Bill Belichick’s first season at North Carolina hasn’t gone to plan. You might even call it a disaster.

The six-time Super Bowl champion-winning coach has found things on campus aren’t so simple without Tom Brady under center.

How bad has it been? UNC football’s first season with Belichick has produced the program’s worst start against Power Four competition since the Tar Heels first fielded a team in 1888.

That was Grover Cleveland’s first term as president when the U.S. only had 38 states.

It’s been nearly 137 years since UNC played its inaugural game against Wake Forest at the North Carolina State Fair. No team since the program’s inception has been worse than Belichick’s team through three Power Four games. 

The Tar Heels (2-3, 0-1 ACC) have lost each of their three games against P4 programs, outscored 120-33 in blowout defeats to TCU, UCF and Clemson. That 87-point margin in the first three games against P4 teams is the worst in program history. 

“I don’t think that fundamentally we’re doing the wrong things. We’re just not doing them well enough,’ said Belichick, who is in the first year of a 5-year, $50 million deal.

UNC’s historically bad start has the Tar Heels in jeopardy of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2018.

‘UNC isn’t just bad; this is one the worst major-conference teams in the country,’ USA TODAY’s Paul Myerberg wrote after Saturday’s loss to Clemson.

Even the 2006 Tar Heels, who finished with 3-9 in John Bunting’s final season, were 12 points shy of matching the margin set by Belichick’s bunch. UNC was outscored 108-33 against Rutgers, Virginia Tech and Clemson in ‘06.

The 2003 team, which posted a 2-10 record, started the season with five straight losses against Power Four opponents. But those Tar Heels averaged 24.6 points in their first three P4 games. Mack Brown’s 1-10 teams in the 1988-89 seasons couldn’t even reach the rock-bottom mark set by Belichick’s team. Brown’s squads were outscored 97-44 and 65-19 in their first three games against P4 squads in the first two seasons of his first stint in Chapel Hill. 

UNC’s 94 points through five games is the Tar Heels’ lowest total to start a season since scoring 85 in the first five games of 2006. The Tar Heels are 131st in total offense, worst among P4 teams, with only Kent State, Northern Illinois and UMass recording worse yardages.

UNC is 75th in total defense, but explosive plays have been the eye-popping issue. That was certainly the case against Clemson, which had 8 explosive plays vs. the Tar Heels. The Tigers tacked on seven passes of 20 or more yards, including four TDs on the first 16 plays, and one run of 10 or more yards. TCU had 10 explosive plays and UCF logged five vs. UNC. 

It’s a lot to clean up for a program that is one of 11 in college football yet to win a game against a P4 opponent.

Rodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley.

The Cincinnati Bengals have apparently seen enough of Jake Browning − to the point where they’ve accepted help from their longtime in-state rivals.

Cincy has agreed to a trade with the Cleveland Browns for former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. The Bengals will also obtain a sixth-round draft pick (originally owned by the Detroit Lions) while sending a fifth-rounder to Cleveland in exchange.

The deal will become official once Flacco completes a physical. Backup quarterback Brett Rypien was released in a corresponding move.

The deal lands two days after the Lions beat the Bengals 37-24 at Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati’s third consecutive defeat − all since QB1 Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury in Week 2 that required surgery and will likely keep him out at least another two months.

Browning, who did an exceptional job taking over when Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury midway through the 2023 campaign, has not risen to the occasion this time around, throwing eight interceptions in three-plus games. The Bengals haven’t even been competitive, their losses by an aggregate score of 113-37.

The mission awaiting Flacco, 40, is to keep Cincinnati afloat long enough to turn a relevant team back over to Burrow in the event he’s able to return in December. Now in his 18th season, Flacco has passed for 46,512 yards and 259 touchdowns during stints with five different franchises. He put together a standout playoff run for the Baltimore Ravens, who drafted him 18th overall in 2008, on their way to winning Super Bowl 47 to cap the 2012 campaign.

While Flacco isn’t a threat to leave the pocket, he has loads of experience and an arm with plenty of juice − one that should leverage the sizable offseason investment Cincinnati made in wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins earlier this year. Flacco has also long been a popular teammate and locker room presence, remaining a captain for the Browns last week even after he was benched for rookie Dillon Gabriel. Flacco’s willingness to give his receivers chances to make plays will result in interceptions, but he’ll now enjoy a far more capable corps of wideouts than he had in Cleveland.

