down spot with Stanford coming to town. Coming off an upset victory at Illinois, the Blue Devils’ next challenge will be avoiding complacency against an inferior opponent.

The key for Duke is to get the run game rolling early. I’d expect running back Nate Sheppard to once again be center of the offense. Through two games, Sheppard is averaging 6.3 yards per carry and has already amassed 374 yards on the ground. Notably, Stanford’s lone strength is run defense, which opens the door for a possible upset. Last week against Miami, Stanford held star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. to just 40 yards on 13 carries. While the Hurricanes pulled away with ease due to their passing game, the Blue Devils can’t trust the passing attack enough to feel comfortable if Sheppard can’t get going.

Defensively, the key for Duke is getting pressure home against QB Davis Warren. Through two games, Warren hasn’t thrown an interception, but he’s been shaky. When Warren was a starter at Michigan in 2024, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. While not really a gunslinger, Warren gets himself into trouble by staring down receivers and force feeding the ball rather than reacting to what the defense gives him. For Duke, getting pressure quickly on Warren while his top receivers remain covered would effectively neutralize Stanford’s passing game.

Overall, this is a game Duke should expect to win comfortably. The Blue Devils have already proven they can hang with quality competition. From the friendly confines of Wallace Wade Stadium, now Duke needs to make sure it doesn’t let its foot off the gas in its ACC opener. Stacking another win on its resume would quietly position Duke in the upper echelon of ACC teams competing for a chance to likely face Miami in the conference championship.

Subscribe now

The Carolina Panther play football again this weekend. Given how the last game turned out, that can be more of a threat than a comfort to some of the fans who were in attendance.

It’s unlikely that the Falcons, who have yet to name a starting QB for this week’s match, will be able to replicate the success Chicago had against Carolina’s defense. Still, the Panthers should treat this as a must-win game, and an opportunity to right the wrongs of the 59 point drubbing they suffered.

Without dwelling too much on last week’s mistakes, let’s take a look at some of Carolina’s keys to victory this weekend.

Keys to Victory

1) Contain

One of the biggest issues against Chicago was Carolina’s failure to contain the run game, both at the line of scrimmage and in the second level. In total, the Panthers allowed 291 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, a mark that can’t be allowed again.

Much of that rushing total came from the Bears being able to break contain; Caleb Williams especially took advantage of some poor run fits on his scrambles.

If D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who I want to be clear are both good players, were able to each muster 100+ rushing yards, what will Bijan Robinson do to this team if they make the same mistakes?

In a game where the starting quarterback is unknown, Atlanta is even more likely to rely upon their star running back. If Carolina wants to get their first Week 2 win since 2021, containing Bijan Robinson is a must.

2) Balance the attack

As good as Bryce Young seems to be in Atlanta, having your quarterback throw for 350+ yards and amassing 4 touchdowns every week isn’t necessarily sustainable.

Against a defense bereft of many players on the line, Carolina has to get the running game going to compliment what we saw out of the passing game.

Despite some relative success, Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks combined for only 63 rushing yards on 14 carries (4.5ypc). Leaning more on the run, and switching up the usage rate of the backs (Hubbard’s 10 carries to Brooks’ 4) can provide a good answer if teams are able to take away the pass later in the season.

Plus, it’ll be good to ramp up Jonathon Brooks early, as the team will likely need some of the explosive plays he provides as the season progresses.

3) Figure out the return situation

Football is a game of three phases, and Carolina’s return game has been a point that has been discussed dating back to last season.

Jimmy Horn’s play in the preseason seemed to indicate that he would be the answer, but when the bullets were flying in Week One, Horn blundered when given the opportunity.

After one muffed punt, a near-fumble on the other, and a moment where Horn seemed to not know the play call, the Panthers have waived the former 6th round pick.

Currently, John Metchie III is slated as the team’s primary returner in both the punt and kickoff groups. According the team’s most recent depth chart, it seems that Bryce Young’s former Alabama teammate will be making his season debut this week.

This is a big opportunity for both Metchie and the Panthers. If Metchie can provide stability in the return game, the Panthers will have a much more sound performance in the special teams phases of the game.

4) Clean/Limit mistakes

While Horn’s fumble was crucial in the Bears piling on points, it was far from the only significant error. Including the failed 4th down attempt that was close to field goal range, Carolina registered four turnovers to Chicago’s two.

