The Jacksonville Jaguars endured a rough night at home, falling by 17 points to the Carolina Panthers in a preseason performance defined more by mistakes than progress. Jacksonville was its own worst enemy throughout the evening, committing 10 total penalties, with nine officially called, while also turning the ball over twice. For a team filled with players fighting for roster spots and playing time, the opportunity was there to make an impression—but far too many depth players struggled to get out of their own way.

Here’s everything you need to know from Jacksonville’s 2026 Week 2 preseason 34-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

With the top players from the Jacksonville starting units sitting out following a dominant early joint practice on Wednesday, the Jacksonville backups took the field to face the Panthers starting offense and much of the starting defense, minus a few notable starters.

• DL Derrick Brown
• LB Jaelan Phillips
• LB Devin Lloyd
• CB Jaycee Horn
• RB Chuba Hubbard
• TE Darren Waller

For Jacksonville, the majority of the first and second team starting units rested on Friday, following Wednesday’s joint practice, resulting in more playing time for the Jaguars’ rookie class and depth players.

With four Carolina Panthers defenders sitting with injuries, the seven starters who dressed struggled early to limit Jacksonville backup quarterback Nick Mullens. Mullens began the game going 6 of 7 for 65-yards, and a 9.3-yard average per reception. The bigger note was his lone incompletion: a second-down Ameer Abullah drop that likely should have been a touchdown. Following the incompletion, Mullens was sacked on third-down, forcing a redzone field goal by Cam Little. The rookie duo of Josh Cameron and CJ Williams ended the first quarter with 69 total yards on the field goal drive.

Another notable takeaway early performance of Ameer Abullah, who ended the first quarter with rushes of 23 and 13-yards. Abdullah ended the quarter with 6-rushes for 45-yards.

ANKLES

Ameer Abdullah goes for 23!#CARvsJAX on CBS47 pic.twitter.com/aJsTiDA5Bx

Abdullah, easily Jacksonville’s brightest spot on the day, added three catches for 37 yards before hanging his helmet up Friday night. Defensively, the Jacksonville defense was busy early against the Panthers’ starting offense, forcing an opening-drive three-and-out, courtesy of Branson Combs. Combs closed out the first drive with a quarterback hit, forcing an opening-drive punt.

The Panthers' first-team offense will punt it away after an early Ventrell Miller run stuff, followed by third-down Branson Combs QB pressure. Great plays by both Jax LBs, showing their strengths

Great swim move to make Brooks miss on the blockpic.twitter.com/wZQmnJm6UD

Young’s day ended with the Panthers’ quarterback being pressured on three of his six pass attempts against the Jaguars’ second-string defense. Notably, he was just two of three for nine yards when pressured.

Bryce Young finishes with 49 passing yards on 5 of 6 passing. He played 11 snaps and was pressured on three of six throws, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

He had a 100.7 passer rating.

Unfortunately, similar to the opening half against the New Orleans Saints in preseason week 1, the Jaguars were unable to keep the game competitive early. For consecutive weeks, the Jaguars fell behind their opponent 20-6 at the half. Most notably, the defense struggled to stop the run, surrendering 7.1 yards per carry on 13 rushes at halftime, while the self-inflicted penalties also continued. Jacksonville committed 9 penalties for 60 yards in the first half also, with one turnover: a Carter Bradley turnover.

OUR BALL

Chau Smith-Wade with the INT

📺: WSOC
📻 : @997TheFox
📲 : In-market in the Panthers app pic.twitter.com/t83TGbwSqX

• OL Jerome Carvin: 1 Offensive Holding; 1 Ineligible Man Downfield
• OL Kilian Zierer: False Start
• OL Sam Mustipher: False Start
• QB Carter Bradley: Delay of Game
• TE Hunter Long: Offensive Offside (declined)
• LB Branson Combs: Pass Interference
• LB Yasir Abdullah: Defensive Holding
• LB Jahlani Tavai: Illegal Block Above the Waist
• DL Jalen Hunt: Roughing the Passer
• CB Christian Braswell: Defensive Holding

The miscues didn’t stay in the first half, as DeeJay Dallas opened the second half with a turnover 2:12 into the third quarter after fumbling the ball on a third-down rush.