The Bengals, a notoriously stingy franchise over the years, will only have to pay the prorated amount of Flacco’s $1.3 million base salary this season. He will become a free agent again next March.

Flacco’s departure also means rookie Shedeur Sanders will become the primary backup quarterback to fellow rookie Gabriel, who made his first NFL start Sunday in London. Gabriel had the Browns in position to win, but they gave up a touchdown in the final minute, losing 21-17 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Bengals QB depth chart

Joe Burrow (injured)

Joe Flacco (projected)

Jake Browning (projected)

Sean Clifford (practice squad)

Browns QB depth chart

Dillon Gabriel

Shedeur Sanders

Deshaun Watson (PUP list)

Bailey Zappe (practice squad)

Joe Flacco stats

2025: 1-3 record; 58.1% completion rate; 815 yards, 2 TDs; 6 INTs; 60.3 QB rating

Career: 116-95 record (including playoffs); 46,512 passing yards; 259 TDs; 168 INTs; 83.8 QB rating

Inter Miami defender Jordi Alba, one of several former Barcelona stars to follow Lionel Messi to MLS, has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2025 season.

Alba’s announcement marks the second such move for a major Inter Miami star in recent weeks. Midfielder Sergio Busquets confirmed his retirement in September, with both players calling it a career whenever the Herons’ season comes to an end.

The announcement marks a U-turn for Alba, who in May signed a contract extension that would have kept him on Miami’s books through the end of the 2027 season. However, the vastly experienced defender will now hang up his boots no later than the 2025 MLS Cup final, which is set for Dec. 6.

Inter Miami has two remaining regular-season matches, and have clinched an MLS playoff berth. The Herons will get a bye past the wild-card stage directly into Round 1, and will secure home-field advantage for a best-of-three series should they pick up one more point in the regular season.

Alba, 36, posted his announcement on Instagram Tuesday, calling time on a 20-year career that included a European title with Spain at Euro 2012, as well as six league championships and a UEFA Champions League crown with Barcelona. Since joining Miami in July 2023, Alba has lifted the 2023 Leagues Cup and 2024 Supporters’ Shield while being named to the MLS Best XI in 2024.

‘The time has come to close a truly meaningful chapter in my life,’ said Alba. ‘I’ve decided to bring my professional football career to an end at the conclusion of this season.

‘I do so with complete conviction, with peace, and with happiness. Because I feel I’ve walked this path with every ounce of passion I had, and now it’s the right moment to open a new chapter and close the previous one with the best possible feeling.’

In a club statement, Miami owner Jorge Mas hailed Alba as ‘a great asset within the team and an exemplary professional.’

‘Jordi has been an exceptional addition to Inter Miami and one of the standout players in Major League Soccer over these two seasons,’ added Mas. ‘Those that know me know that family is the most important part of my life, and Jordi will forever be part of our Inter Miami family. We wish Jordi all the happiness in this new stage of his life.’

Soccer data site Transfermarkt says that as of his announcement, Alba has played exactly 700 professional matches, scoring 51 goals and adding 135 assists. While Alba has played at least one season with Miami, Valencia, and Gimnàstic de Tarragona, the bulk of his career was spent at Barcelona, where (along with Miami’s Messi, Busquets, and Luis Suárez) he played a pivotal role in a spell of success that revolutionized the sport.

During that run, Alba was a fixture at left back, offering a major attacking threat while enjoying a nearly telepathic connection with Messi. The two spent nine years as teammates at the La Liga giants, and when Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, it was Alba who succeeded him as Barcelona captain.

When Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, it was time to get the gang back together. Messi, Busquets, and Alba all arrived in Miami that summer, immediately helping the club to its first-ever trophy. With the three iconic ex-Barcelona players in place, Miami claimed the 2023 Leagues Cup in a major statement of intent.

However, the club may be undergoing some significant changes. Beyond Alba and Busquets’ departures, the Herons’ new home at Miami Freedom Park, a 25,000-seat venue, is set to open for the 2026 season. While USA TODAY Sports reported that Messi and Miami are close to signing off on a new contract that would run through 2027, the status of another of the Argentine icon’s friends, Suárez, remains unknown.