Turnover margin is one of the most explanatory variables when looking at wins and losses. Giving the opponent an extra drive while simultaneously losing a drive of your own significantly shrinks your chance at scoring points.

Against Chicago, each of the turnovers, aside from Young’s interception before the half, led to points for the Bears. Similar play throughout the rest of the season will be unsustainable.

The good news for Carolina is that Atlanta’s defense has already been dealt heavy blows up front. However, the secondary, comprised of players such as Jessie Bates III, Xavier Watts, and AJ Terrell, is extremely opportunistic when searching to create turnovers.

Carolina will have to hammer the fundamentals this week in practice, cleaning up the fumbles along the way if the Panthers are going to pull off the road win.

Since the betting lines for Week 2 opened, Carolina has moved from a 1.5 point underdog to a 2.5 point favorite. It seems like the market likes Carolina’s chances at stealing a road division game.

Carolina’s offense, particularly Bryce Young, has had strong performances in Atlanta over the last two seasons. If the team can clean up the self-inflicted errors forced against Chicago, the Panthers could be looking at their first win before Week 3 since Sam Darnold was at quarterback.

Many people, not just the AP voters, considered both OSU and Oregon to be the best, most-talented teams this season. Ohio State wields the best receiver in the sport, and Oregon brought back a ton of draft-eligible players for their senior seasons.

Unfortunately, both teams found themselves on the losing end of their games last weekend, with the Buckeyes falling in their rematch with Texas, and Oregon slipping up in Stillwater against Oklahoma State.

That’s college football for you. Nobody is safe, no matter what the rankings would suggest. Aside from these two teams, Illinois fell to Duke, Minnesota lost a QB battle with Mississippi State, and Purdue couldn’t outlast Wake Forest.

Not a great week for the conference of the reigning champs.

However, Ohio State and Oregon’s losses may have had the most significant impact on the upcoming draft cycle. Yes, it’s still early, but early losses like these can highlight flaws in the games of the losers and bring about new fans of the teams that upset them.

Today, let’s take a look at the two most significant games of the week and how the performances of the players in those games might shift the top of the draft order in April.

Longhorns Rally in the 4th Quarter

It may have been less of a rally and more of an Ohio State collapse, but Texas ultimately got the win, rectifying the horrible game from last season.

After going up 23-3 through the first three quarters, Ohio State allowed Texas to score 21 unanswered points in the 4th, giving Texas a narrow one point victory. This dry spell of scoring also included a missed field goal, setting Texas up for a game-winning drive.

As far as the OSU prospects go, I actually don’t believe that the heavy-hitters had a bad game. Jeremiah Smith totaled a pedestrian (to his standards) 164 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. His only blemish is not recording a catch in the 4th quarter.

Julian Sayin was also rather decisive as a passer, and only took two sacks against a strong Texas front. Austin Siereveld, perhaps the Buckeye’s best offensive lineman, did his part as well.

So, if the stars performed, how did the Buckeyes squander their lead? Well, it started with a very conservative game plan in the second half, and ended with the Texas players showing out.

Arch Manning, who I would say had an even-keeled performance, made the right plays down the stretch. Early in the game, Manning had two very good throws and not much else. But in the 4th quarter, he came alive with a touchdown and game-winning drive.

Last week, I mentioned Manning as more of a steady performer than the star his name would suggest, and against what is likely to be his toughest opponent of the regular season, I think that point continues.

While his interception was anything but his own fault, there weren’t many superstar plays throughout the course of this game; plays that would demand Manning be at the top of QB1 talks.

On the other side of the ball, star edge rusher Colin Simmons had himself a strong performance. Two tackles for loss and a sack against OSU’s offensive line and a quick thrower like Sayin are impressive, and he his numbers will only look better against worse units.

The last names that deserve being mentioned here are the Longhorn receivers, Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo. Coleman and Wingo, the numbers 2 and 8 wide receiver recruits in the 2024 class according to 247 Sports industry composite, registered pretty quiet days.

In the first half, both Wingo and Coleman dropped excellent passes from Manning, with Coleman’s turning into one of the most unfortunate interceptions I’ve ever seen.

Wingo’s drop was rough as well, as it would have given Texas their only non-4th quarter touchdown.