43 Smith with a forced fumble.

Panthers having a good night, all three phases. pic.twitter.com/uOq5YmiKJi

The defense walked away from Friday’s matchup, surrendering 5.3 yards per carry, something that will likely infuriate defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. From the second drive on, the defense struggled to slow down the run game for Carolina.

Cam Little was three of three on the night, with a long of 43 yards, while punter Logan Cooke averaged 57 yards on his three punts.

Carter Bradley’s second-quarter interception was the moment the dam broke for Jacksonville on Friday. Down 10-3, the turnover gave Carolina the ball back at the Jacksonville 29-yard line.

Chau Smith-Wade flies in for the @Panthers INT 😮

Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/LZGTO2YxYn

They would extend their second-quarter lead to 14, three plays later via a 7-yard AJ Dillon rush. They would never look back.

Favorite highlight:

Anthony Campanile animated with the defensive unit on the sideline pic.twitter.com/hDYckBsSOy

• QB Nick Mullens: 6/7 for 65-yards, 9.3 avg, and 105.4 passer rating
• WR Josh Cameron: 2 catches on 2 targets for 41-yards (20.5 YPR), with a long of 23-yards
• RB Ameer Abdullah: 6 carries for 45-yards (7.5 YPC), 3 receptions for 37-yards on 4 targets (12.3 YPR)
• LB Jahlani Tavai: 4 tackles, 2 solo, and 2 QB hits

View the full box score here

• Special Teams: Punter Logan Cooke (3 punts for 171-yards, 57.0 average, and a long of 60-yards)
• Defense: N/A
• Offense: Ameer Abdullah

Live blog:

Catch up on all the big plays and best moments from Saturday’s game in our live blog!

What are your notables from Saturday’s game, Jaguars fans? Who surprised you most or disappointed you with their play? Let us know in the comments.

Little League World Series schedule 2026: Full bracket, times, channels, scores for every LLWS game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

One of the most anticipated sporting events of the summer is back, with the 2026 edition of the Little League World Series set to crown another champion. 

Baseball players between 10 and 12 years old representing 20 teams from around the globe are back in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with the winners of the U.S. and International brackets set to face off for the championship on Aug. 30. 

There will be no repeat champion this year, as Taiwan didn't make it through the Asia-Pacific region tournament after winning the LLWS title in 2025 and finishing as runner-up in 2024. The U.S. bracket also features 10 new teams from last year, illustrating how difficult it is to navigate the regionals and make it to Williamsport. 

Who will claim youth baseball glory to close out this summer? Here's all you need to know to watch every game of the 2026 Little League Baseball World Series. 

• TV channels: ESPN, ABC, ESPN2
• Live streams:fubo

Little League World Series games will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC or ESPN2 (see the full schedule below) and can also be streamed live on fubo, which offers a free trial to new users. 

Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)

All four of Thursday's scheduled games were postponed due to inclement weather.

No games scheduled

• Great Lakes: Hamilton, Ohio
• Metro: Bayonne, New Jersey
• Mid-Atlantic: West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Midwest: Davenport, Iowa
• Mountain: Henderson, Nevada
• New England: Bridgewater, Massachusetts
• Northwest: Tacoma, Washington
• Southeast: Phenix City, Alabama
• Southwest: Boerne, Texas
• West: Bonita, California 

• Asia-Pacific: Seoul, South Korea
• Australia: Sydney
• Canada: Vancouver
• Caribbean: Santiago, Dominican Republic
• Curacao: Willemstad
• Europe-Africa: Brno, Czechia
• Japan: Tokyo
• Latin America: Leon, Nicaragua
• Mexico: Tijuana
• Panama: Chiriqui

• Latest MLB news and rumors
• 2026 MLB schedule and scores
• MLB standings 2026

The Hoops produced an impressive European display at Celtic Park to establish a commanding advantage ahead of next week’s return leg in Austria.

LASK actually thought they had made the perfect start when they found the net inside the opening minute, only for the goal to be ruled out.

Celtic eventually settled and Benjamin Nygren broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike from outside the box.