The Los Angeles Rams will pack for an extended trip before they head to Baltimore this week.

The Rams are scheduled to face the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 12 (1 p.m. ET, Fox). The Rams made arrangements to stay in Baltimore after the game and use Oriole Park at Camden Yards as a practice facility the following week in preparation for their Week 7 meeting in London versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team official told USA TODAY Sports.

The Baltimore Banner was the first to report the news.

“We’ll go out to Baltimore on Saturday, but then we’ll stay out there in our preparation for Jacksonville going into the London game. Then we’ll fly out on Friday. That gives us a good opportunity to really lean in,” Rams coach Sean McVay said Friday, Oct. 3. “We’ll just stay out in Baltimore to shorten that trip to London when we go play Jacksonville before our bye. But what a big stretch this is going to be for us.”

Camden Yards is the home of the Baltimore Orioles, who are on vacation right now and not in the ongoing MLB playoffs.

The Rams’ extended stay in Baltimore gives the team a much shorter flight to London. A trip from Baltimore to London is a little over seven hours. The travel time between Los Angeles and London is over 10 hours.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

The SEC used to feature college football’s most powerful bullies. Not anymore.
Texas squanders NIL riches, fails to live up to frontrunner status.
SEC still full of playoff contenders, but teams playing catchup to Ohio State, Miami.

Blame NIL if you must, but that’s not the full telling of this story.

Blame transfer free agency. Blame Nick Saban’s retirement. Blame the combination of these ingredients that spawned an uprising of parity.

The SEC lacks a clear-cut national championship frontrunner. How come? Well, assign blame to whichever culprit suits your narrative.

Just don’t forget to also blame Texas.

Because, the NIL landscape is tailor-made for Texas. In this pay-for-play era, who’s outspending the Longhorns, the supposed crown jewel of this past round of conference realignment?

“We’re navigating the NIL space, I think, as good or better than anybody,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” before the season.

Well, bravo, Bevo. The Longhorns can thump their chest as NIL champions. Does that come with a trophy? It’ll be the only one this team wins.

With Texas flopping, the SEC lacks a dominant frontrunner

If Ohio State became the first program to openly buy a national championship, then Texas was supposed to be the second.

Then, the games started, and Texas revealed itself to be a pricey pretender. The Longhorns went the way of Pets.com, an overhyped investment gone splat.

The five-star quarterback named Manning looks overwhelmed. The offensive line is feeble. The defense is permeable.

The SEC once supplied 13 national champions in a 17-year span and trumpeted its superiority ad nauseam, but this iteration of the conference lacks a bully.

Oh, where art thou, Saban?

Texas might possess the SEC’s most talented — or, at least, the most expensive — roster, but it’s not performing like the conference’s best team. With the SEC’s preseason frontrunner playing like a paper tiger, the SEC is left battling for fourth place, staring up at Ohio State, Miami and Oregon. Those three programs are crushing it in the NIL space, and their stars are playing like stars.

SEC teams chasing Ohio State, Miami, Oregon

The SEC is no land of paupers. It takes more than a few shekels to assemble the transfer hauls like the ones amassed by Mississippi and LSU, the latter of which joins Texas in failing to deliver a return on investment.

It takes a war chest to amass a five-star-studded roster like the one at Texas.

The SEC, though, surrendered some of its advantage after the rules of engagement evolved to allow above-board pay-for-play and transfer free agency.

From the 2006 through the 2022 seasons, five SEC programs won at least one national championship. In that span, just three programs not within the SEC won a national title: Florida State. Ohio State. Clemson (twice). That’s it.

If you’re scoring at home, that’s SEC 13, and everybody else four.

Saban had a big hand in that. His Crimson Tide delivered six of those 13 national championships, but the SEC’s dominance didn’t stop at the GOAT.

The SEC ruled the four-team playoff, and the Bowl Championship Series that preceded it, with a well-honed strategy: Sign and stockpile talent, retain talent, develop talent. It’s a Jimmies and Joes game, as Darrell Royal used to say, and the SEC attracted the richest supply of five-star Jimmies and four-star Joes.

Sure, someone like Jimbo Fisher would wisecrack about what maybe did or didn’t go on under the hood during this run of dominance, but let’s not diminish the SEC’s reign of terror or how it pulled it off.

