The Bill Belichick experiment will be hailed a success so long as North Carolina gets to call its shot in the next round of conference realignment.
North Carolina’s brand might be ready for prime time, but its team isn’t on the level of the SEC or the Big Ten.
Can Bill Belichick maintain a Deion Sanders-like effect for North Carolina? He electrified UNC football for one night, but will that last?

The luminaries assembled the way luminaries do. Jordan. Roy. The Muse. They gathered in luxury boxes.

They hovered above a sell-out crowd of 50,500 to create a scene worthy to be dubbed college football in the South. Maybe, one day, even worthy to be called college football in the SEC.

Because, that’s what this is about. You didn’t really think North Carolina hired Bill Belichick to deliver national championships, did you? Even university administrators aren’t that stupid.

The Beli Ball experiment and investment will be hailed a success so long as he ensures North Carolina gets to call its shot in the next round of conference realignment.

Which, is probably only a handful of years away. Best prepare now.

And, let’s be real, Belichick probably won’t be coaching North Carolina by then. By 2030, perhaps he’ll be enjoying retirement, unemployment and marital bliss, celebrating his wife’s 29th birthday, and waxing nostalgic about how he rode the coattails of a quarterback named Brady and convinced everyone he’s a coaching savant.

So long as Belichick sufficiently elevated UNC to a place to where the school can name its destination into a “Super Two” conference, where the cash flows, he’ll have achieved a feat. 

UNC’s brand and media market — everyone and your mother is moving to Charlotte — make the Tar Heels appealing to either the Big Ten or the SEC. The football program needs work. Never has that been more apparent than in Belichick’s college football coaching debut.

Belichick, wearing a snug hoodie, watched stoically as TCU humiliated his Tar Heels, 48-14. Belichick’s first impression spoiled before halftime. Behind him, fans filed out in the third quarter, probably with basketball on the brain.

As for UNC football, it looked as reputable as the school’s Afro-American Studies department. 

Never mind UNC’s cheating past, though. A history of academic fraud wouldn’t make it a pariah for the SEC. If anything, its decades-long harborage of phony classes shows the SEC and Big Ten that UNC cares enough about winning to execute an academic sham and then mount a successful defense to justify it to the NCAA.

Tennessee and Michigan could take inspiration from such chicanery.

The SEC and Big Ten won’t be inspired by the football product we saw on Labor Day, though. This team showed it’s not ready for prime time. 

In the short term, Belichick’s hiring galvanized a sleepy program. North Carolina already sold out its home games for the season. How much will those tickets be selling for on resale sites in November?

Because, if the opener is an accurate indication, Belichick’s team stinks.

If only it didn’t, because everything else about North Carolina makes it a slam dunk for either the SEC or the Big Ten the next time the realignment carousel swings into gear. 

North Carolina is one of those AAU schools the Big Ten likes. It would give the Big Ten an entry point into the South, which remains untapped terrain for a conference that spans from Los Angeles to Seattle to New Jersey and many outposts in between — except for lands that say y’all. 

The SEC’s past expansions operated much differently from the Big Ten’s quest to acquire brands from coast to coast. The SEC prefers to move into contiguous states to methodically expand the league’s footprint without betraying its carefully crafted Southern identity or its football fabric. 

The SEC Network is headquartered in Charlotte, and yet North Carolina remains the Southern-most state without an SEC school. For now, anyway.

ACC schools, like North Carolina, will become more accessible once their conference exit fees reduce in 2030.

It’s unrealistic to expect Belichick to turn basketball-forward UNC into Georgia or Ohio State. But, could he do for North Carolina what Deion Sanders did for Colorado?

Sanders supercharged the Buffaloes’ program and brand and helped ensure Colorado did not get left behind in the last round of realignment. The Buffaloes found a home within the Big 12. He made Colorado a television ratings dynamo. Games in Boulder became a party pad for celebrities.

Belichick is no Prime. The latter is a magnetic personality and a cultural icon who brought to Colorado a proven college football coaching record, albeit in the FCS ranks. Sanders benefited from installing his talented son as his quarterback. He also brought along a dual-position superstar, Travis Hunter, who revered Sanders. Hunter would go on to win the Heisman Trophy.

Oh, and Sanders beat TCU in his Colorado debut, too.

Unlike Prime, Belichick is a past-his-prime coach whose winning percentage in games not quarterbacked by Brady leaves a lot to be desired. He installed a son who’s an assistant coach. Steve Belichick is no Shedeur Sanders. None of the scores of transfers North Carolina nabbed this offseason compares to Travis Hunter. Belichick possesses not one-tenth of Coach Prime’s magnetism, nor his experience as a college coach and recruiter.

No matter what Sanders achieves the rest of his Colorado tenure, he’ll have been worth it. Just check out the school’s swelling enrollment, its Power Four status, and its TV ratings that defy gravity. 