Camilo Duran then took centre stage, producing a stunning volley shortly before half-time before adding his second after the break to cap an excellent night for O’Neill’s side.

Chris Sutton was among those blown away by Duran’s finish, while Celtic will now travel to Austria knowing they are potentially just 90 minutes away from the Champions League proper.

Despite the three-goal cushion, O’Neill was keen to keep his players grounded and warned that LASK showed enough at Celtic Park to demonstrate the danger they still possess.

O’Neill told TNT Sports, “I thought it was a really tough evening for us. Yeah. Really tough evening. We won 3-0, and they’re a really good side.

“I said to the players beforehand, anyway, that they’ve got plenty of pace up front as well too, and they’re a very, very, very fine, talented team.

“And we still have our work cut out, but we’ve given ourselves a chance, let me put it that way.

“They scored a goal just in the first minute chalked off for offside or whatever it was, and they started so brightly it was untrue, and it took us a 10, 15 minutes to get in our stride.”

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Celtic Shorts is the new home for the team from The Celtic Star

Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, both published on 4th September 2026 by Celtic Star Books. Click on image to order.

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With the 2026 Indiana football season rapidly approaching, we’re going through the Hoosiers’ roster with position by position previews as the program moves into a post-national title era.

We’ll be previewing the offense first this week with the defense following next week. Follow along

• Quarterbacks
• Wide receivers
• Running backs
• Tight ends

Carter Smith – Sr (5)

• Role: Starting LT

Smith needs little introduction for ye who’ve paid any amount of attention to Indiana football lately. He’s been the starter at left tackle for three seasons now and is one of the top offensive linemen in all of college football.

There was a wrinkle to this year’s offseason with him missing Spring ball after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery for an injury suffered during the national championship, but he’s back and ready to roll for the Fall. That injury actually gave some real opportunity to Indiana’s depth along the line, which needs as much work as it can get for this season and the future.

Drew Evans – Sr (5)

• Role: Starting LG

Evans, like Smith, holds down the left side of Indiana’s offensive line.

His story is just about as good as it gets in college football, joining in-state Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on before following position coach Bob Bostad to Indiana for the 2024 season. He’s been a starter, a great one, for the Hoosiers ever since.

Indiana’s line took a real hit without him in 2024 when he suffered a season-ending injury in the leadup to the matchup against Michigan. He sat some with injuries in 2025, but starts at left guard whenever he’s available. He was key to keeping Fernando Mendoza upright through the Hoosiers’ postseason run.

Bray Lynch – Sr (5)

• Role: Starting C

And this is where things get really different from 2025.

Indiana has had strong play at center from two veterans in Mike Katic back in 2024 and former Notre Dame transfer Pat Coogan in 2025. Coogan was effective on the field but perhaps even moreso as a leader in the locker room, being named Rose Bowl MVP for a strong performance against Alabama that all but broke the Crimson Tide’s will.

Bray Lynch, Indiana’s starting right guard in both 2024 and 2025, has made the move over one spot to take Coogan’s role at center. He follows in the footsteps of Katic, who made a similar move ahead of the 2024 season after plenty of experience starting at guard during the Tom Allen era.

Lynch is a bit smaller than both of Katic and Coogan, weighing in at under 300 lbs, per Indiana’s Athletics website, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him put on some additional mass ahead of the move this season.

Adedamola Ajani – Jr

• Role: Starting RG

This is where I raised a bit of an eyebrow.

Ajani was the Hoosiers’ best depth lineman in 2025 by some distance in spite of his inexperience and stepped in for an injured Evans before becoming a key part of the line during the postseason running, including at right tackle in the National Championship Game.

He’s seemingly moved back inside for 2026, taking reps at right guard in camp. I’d figured he could be in line for more time at that right tackle spot with Indiana adding a career interior lineman in Brunner, but that isn’t the case at this point. Curt Cignetti said he wants to see more maturity out of Ajani this season, which is something to watch as the weeks go on.

Ajani is definitely capable on the interior and has the kind of size such a lineman needs, but it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to being a full time starter rather than a pinch guy.

Joe Brunner – Sr (5)

• Role: Starting RT

Brunner was Indiana’s prized addition on the offensive line this offseason after losing just one starter from 2025’s unit, Coogan, and he’s where the line gets a tad more interesting.