In the SEC, recruits could expect to find gleaming facilities, elite competition, accomplished coaches who built a track record for developing NFL talent, and fan bases with unbridled passion. Games are played in cathedrals full of 100,000 screaming fans.

Who could blame blue-chippers for staying in the South or flocking there from other parts of the country?

“They say girls are prettier here, air’s fresher and toilet paper is thicker,” then-Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe said before the Tigers’ first season in the SEC.

Elite prospects wanted to play for Saban and Alabama so badly, they waited their turn on the second string before a starting spot opened. In some seasons, Alabama’s ‘B’ team probably would have been a Pac-12 frontrunner.

You know what happened next. Transfer rules relaxed, and who wants to sit the bench when another school dangles an NIL deal and a starting opportunity? It’s not just that, though.

Miami didn’t go from the Pinstripe Bowl to the penthouse just by buying up second-stringers. It plundered Carson Beck, one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, off Georgia’s roster, and installed elite receivers around him, better receivers than Beck had at Georgia.

There’s money everywhere, not just in the South. Out in West Texas, billionaire oil tycoon Cody Campbell tried to buy a playoff bid for Texas Tech, and he might just pull it off.

The deepest collection of talent remains in the SEC. Texas A&M — oh, sweet crude! — is staging an uprising. Ole Miss keeps rearing its head. Even as Texas stumbles, Georgia wobbles and Alabama searches for its cloak of invincibility, the league, top to bottom, is sturdy.

Arizona State could attest to that. The Sun Devils lost to Mississippi State this season.

Missouri turned back Kansas. LSU beat Clemson. Tennessee walloped Syracuse. Texas A&M toppled Notre Dame.

There were a few gaffes, sure. There’s bound to be in a 16-team conference, but, six weeks into the season, the SEC has 10 teams ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The conference enjoys an advantage on the Big Ten in the quest to stockpile the most playoff bids.

Even after NIL, free agency and conference realignment reshaped the sport, the SEC’s well runs deep as ever. It just lacks a superboss.

Blame two-loss Texas. The Longhorns wasted their war chest.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

The victim of Mark Sanchez’s alleged battery is suing the former NFL player and his employer, Fox Corporation, according to court documents.

The official complaint alleges assault and battery against Sanchez and negligent hiring, retention and supervision against Fox.

According to the official complaint, Perry Tole, the employee of a company specializing in commercial cooking oil recycling and disposal, ‘suffered severe permanent disfigurement’ when Sanchez allegedly assaulted him Saturday in Indianapolis.

Sanchez ‘appear[ed] intoxicated’ when he approached Tole, who was performing the duties of his job in the Westin hotel loading dock, and ‘instigated an altercation,’ according to the complaint. The former New York Jets quarterback ‘attempted to enter and later entered … Tole’s work truck without permission and blocked … Tole from accessing his cellphone to contact his manager.’

The ensuing altercation led to Tole using pepper spray in self-defense, but Sanchez continued to approach Tole, according to the complaint. A ‘physical altercation’ followed and Tole ‘suffer[ed] significant injuries to his head, jaw and neck.’

According to an affidavit for probable cause filed Saturday, the incident ended with Tole – identified only as ‘P.T.’ in the document – fearing for his life and striking Sanchez with his knife several times.

An amended probable cause affidavit filed Monday included a paragraph added to the initial document:

‘P. T. (Tole) stated that he suffered a severe laceration to the side of his face, penetrating all the way through his left cheek. When asked to rate his pain on a scale of 10, [Tole] stated it eventually reached a 10.’

Fox is also named as a defendant in the complaint, which alleges the company ‘knew or should have known about … Sanchez’s unfitness as an employee, propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.’

The media corporation’s hiring, retention and ‘fail[ure] to supervise … Sanchez’ while he was in Indianapolis to cover the Indianapolis Colts vs. Las Vegas Raiders game for Fox led to Tole’s ‘severe permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress, and other damages,’ the complaint alleges.

Tole is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, according to his official complaint, in addition to payment of ‘reasonable attorney’s fees’ and ‘[a]ny other relief that the Court deems just and proper.’

Sanchez also faces misdemeanor charges of battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication, and a Level 5 felony charge of battery from the State of Indiana. The Fox NFL analyst intends to plead not guilty, according to a motion filed and granted earlier this week to waive his initial hearing.

