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ACC notebook: Bill Belichick says UNC 'way ahead' of '25 team

Jul 17, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, talks with the media during interviews at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn ImagesJul 17, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick, talks with the media during interviews at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick has plenty of reasons to be upbeat about his second season at the helm of North Carolina, including 40 true freshmen entering the program, a new offensive coordinator in Bobby Petrino and a new starting quarterback.

Following a 4-8 campaign last year that featured 70 newcomers, including 40 portal players, this year’s squad has just 20 players from the portal.

Speaking to the media on Friday at ACC media days in Charlotte, Belichick said the difference between this year’s squad and last year’s is “night and day.”

“Overall as a football team, our culture, our program, our ability to operate as a team is much higher than it was a year ago,” he told ESPN, “and our talent level is higher.”

Belichick was not hired until Dec. 11, 2024, making it extremely difficult to recruit high school players for the 2025 season. This year, of the 40 incoming freshmen, 31 enrolled early.

After the spring portal last year, players moved around and it was much more difficult for programs to develop chemistry. The spring portal has since been eliminated by an NCAA vote.

“We had so many new players coming in that had never even been in spring ball,” Belichick said. “At least most of our players now have been in spring ball. … So we’re way ahead.”

“We’ve had the same team the whole year,” receiver Jordan Shipp said. “We didn’t get 40 guys in December. All of them leaving and get another 50 in May. So I mean, just being able to have the same team for the whole offseason … that’s what’s going to really separate us from last year, being able to build that chemistry.”

For the second straight season, North Carolina will open against TCU, which handed Belichick and the Tar Heels a 48-14 loss to kick off his tenure on a sour note. This year the game will be in Ireland in Week 0 and will give UNC a strong idea where it stands in 2026.

“It’ll definitely be a challenge for us,” Belichick said. “They do a good job. It’s the overall team competitiveness and toughness that TCU has. That’s really what you got to be ready for.”

–Pitt’s Narduzzi accuses Miami of tampering with Heintschel

Along with revealing that he reached out to Duke head coach Manny Diaz before Miami’s pursuit of All-ACC quarterback Darian Mensah, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said the Hurricanes tried to tamper with his star freshman QB Mason Heintschel.

“Miami tried to get Mason (Heintschel) Thursday before (the portal closed the following day), and we were able to hang on to him and shut them down,” Narduzzi told The Athletic. “Shoot, I talked to Manny that Thursday afternoon and said, ‘Hey, watch out. I hear he’s going for your guy next.’ And sure enough, they stole him.”

Diaz, on the other hand, was not as accusatory regarding Miami’s pursuit of Mensah.

“It’s an unanswerable question because ultimately what it came down to, and this is why it was never an issue for us, is you can only say what you can prove,” Diaz said. “So to me it doesn’t matter. And that’s why our issue was never with any other school. The school was very consistent.”

–Diaz: Duke deserved CFP bid in 2025

Duke head coach Manny Diaz had some choice words for those who did not believe the Blue Devils should have been in the ACC title game last year.

“I heard we made the news. I heard we got a rule named after us,” Diaz said regarding the new conference tiebreaker system the ACC unveiled this week. “It’s pretty cool, right? The Duke tiebreaker rule.

“I just want to start my remarks by addressing our thoughts on that. Inherent in the narrative of changing a tiebreaker for the conference championship game is the assertion that last year’s team was undeserved of being in the championship game. You hear that word, that now there will be more deserved teams in the championship game.

“I want to push back against that narrative. I think it’s not just false, I think it’s insulting.”

Miami, which made it all the way to the national championship game before losing to undefeated Indiana, was left out of the ACC title game, which saw Duke beat Virginia for its first conference championship.

Regarding the ACC’s new tiebreaker formula for its title game, a team’s “body of work” and head-to-head results will determine which teams will play for the crown. That “body of work” will be determined by the Team Success Ranking from SportSource Analytics, which the CFP also uses.

–SMU’s Lashlee feels Duke belonged in CFP

Along with congratulating Duke on its ACC conference championship, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said Friday that the Blue Devils deserved to make last year’s College Football Playoff over James Madison.