For one night, Belichick electrified the place — up to the point TCU began the rout, anyway. How long can that last? Improving the team to the point of competence would help.

By 2030, Belichick might be retired to Maine, living as Mr. Hudson. Greatness may have eluded him at North Carolina. It’ll have been worth it for the Tar Heels, though, if they can say that a coach formerly known as an NFL legend helped them take their place at the vanguard of the next realignment rat race.

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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have built one of the top offensive lines in the NFL with early-round investment in multiple drafts.

Today, they secured one of their top players for the long term.

Tampa Bay and right tackle Luke Goedeke have agreed to a four-year extension worth $90 million, per multiple reports. The Buccaneers selected Goedeke in the second round, No. 57 overall out of Central Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft.

He split time between left guard and right tackle as a rookie before settling in as the starter at right tackle in 2023 after Tristan Wirfs moved to left tackle. That duo has become one of the better tackle tandems in the league. Pro Football Focus graded Goedeke 30th and Wirfs ninth out of 140 qualifying tackles in 2024.

Goedeke was entering the final year of his rookie deal this season. Now Tampa Bay has him signed through the 2029 NFL season.

Luke Goedeke contract details

Goedeke signed a four-year extension worth $90 million with $50 million guaranteed and an average annual value (AAV) of $22.5 million. That’s similar to the extension fellow 2022 draftee Zach Tom signed with the Green Bay Packers earlier this offseason but with more guaranteed money than his $30.2 million, per OverTheCap.

Here’s the breakdown:

Length: Four years
Total value: $90 million
AAV: $22.5 million
Guaranteed: $50 million

Among all tackles, this extension puts Goedeke eighth in total value, tied for 10th in AAV and tied for fourth in guaranteed money, per OverTheCap.

Penn State remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-136 as a major shakeup impacts the top eight after Week 1 of the 2025 college season.

The changes begin with the three biggest results from the weekend. Ohio State is up three spots No. 3 after beating Texas 14-7, LSU is up six to No. 4 after winning at Clemson and Miami is up five to No. 5 after beating Notre Dame 27-24.

The Fighting Irish drop to No. 7 after fighting back to tie the game at 24-24 behind a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter from new quarterback CJ Carr. Texas is down four to No. 8 after a very unproductive starting debut for Arch Manning. The Longhorns have major work to do on offense before starting SEC play later this month.

The 1-136 features double-digit movement across the board, which is par for the course coming out of the first full weekend of the regular season. Among the teams making the biggest movement are No. 19 Florida State (up 15), No. 26 Alabama (down 19), No. 34 Auburn (up 15), No. 44 South Florida (up 23) and No. 77 UCLA (down 18).

There’s also a new No. 136. Kent State has moved out of the cellar after beating Merrimack, with Middle Tennessee moving into the last spot after losing to Austin Peay.

USA TODAY Sports college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-136

One of the biggest statements the Cowboys owner made was when he said Mulugheta told him to “stick it up our (expletive)” when Jones gave him the contract offer he and Parsons had previously discussed.

Mulugheta appeared on ‘First Take’ Tuesday morning and said Jones’ words were a “misrepresentation” of what he told him.

“It might be hard for some to believe, but I don’t think I’ve ever used that phrase in my life. In my 40+ years, I definitely wouldn’t use that with somebody that I have to work with or somebody that I plan to work with in the future. That wasn’t true. It was a misrepresentation of what I said,” Mulugheta said. “What I did tell them was if they believe a contract was already finalized and they were sending it over to be rubberstamped then they probably shouldn’t send it over.”

Despite representing Parsons, Mulugheta and Jones never got deep into contract extension talks. Mulugheta said it was “confusing” Jones refused to negotiate directly with him.

“We were open to negotiate,” Mulugheta said. “We reached out numerous times.”

Parsons was ultimately traded to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster deal last week. Mulugheta negotiated Parsons’ four-year, $188 million contract with Green Bay that made him the highest-paid non quarterback in NFL history.

Mulugheta reiterated Parsons wanted to remain a Cowboys, which Parsons stated numerous times, but the failed contract negotiations necessitated the trade.

“We did everything we could for him to remain a Cowboy. We reached out,” Mulugheta said. “As far as Micah is concerned, he wanted to be a Cowboy. We did everything we could.”

Marketa Vondrousova has withdrawn from the US Open Women’s Singles tournament with an injury, tournament officials announced Tuesday.

The U.S. Tennis Association did not specify what injury Vondrousova had, leading to the withdrawal.

The announcement came about two hours before Vondrousova was supposed to face No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, the last American male in the draw, were set to play in the second match of the night session on Ashe, and that match will not start before 8:00 p.m. ET.

Sabalenka advances to the semifinals via a walkover and will now face No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, a rematch from the US Open finals a year ago that Sabalenka won in straight sets.