Sanchez’s first court date is a pretrial conference set for Nov. 5.

The former Jets quarterback’s brother, Nick Sanchez, released a statement Monday via FOX59 anchor Angela Ganote on behalf of the Sanchez family.

‘This has been a deeply distressing time for everyone involved,’ the statement read. ‘Mark and our family are incredibly grateful for the concern, love, and support we’ve received over the past few days. Mark remains under medical care for the serious injuries he sustained and is focused on his recovery as the legal process continues. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the first responders and medical staff.’

Mark Sanchez was the No. 5 overall pick by the New York Jets in the 2009 NFL Draft after playing his collegiate career at Southern California. He retired in 2019 after stints with five other teams and joined Fox as an NFL analyst in 2021.

Penn State and Texas suffered surprising losses, significantly altering the College Football Playoff forecast.
Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and Texas Tech are new entrants into the projected 12-team playoff field.
Georgia Tech’s easy schedule could create a dilemma for the selection committee if they finish with a strong record.

Fall is the season of change. And it should be no surprise that we’re seeing massive changes to the College Football Playoff picture each weekend in the season bridging summer and winter.

Week 6 brought more carnage to the forecast with a shocking loss by Penn State and an unexpected slip up from Texas leading the way. There was also unbeaten Iowa State falling at Cincinnati that created another switch in the Big 12 representative to the 12-team field.

So who benefits from the changes? The first is Oklahoma. The Sooners, despite an injury to quarterback John Mateer and a difficult schedule, next face rival Texas with an opportunity to further solidify their spot.

Also joining the playoff field is Georgia Tech. The unbeaten Yellow Jackets look set to cause a dilemma for the committee given an easy ACC schedule that makes them a favorite to reach the conference title game. What happens if they go 11-0 before losses to Georgia and Miami? Would that better an SEC team at 9-3. We saw this debate last season with SMU. For now, we’ll slot Georgia Tech in there, but this is one worth watching.

Lastly, Texas Tech is the beneficiary of the Iowa State loss. The Red Raiders have impressive road wins at Utah and Houston ahead as they enter the second half of their schedule the favorites to win the Big 12.

Week 7 is sure to bring more changes with a loaded schedule matching some of the playoff contenders.

Note: Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer’s midseason hand injury presents a new challenge for the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The committee must decide how to weigh potential Oklahoma losses without its starting quarterback against a difficult schedule.
With Mateer, Oklahoma is considered a top SEC contender, but the team’s strength is uncertain with backup Michael Hawkins Jr.

There’s no avoiding it now. This is the very reason for their existence. 

Now how does the College Football Playoff selection committee deal with it?

How does the group of 13 men and women, whose purpose is to analyze games played and injuries to important players, deal with its first significant midseason injury scenario?

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer broke a bone in his throwing hand two weeks ago, and more than likely won’t play Saturday against bitter rival Texas in the Red River Rivalry.

The obvious question: How would a September injury impact No. 6 Oklahoma’s status with the committee that chooses the 12-team field?

“I don’t know when John will be back,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Monday.

And that’s the problem. With Mateer, Oklahoma is as good as any team in the SEC. Without him, and with backup Michael Hawkins Jr. leading the way through the teeth of a brutal schedule, things drastically change.

OU plays six of its final seven games against teams ranked in the US LBM Coaches poll, and the one team that isn’t ranked (South Carolina) is a dangerous out in its home stadium. And this leads us back to the CFP selection committee, whose first poll of the season is released Nov. 4.  

Their job is to see and embrace injury scenarios, and adjust to the subtleties accordingly. To see beyond simple wins and losses, and dive deep into the what if. 

In the perfectly imperfect sport of arguing, there is no more important purpose. The committee isn’t around to rubber-stamp blueblood programs, or one-loss teams ahead of two-loss teams. 

It was built, more than anything, in the spirit of the overarching question that makes the sport so unique. The what if.  

What if Oklahoma loses once or twice without Mateer, and then once again with him against a brutal schedule? Are those Oklahoma losses viewed differently, or the same? 

Does a three-loss Oklahoma (two without Mateer playing) get the benefit of the doubt over a two-loss team? Can the committee — or better yet, will the committee — see beyond losses, and into what could’ve been?