James Madison, which won the Sun Belt championship and was ranked No. 24, joined No. 20 Tulane (which won the American Conference championship) in the CFP. In the previous CFP formula, the five highest-rated conference champs received automatic berths, so Duke — which had five losses and was not ranked in the CFP standings — was left on the outside looking in.

“When you win the ACC the way they did, and who they beat, they should have been in instead of a team from the Sun Belt,” Lashlee said of Duke. “Hopefully, things get learned, and that doesn’t happen again. We should have been a two-bid league.”

This season, the champions of four power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, SEC and Big 12) will receive automatic berths, along with the highest-rated team from a Group of 6 conference (American, MAC, Pac-12, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Conference USA).

–Field Level Media

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Red Sox win 10th straight in first game of doubleheader vs. Rays

Jul 17, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA;  Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) hits a single during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn ImagesJul 17, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Masataka Yoshida (7) hits a single during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Jake Bennett threw six scoreless innings before a six-run sixth inning allowed the Boston Red Sox to blow open a 10-0 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Friday afternoon.

Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez each homered as part of three-hit days for the Red Sox, who banged out 15 hits en route to their 10th consecutive victory dating back to July 3.

Yoshida (3-for-5) added a double and finished a triple shy of a cycle, while Narvaez and Caleb Durbin were both 3-for-4.

Bennett (5-3) allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three. He has won four straight outings.

Alec Gamboa went the rest of the way, allowing just two hits over the final three innings for a save.

The Red Sox quickly bounced back from going down 1-2-3 to start the game against Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax (5-7), as back-to-back hits by Durbin and Yoshida led to second-inning runs. Jarren Duran drove in the opening run on a sacrifice fly before Narvaez dropped an RBI single into center for a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Bennett threw 3 1/3 no-hit innings before Junior Caminero’s one-out single in the fourth. Jonathan Aranda was Tampa Bay’s lone baserunner before that knock, drawing a one-out walk as the second batter of the game.

In the fourth, Yoshida tucked a leadoff solo homer around Pesky’s Pole in right field to extend the Boston advantage to 3-0.

The first six Red Sox batters reached base and five scored in the sixth. Durbin was hit by a pitch, Yoshida singled to center and Romy Gonzalez walked to load the bases, and then Duran continued the merry-go-round by chopping a two-run single through the right side.

After Chris Roycroft relieved Jax, Narvaez and Tsung-Che Cheng laid down back-to-back bunt singles that produced runs. Catcher Nick Fortes’ throwing error on Narvaez’s chopper plated another.

Roycroft did induce a double play ball, but two more runs came home with two outs, as Ceddanne Rafaela battled through a nine-pitch at-bat for an RBI double off the Green Monster and Durbin knocked another RBI single to right after Wilyer Abreu was intentionally walked.

In the eighth, Gamboa — who was recalled as Boston’s 26th man for the twin bill — worked around a Taylor Walls one-out double as only the second Tampa Bay hit before Narvaez socked a solo homer over everything in left field to move the Boston lead to double digits.

The Red Sox took their last at-bats with position player Ben Williamson pitching for the Rays.

–Field Level Media

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Bryson DeChambeau penalized 2 strokes at The Open for improving lie

Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Bryson DeChambeau walks from the second tee during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn ImagesJul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Bryson DeChambeau walks from the second tee during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Bryson DeChambeau was handed a two-stroke penalty following his second round at the Open Championship on Friday in Southport, England, after R&A rules officials determined he had taken actions to improve his lie on a shot on the fifth hole.

A popular but divisive figure in the world of golf, the member of LIV Golf originally posted a 4-under 66 to take second place at 7 under, one shot behind Australia’s Lucas Herbert. Now, DeChambeau will enter the weekend three behind Herbert instead of one, his bogey 5 at the fifth hole changed to a triple-bogey 7.

DeChambeau hit his drive at the par-4 fifth hole far right and eventually found the ball in a native area. Replays showed the two-time major winner stamping down on different patches of tall grass near his ball. It may have affected not the lie of the ball, but the path for his eventual swing.

After news broke that officials were considering a two-stroke penalty, DeChambeau went back to the scene on the fifth hole with his caddie and two rules officials to discuss the sequence of events. U.S. TV cameras captured a discussion several minutes long, and at points DeChambeau could be seen gesticulating and getting animated.