“So sorry for Marketa after all she’s been through. She has been playing amazing tennis, and I know how badly this must hurt for her. Take care of yourself and I hope you can recover quickly,’ Sabalenka said on social media.

Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, missed last year’s US Open tournament with a shoulder injury. She came into the US Open unseeded and ranked 60th in the world and was seen crying following a Wednesday practice session before the withdrawal announcement.

During this year’s run to the US Open quarterfinals, she had beaten two top-10 players: Jasmine Paolini and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana is often included among the greatest at the position in NFL history with his stellar 4-0 record in Super Bowls. Quarterback ‘Mount Rushmore’ groups often name him alongside the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and John Elway.

Super Bowl-winning coach Bruce Arians asked Montana which three current quarterbacks he’d start a franchise with today if he were general manager or head coach. The lone caveat was that he couldn’t pick San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, whom Montana has been an outspoken supporter of.

‘I’m thinking I’m taking the guy in Buffalo,’ Montana said, in reference to reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen. ‘Obviously Joe Burrow, another guy I like a lot. And believe it or not, I like the guy with the Chargers, Justin Herbert. I think they’ve just kind of, kind of gone by the wayside there… I just like the way those three guys are.

I also like the guy in [Philadelphia],’ he added, in reference to Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.

Arians said he was surprised Montana didn’t include Patrick Mahomes.

‘I think I would’ve if he was younger,’ Montana explained. ‘Although they’re not getting hit as much today so they’d probably play forever so I should’ve added Patrick in there.’

Mahomes turns 30 later this month and is older than the quarterbacks Montana mentioned. Allen is 29, Herbert is 27, Burrow will turn 29 in December and Hurts is 27. But Montana also omitted Lamar Jackson who is 28 and the only other active quarterback besides Mahomes with multiple MVP awards before his 30th birthday.

‘I think for us it states how well we are in the National Football League right now with quarterbacks,’ Arians said. ‘We’ve got some really great young quarterbacks in the league right now and I think the league’s in great shape.’

The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission has not yet approved the scheduled fight between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis.
A significant weight difference between the two fighters is a potential issue for the commission’s approval.
It is currently unclear if the event will be a sanctioned professional match or an exhibition.
The commission’s next board meeting, where the event could be considered, is scheduled for September 18.

The fight between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis scheduled for Nov. 14 in Atlanta has not been approved by the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission (GAEC), which regulates boxing in the state, according to a state official.

“The commission hasn’t approved this event yet, but it could still be considered at a future meeting,’’ Robert A. Sinners, Communications Director for the Secretary of State, told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The next GAEC board meeting is on September 18, according to Sinners. He said the Secretary of State provides administrative support for more than 40 state boards and commissions, including the GAEC.

By email, Sinners also said, “I can’t speculate to the board’s motivations for action/non-action.’’

Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Paul and Nakisa Bidvarian, did not immediately respond to requests for comment USA TODAY Sports submitted by email and text message.

Jake Paul vs Tank Davis size: Possible issue with weight

The weight discrepancy between the two fighters is a potential issue, one addressed by rules and regulations in Georgia.

‘No boxing contest or exhibition may be scheduled, and no boxer may engage in a boxing contest or exhibition without the approval of the commission or the commission’s representative if the difference in weight between the boxers exceeds (a maximum of nine pounds),” the rules state.

Paul weighed in at 199 1/2 pounds at his last fight. Davis weighed in at 133 3/4 pounds for his last night.

Matt Woodruff, Executive Director of the GAEC, has not responded to messages from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment. Members of the GAEC’s five-man board could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

Without approval from the GAEC, it’s unclear whether the bout will be a sanctioned professional match or an exhibition. The uncertainty bubbled on Aug. 20 when Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), co-founded by Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, announced the fight and that it would be livestreamed by Netflix.

Representatives at DraftKings, FanDuel and Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas all said they thought the fight would be an exhibition and, as a result, declined to provide odds for the matchup between boxers of significant size discrepancy.

But Bidarian, who, along with Paul, co-founded MVP, told ESPN, ‘We’re still figuring that out. Jake will definitely have to come down below his 200-pound weight that he’s been fighting at. I can tell you that we’re going to have a fight that will have a definitive outcome, whether by way of knockout or decision.’

The decision on approval for a sanctioned pro fight and an exhibition, which would have no official judges scoring, rests with the GAEC.

USA TODAY Sports submitted an open records request for all records for the Nov. 14 boxing match between Paul and Davis and copies of all correspondence between the GAEC and MVP or representatives of MVP. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State stated, “There are no responsive records to your request.’’

The 2025 US Open men’s singles bracket features a rare sight: the only American still in play as No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz will be back in action to face off against tennis legend Novak Djokovic under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Fritz, the 2024 US Open runner-up, cruised into this year’s quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 21 seed Tomas Machac. Fritz is the highest seeded American man in the tournament, and the last U.S. contender standing after a flurry of upsets in the first week.