“Every week is a clean slate,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said. “There are different factors every week that change the way teams are viewed.”

But nothing like this. In the 11 previous seasons of the CFP, the committee had to deal with two significant injuries — both in the final two weeks of the regular season, and both with real-time metrics. 

In 2014, Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett sustained a season-ending injury on the last weekend of the regular season, and backup Cardale Jones threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns the following week in a 59-0 rout of No. 13 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.

Two years ago, Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis sustained a season-ending injury in Week 10, and the unbeaten Seminoles played two games without him: a 24-15 win over six-loss Florida, and a 16-6 win over Louisville in the ACC championship game. 

Both times, the committee made the decision based on what played out in a small sample size. Ohio State made the CFP, and won it all. 

FSU failed to make the CFP, and the Noles — with a roster depleted from opt-outs — lost by 60 to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

This time around, there will be nearly two months of games, and a clear idea of what Oklahoma is with Mateer, and what it is without him. There will be a clear resume, and the ability for the selection committee to judge based on the complete team. 

Make no mistake, OU can’t lose more than three games. One loss without Mateer is understandable, two is stretching it. 

At some point, the staff has to figure out how to win games without him.

OU beat Kent State 44-0 last week in its first game without Mateer, and Hawkins played well against an overmatched Group of Five school. Desperate Texas, with its season slipping away after losing to Florida last weekend, is a completely different animal. 

When the Sooners arrive at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Mateer will be 17 days post-surgery (Sept. 24). More than two weeks from the first four games of the season, when he accounted for 99% of the pass game and 38% of the run game. 

And 11 of OU’s 15 offensive touchdowns (six pass, five run).

Late last week, as the Sooners prepared for their first game this season with Hawkins as the starter, Mateer asked Venables if he could dress for the Kent State game. He wasn’t ready to play, but you better believe he was going to be on that sideline.

So he stood there in his Crimson and Cream, with a black brace around his hand and wrist, and watched Hawkins try to steady the ship.

“There’s a lot of guys, they’d just rather stay at the house,” Venables said. “They’re worried about what they’re going to wear, having a fashion show.”

The show is just beginning for the CFP selection committee.

Do they judge Oklahoma based on the star, or his understudy? 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattaHayesCFB.

The NHL’s opening night features two-time Stanley Cup winners in different phases of their careers.

The Florida Panthers, New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan and Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar will be center stage when ESPN airs a season-opening tripleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

The Panthers, rings already in hand, will raise their 2025 Stanley Cup banner before their 5 p.m. ET game against the Chicago Blackhawks. They have won two championships in a row and will try for a rare three-peat, last done in the 1980s. They’ll be tested early by major injuries.

Exclusive book: Relive the Panthers’ latest Cup

In the 8 p.m. game, Sullivan is making his Rangers debut after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to part ways. He’ll be facing his former team, which he led to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017.

At 10:30 p.m. ET, Kopitar will open his 20th and final season in the NHL. He won championships in 2012 and 2014 with the Kings, who face off against the Colorado Avalanche.

Here are live updates and how to watch the opening night of the 2025-26 NHL season:

When is NHL opening day 2025?

The 2025-26 NHL season opens on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with three games:

Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers, 5 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, 8 p.m. ET
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m. ET

How to watch, stream NHL opening night

TV: ESPN
Streaming: Games can be streamed on ESPN Unlimited and on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.

Watch NHL games on Fubo

Panthers championship rings details

The Panthers received championship rings Monday, Oct. 6, and they pulled another rat trick.

Like the rings from 2024, the latest edition includes an engraved rat, a nod to the fans’ tradition of throwing plastic rats onto the rink after victories.

The Panthers received the rings in a private event at War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and they feature more than vermin. The rings, handcrafted in white and yellow gold, include more than 450 diamonds and genuine rubies, according to a press release issued by the Panthers. – Josh Peter

Panthers injury updates

The Panthers are missing two key players as they open defense of their back-to-back titles.

Captain Aleksander Barkov will miss seven to nine months after he had knee surgery in September. He was injured during practice and had his ACL and MCL repaired.

The Panthers also are missing Matthew Tkachuk, who had offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and a hernia. He’s out until ‘December-ish,’ general manager Bill Zito said.