More than an hour after his round ended, the R&A, who organize The Open, finalized their official decision, his new score being reflected on the leaderboard online.

Neither the R&A nor DeChambeau or his representatives had commented as of 4:35 p.m. ET.

–Field Level Media

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Lucas Herbert fires 62 for Open lead as penalty knocks DeChambeau back

Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Lucas Herbert lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale.Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Lucas Herbert lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale.

Lucas Herbert tied the major championship single-round scoring record with a 62 Friday and will enter the weekend with a two-shot lead at the Open Championship in Southport, England.

Fellow LIV Golf member Bryson DeChambeau was poised to play with Herbert in Saturday’s final pairing, one off the lead, but a lengthy review after DeChambeau’s round resulted in a two-stroke penalty on his fifth hole, knocking him from 7 under to 5 under.

After Herbert set the pace at 8-under-par 132 in the morning, DeChambeau played in the afternoon wave and finished birdie-birdie to post a 66 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. However, he met with R&A rules officials after his round and was determined to have improved his lie in the rough at No. 5 by stamping down on tall grass that could have been in his swing path.

His penalty was formalized more than an hour after his round ended, leaving him with a triple-bogey 7 on the hole and a 68 for the day.

Instead of a narrow lead over a two-time major champion, Herbert will enter the weekend two clear of Cameron Young (67), Ryan Gerard (67) and first-round leader Jackson Suber (69).

Herbert, 30, needed par at No. 18 to shoot the first 61 in major championship history or birdie to make an unprecedented 60, but his 5-foot par save missed centimeters to the left of the cup.

The Australian was soon joined by Sam Burns, who recorded the seventh 62 at a major to catapult to 5 under. Si Woo Kim of South Korea also shot 67 to join Burns and DeChambeau at 5 under.

Branden Grace of South Africa shot the first round of 62 at a major nine years ago, the last time The Open was held at Royal Birkdale. The list has since grown to seven 62s, counting Herbert’s and Burns’ on Friday.

Herbert was asked when he believed he could equal or better the record of 62.

“It’s not a great question because I’m too much of an optimist, and I thought it when I hit it to about 5 feet on the third hole,” Herbert admitted. “I’m a golf nerd anyway, so I know all the numbers, all the records, everything like that.”

Two groups behind him, Burns holed out for birdie from the greenside bunker at No. 18, capping off a birdie-birdie-birdie finish.

Burns’ 62 was a mirror image of Herbert’s. Whereas the Australian tied the major nine-hole scoring record with a 28 on the front nine, Burns went out in 2 under and made six birdies coming in — including a chip-in at No. 16 before the bunker holeout at No. 18.

“Yeah, it was in a good spot in the bunker (at No. 18), which you never know what you’re going to get in the pot bunkers here. So I was happy when I saw that when I walked up,” Burns said. “It was a tricky bunker shot because I had to land it in the fringe there and use the slope down to the hole. Definitely very lucky for it to go in.”

The group tied for eighth at 4 under includes some real threats to make a weekend move. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a 68 with 16 pars and two birdies. He is joined by hometown favorite Tommy Fleetwood (67), Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (69), England’s Alex Fitzpatrick (67) and Spanish star Jon Rahm (67).

Rahm was given an official code of conduct warning after throwing a club at the 15th hole. He could be subject to a two-stroke penalty if he has another outburst this weekend.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland improved on his opening 72 by five strokes, but left opportunities on the table with eight pars and one birdie on his back nine. His 67 lifted him to 1 under for the week.

Xander Schauffele rebounded from a bogey at No. 17 with a straightforward birdie at No. 18 to shoot 69 and head to the clubhouse at even par. Schauffele extended his run of made cuts at major championships to 19, the longest active streak.

The cut line is expected to settle at 1 over par. Notables who won’t play the weekend include former Open champion Cameron Smith of Australia (2 over), PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai of England (2 over), U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark (3 over), Tom Kim of South Korea (3 over), Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (4 over) and Australia’s Jason Day (4 over). Jordan Spieth faltered to a second-round 77 and finished 10 over, beating only four players who finished two rounds.

–Field Level Media

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