Both of these players are very talented, and have the supporting cast to help them thrive. In a draft class full of receivers like Smith, Rutgers’ KJ Duff, Indiana’s star duo of Becker and Marsh, and many more, Coleman and Wingo will have to step their games up in order to avoid sliding out of the top group.

Mestemaker on the Map

During last week’s article on quarterbacks, I mentioned Drew Mestemaker in the “Show Us Some More” tier after a rough Week 1 against Tulsa. I ended that note with the following phrase:

“While it’s only been one game, Mestemaker will have to adjust to more difficult competition - Week 2 brings Dante Moore’s Ducks into town. Hopefully, Mestemaker will be able to bounce back and put himself back into top QB contention.”

It’s safe to say he adjusted. Coming into the game as 23.5 underdogs, Mestemaker left it all out on the field, scoring 3 total touchdowns and rallying the Cowboys to the upset victory.

It certainly wasn’t a perfect passing performance (26/43, 2 INTs), but Mestemaker made the necessary plays when he had to against a veteran-laden Oregon defense. His total of 317 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 109 rushing yards, and 1 rushing touchdown, was punctuated in the 4th quarter with this play.

This rumbling touchdown run would give the Cowboys a 36-31 lead, and they would never look back.

Unlike with Manning’s performance, Mestemaker was going crazy from the start. This run opened the game for Oklahoma State.

While Mestemaker certainly bounced back and put his name back into the QB1 conversation, I think the other team in this game is worth more of a discussion.

Coming into the season, Oregon was talked about as a team on the cusp of winning their first national championship. Not only did they return QB Dante Moore, someone who would’ve likely been a Top 5 pick in last year’s draft, but the defense brought back a lot of talent as well.

Here is the Ducks’ starting defensive front, courtesy of Ourlads.

Not a freshman, sophomore, or junior in sight. All of their main guys on the defensive line are at least seniors, and they were consistently getting moved off of the ball in the run game.

Players like A’Mauri Washington and Matayo Uiagalelei were getting Top 50 projections in the 2026 Draft. Now, back in school, they’re struggling against what was expected to be an average Big 12 team this season.

Mestemaker and Head Coach Eric Morris might change those fortunes now, but the point remains.

On the other side of the ball, Dante Moore had a pretty lackluster outing, throwing 14/29 for 191 yards and only 2 touchdowns. Moore was also sacked four times, compared to Mestemaker’s zero against a senior-filled front.

For someone that has high pick aspirations, Moore will have to improve throughout the rest of the season. Relying upon the overtime win against a passionless Penn State team last season won’t cut it as a signature moment if this level of play continues.

Fortunately, Oregon will get to face off against USC (12), Ohio State (6), and Michigan (19) still this season, each of which could reverse Moore and his teammates’ draft stocks for the better.

Player of the Week

One player that isn’t getting the attention he deserves is Rutgers WR KJ Duff. Duff has been on an absolute tear to start the season, but Rutgers 0-2 record, including a Week 1 loss to UMASS (!) has him a bit under the radar.

Duff’s breakout began last year, where he amassed 1084 receiving yards along with 7 receiving touchdowns. Pretty strong numbers for the 6’6 219lbs receiver, especially without high-end QB play.

To start his junior season, Duff has posted games of 9-196-3 vs. UMASS and 8-137-2 this past week at Boston College.

If these numbers seem insane, that’s because they are. Duff currently leads the B1G conference in receptions (17) and yards (333), while leading all of FBS with 5 touchdowns.

The numbers match the eye test. Duff’s unreal frame and fluid movement ability are a bit reminiscent of Carolina’s own Tetairoa McMillan during his time at Arizona. Both players were special at the catch point and in evading contact after the catch.

Rutgers’ schedule only gets tougher from here, as they are set to host USC (12) this weekend, and have dates with Indiana (4), Michigan (19), and Penn State (14) over the course of the season.

There will be plenty of opportunities for Duff to take his name from a fun player on a bad team to someone in the mix for that WR2 spot next April.

This column won’t only be Big Ten-focused throughout the rest of the season - we have some excellent games going on across the entire league. For Week 3, keep your eyes on the following matchups:

• (Friday) (22) Houston vs. (13) Texas Tech

• Florida State at (10) Alabama

• (16) SMU at (23) Louisville

• (7) LSU at (8) Ole Miss