First Call: Kenny Pickett starts, backup shines for Carolina; Akron fan-OC promo vs. Robert Morris paying off
Friday’s “First Call” reviews Kenny Pickett’s Hall of Fame Game debut for Carolina. We examine Pitt’s win-total odds in conference play. The Pirates try to get back on the winning track against the Mets.
And Akron’s promotion to have a fan become the offensive coordinator for a series against Robert Morris is paying off.
Got the job done
Kenny Pickett opened the NFL preseason as quarterback of the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game against Arizona. They nipped the Cardinals, 33-30, in Canton.
The Pitt alum and former Pittsburgh Steeler was 8 of 11 for 62 yards and one sack. He led a touchdown drive before being pulled in the second quarter of a 7-7 tie.
It was Pickett’s backup who really stood out. Haynes King was 21 of 34 for 180 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 39 yards and a score to win the game.
HAYNES KING WINS IT FOR THE PANTHERS ‼️ pic.twitter.com/HESbUZGhBN
— NFL (@NFL) August 7, 2026
The Panthers’ starter, Bryce Young, didn’t play at all. Neither did Cardinals running back James Connor, another Pitt product who used to play for the Steelers. Another one-time Panther, Kedon Slovis, was 9 of 10 for 106 yards and a touchdown as the Cardinals’ second quarterback.
Setting expectations
Speaking of Pitt football, odds are out for ACC win totals.
BetOnline Sports and Casino has the Panthers at over-under 5.5 wins on the season. Only SMU (6.5) and Miami (7.5) have a higher total. Boston College is at the bottom of the conference at 1.5.
Pitt’s payout is at plus-110 to go over that total and minus-140 to stay under. Pat Narduzzi’s club was 6-2 in conference play a year ago.
This year, the Panthers have Syracuse, North Carolina, Florida State and Georgia Tech as conference home opponents. Their ACC road foes are Boston College, Louisville, Cal, Virginia Tech and Miami.
Cellar dwellers
The New York Mets are coming to Pittsburgh this weekend to play the Pirates for a three-game series between last-place teams.
Yup. Let that sentence sink in for a moment.
At 57-60, the Pirates have fallen into sole possession of last place in the National League Central. This is their lowest point of the season.
Meanwhile, the Mets (50-66) opened the season by taking two of three from the Bucs. They were 7-4 after 11 games. But by May 1 they were 11-21, and they haven’t sniffed .500 since.
Interim manager Andy Green’s team is 20½ games off the pace of National League East-leading Atlanta, and 11 games out of a wild card spot.
The Pirates now trail Arizona for that third wild card slot by 4½ games, with five teams to pass. Carmen Mlodzinski (6-3, 3.15 ERA) starts the series opener Friday night in place of the injured Mitch Keller. His last start was a 5-1 victory for the team over the Chicago Cubs on May 25.
Since then, Mlodzinski has been working out of the bullpen. The right-hander hasn’t suffered a loss to his record since May 8 in San Francisco. Against the Mets on March 29, he got eight strikeouts and walked no one en route to a no-decision in New York as the Bucs won 4-3.
Mlodzinski will be opposed by Zac Thornton, who is 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA in seven starts. The lefty was called up and made his MLB debut May 20.
Desired result
That stunt the Akron football team is pulling in advance of their game against Robert Morris appears to be working. In an effort to boost season ticket sales, the Zips are drawing the name of a random season ticket holder to be the team’s offensive coordinator for one drive to open their Week 2 game at home against RMU.
According to Front Office Sports, Akron’s football suites are sold out for the first time in program history. The offer includes a pre-game press conference, being mic’d up with a headset and playsheet, and being in the coaches’ box during the game.
Pittsburgh-born Joe Moorhead is Akron’s coach. He told TMZ he was hesitant at first when presented with the idea, but is fully on board now.
“I think the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Moorhead said. “Not surprisingly, I’m sure there’s a certain faction of social media that’s going to troll and turn it into something negative. But at the end of the day, when you get 15 million views on one Twitter post on your social media account in an age where student-athletes and fans and the general college football public look to for their content, you know, they say any publicity is good publicity, and this has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Moorhead also went on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday to promote and embrace the event.
“The credit for this idea belongs to our athletic director..
We’re giving a fan a unique experience and this is gonna be a pretty cool thing” ~ @BallCoachJoeMo #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/mO3YhIKcDD
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 6, 2026
The Zips are hosting RMU on Sept. 12. They start the season at Wake Forest the previous week and are at Minnesota the week after. RMU will have faced Wagner and West Virginia State before playing this game.
LISTEN: Tim Benz and Mark Madden host an immediate reaction podcast to discuss the $32 million contract for Ville Koivunen.