Ajani had more experience at guard than tackle in 2025, playing well in that reserve role. Brunner now makes the transition from guard to tackle after only ever starting at left guard for Wisconsin across two seasons in 2024 and 2025. Not only has he spent the vast majority of his time on the interior, it’s also been on the left side of the line.

Playing on the right side at tackle is a massive change. Luckily for Indiana, Brunner is a massive human. He’s the tallest of the Hoosiers’ starting offensive linemen at 6’7” and weighs in at 313lbs, equalling that of Smith, his fellow tackle.

He has the size and he’s had the time to get in work at his new spot against some strong opposing defensive linemen. The rest of the line is formidable, but Indiana really needs Brunner to jell early if it wants to reach its goals in 2026.

Note:

This is where the line gets more interesting. We’ve seen enough of the starters over the years to know what to expect at this point. This group will need to provide some reliable depth and development for the sake of the program’s future, so be sure to watch it develop in 2026.

Cignetti mentioned this depth in particular during a fall camp media availability, singling out Austin Leibfried, Matt Marek, Baylor Wilkin and Sam Simpson (!) as key pieces, admitting that he was probably forgetting someone on the spot.

Austin Leibfried – Jr

• Role: Depth

Leibfried is entering his third season with the program, appearing sparingly in both 2024 and 2025 to get some relief reps in.

He was clearly behind both of Ajani and Zen Michalski as a depth option last year, but has an opportunity to log some meaningful snaps in 2026. Whenever he appeared in 2025, he was a center with the second unit. Most of his work has come along the interior, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a filler a la Ajani last season should it come to that.

He’s pretty big for an interior lineman at 6’6” and right around 300 lbs.

Baylor Wilkin – So

• Role: Depth

If Leibfried provides some depth along the interior, Wilkin provides the same on the outside.

Wilkin, like Leibfried, saw all of his 2025 action with the second unit rather than in relief of a starter, which is something he had to do this offseason due to Smith’s injury. Wilkin took over at left tackle this spring and got some really valuable reps in against Indiana’s defense.

He doesn’t have the typical size you’d expect from a tackle, but he has the speed and athletic ability to make up for that.

Matt Marek – S0

• Role: Depth

Marek played sparingly as a true freshman in 2025, typically as part of a fourth quarter second unit in blowouts, but he got on the field, which is a credit to him.

He profiles as more of an interior lineman with his size but played both tackle positions in high school in Illinois, so there could be some positional flexibility that makes his future more intriguing. As Cignetti said, he’s stood out in practice, so he’s one to watch for potential depth this season and as a factor in the room’s future.

Sam Simpson – Fr

• Role: Depth

Simpson’s an interesting one. It’s not often that true freshmen, or first-year players now, make an impact on the offensive line this early in there careers yet he was singled out by Curt Cignetti as one who’s stood out up to this point.

He’s got prototypical size for an interior lineman at 6’3”, 304 lbs with a bit of room to grow and, just like several of his predecessors under Bob Bostad, hails from Wisconsin. We can’t be too sure what form his 2026 contributions will take, but him being a factor this early on is a positive sign for the room’s future.

Note:

The remainder of the room, as true freshmen, will likely need a bit more time at the college level to develop into contributors. Regardless, here’s a handful of thoughts.

Ben Novak – Fr

• Role: Develop

Novak was a late flip away from Wisconsin (running theme here, the Badgers) in the Hoosiers’ class of 2026.

He has great size at 6’6” and 300+ lbs, hailing from Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana. He was sought after locally too, with both Louisville and Kentucky being factors in his recruitment.

CJ Scifries – Fr

• Role: Develop

Scifries, like Novak, has a bit more size at 6’5”, 300lbs and joins the former as an in-state recruit, this time coming from Center Grove High School in Greenwood.

Kenton Mondeau – Fr

• Role: Develop

Last, but not least, Mondeau comes to Indiana from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and has the size of his fellow freshmen at 6’7”, 300+ lbs.

Indiana’s true freshmen are pretty sizable all around and should be a promising group for Bob Bostad to build on heading into the future.