Djokovic, the No. 7 seed, also had a dominating performance in the fourth round after dismissing Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. The 38-year-old former No. 1 player in the world is a four-time US Open champion and has reached the final six other times. Djokovic has won 24 career Grand Slam singles titles, tied for the most all time among men or women in tennis history.

Get ready to witness a clash of the titans as Taylor Fritz takes on Novak Djokovic in the final quarterfinal match of Tuesday’s slate at the US Open. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match, including how to watch:

What time do Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz play at US Open?

The men’s quarterfinal match between No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz and No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

How to watch Novak Djokovic vs. Taylor Fritz at US Open

No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz will face off against No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic in a men’s quarterfinal match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 2
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream:ESPN+ and Fubo (free trial)
Location: UST Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (New York)

Watch the 2025 US Open on Fubo (free trial)

Novak Djokovic vs. Taylor Fritz head-to-head

Novak Djokovic has beaten Taylor Fritz all 10 times the two have played, including a straight-set win in the US Open quarterfinals in 2023. The two last played in 2024 in an ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai on outdoor hardcourts (similar to the US Open), which Djokovic won 6-4, 6-6 (8-6).

Novak Djokovic vs. Taylor Fritz: Tale of the tape

The Houston Texans signed backup quarterback Davis Mills to a one-year, $7 million contract extension.
This new deal will keep Mills with the Texans through the 2026 NFL season.
Mills’ contract makes him one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the league.

Davis Mills is set to spend his third season as the Houston Texans’ backup quarterback behind C.J. Stroud in 2025.

Evidently, the Texans are happy with that arrangement and want it to continue long-term.

Houston is signing Mills to a one-year, $7 million contract extension that will tie him to the franchise through the 2026 NFL season. The contract will be fully guaranteed and will make the 26-year-old one of the league’s highest-paid backup quarterbacks.

It also marks the second consecutive offseason during which Mills agreed to a one-year extension with the Texans. He inked a one-year, $5 million deal on eve of the 2024 NFL season that tied him to Houston through the 2025 campaign.

Here’s what to know about Mills’ unique contract as well as his history with the Texans.

Davis Mills stats, history

Mills has been with the Texans since the team selected him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The selection, No. 67 overall, was Houston’s first in that year’s draft thanks to a couple of trades that had depleted the team’s early-round draft capital.

The Texans chose Mills with the intention of developing him into the team’s eventual replacement for Deshaun Watson. The Stanford product was given a chance to start frequently during his first two NFL seasons.

Mills completed a respectable 63.6% of his passes for 5,782 yards, 33 touchdowns and 25 interceptions over his first two NFL seasons. However, he posted a record of just 5-19-1 as a starter. That led the Texans to target Stroud when the team earned the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft following a 3-13-1 record in 2022.

Stroud has started all 34 of the Texans’ regular-season games since being drafted by the team. Mills has completed 50.7% of his passes for 385 yards and two touchdowns in limited action backing up the Ohio State product.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has spoken glowingly of Mills when given the opportunity. Specifically, the third-year coach lauded Mills as being ‘in complete control’ after he completed 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown in the team’s 20-10 preseason Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

‘We couldn’t be more pleased with where Davis is. He’s continued to grow every single year,’ Ryans told reporters. ‘He’s been a very valuable asset to us.’

With that endorsement in tow, it’s little surprise Mills received another contract extension. Nonetheless, extensions for backup quarterbacks have not been all too common for NFL teams in recent seasons.

Why Davis Mills’ contract extension is unique

Mills is one of just two current backup quarterbacks – meaning, in this case, the No. 2 quarterback on a team’s depth chart – who have signed a contract extension before the final season of their previous contract. The other is Chicago Bears backup Tyson Bagent, who inked a two-year, $10 million deal that could be worth up to $16 million in incentives just weeks before Mills’ deal.

Comparatively, most of the NFL’s other 30 backup quarterbacks were either extended as pending free agents – like Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton, who inked a two-year extension with the Panthers after the 2024 NFL season and just one month before his contract expired – or signed as unrestricted free agents.

That makes Mills’ extension rather unique. And the fact that he has twice been extended before the final year of his contract is exceedingly rare for a backup quarterback.

While Mills’ deal may be rare, it is about market-value for a high-end backup quarterback. His new deal’s $7 million in average annual value (AAV) places him third among the league’s backups, with only Anthony Richardson (who is still on a rookie deal) and Marcus Mariota ranking ahead of him.

Mills will make more on his new contract than two of the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks in 2025. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who is still playing on a rookie contract, is set to play for $4.65 million in his second season while the recently announced Cleveland Browns starter Joe Flacco will make $4.25 million.

USA TODAY Sports’ Jack McKessy contributed to this report.