RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State quarterback Grayson McCall announced his retirement from football on Wednesday, less than three weeks after a vicious hit knocked him out of a game for the second time this season.
McCall was a sixth-year player who was a graduate transfer after a record-setting five years at Coastal Carolina, where he threw for more than 10,000 yards but also had trouble with concussions.
McCall was knocked out of the Wolfpack’s Sept. 14 game against Louisiana Tech and, in his first game back, he left the field on a cart and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation after a helmet-jarring hit in the first quarter against Wake Forest on Oct. 5.
“As you all know I have battled injuries my whole career, but this is one that I cannot come back from,” McCall wrote in an Instagram post. “I have done everything I can to continue, but this is where the good Lord has called me to serve in a different space. Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up.”
McCall grew up in Indian Trail and was a three-star prospect coming out of Porter Ridge High School. He threw for 10,005 yards in 42 games at Coastal Carolina with 88 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions.
He was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year for three consecutive seasons (2020-22) and threw a touchdown pass in 23 straight games over two seasons.
“From Porter Ridge to Conway and this past year in Raleigh, this journey has been better than any dream I could’ve ever envisioned,” McCall wrote. “This game has taken me places I never thought I would go, and has shaped my family and I in ways I never imagined. I have made so many memories that will stay with me forever, and I am so grateful for that.”
Double the fun?
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State and Washington State will meet twice next season before reviving the Pac-12 conference in 2026, with both teams announcing the matchups Wednesday.
Oregon State will host the Cougars in Corvallis on Nov. 1, 2025. Washington State will then welcome the Beavers to Pullman on Nov. 29, four Saturdays later.
Oregon State and Washington State were the lone teams remaining in the Pac-12 after a mass exodus took two teams to the Atlantic Coast Conference, four to the Big 12 and four to the Big Ten. This season, the Beavers and Cougars had a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference, but the deal was not extended for another season.
The Pac-12 recently announced it would be joined by four current MWC teams in a new Pac-12 starting in 2026 — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State — after MWC member Utah State had already agreed to join the conference. Basketball power Gonzaga will also leave the West Coast Conference to join the Pac-12 as a nonfootball member in 2026.
The remaining MWC teams — Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming — signed a memorandum of understanding to stay in the league.
In addition to the games against Oregon State, Washington State’s schedule next season includes home games against Idaho, Louisiana Tech, San Diego State, Toledo and Washington, and road games against North Texas, Ole Miss and Virginia, leaving two dates to be filled.
Oregon State’s home schedule includes California, Fresno State, Houston, Lafayette, Wake Forest and Sam Houston. The Beavers visit Texas Tech, Oregon, Appalachian State and Tulsa.
Owls upset Flames
KENNESAW, Ga. — Davis Bryson threw a touchdown pass, Qua Ashley and Michael Benefield each rushed for a score, and Kennesaw State beat previously undefeated Liberty 27-24 on Wednesday night to secure the program’s first Football Bowl Subdivision victory.
ESPN reported it was the first time in 23 years a team 0-5 or worse defeated a team 5-0 or better in FBS competition.
Kennesaw State (1-6, 1-2 Conference USA) also picked up its first win against an NCAA Division I team since topping Football Championship Subdivision member UT Martin on Nov. 5, 2022. The Owls had wins last season over Tusculum University, a Tennessee program that competes in Division II; Virginia University of Lynchburg, which competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association; and Lincoln University of Oakland, California, an independent program not affiliated with any sanctioning body.
Liberty (5-1, 3-1), which entered as one of 11 unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS this season, had the longest active regular-season winning streak end at 17 games.
Kennesaw State held a 24-17 lead when Liberty decided to go for it on fourth-and-6 with eight minutes left. The Flames were flagged for a false start to move out of field-goal range at the 34-yard line, and the Owls pressured Kaidon Salter into a throw out of bounds to get the ball back.
Bryson then completed passes of 15 yards to Christian Moss and 25 to Blake Bohannon to get into Liberty territory. Austin Welch capped the drive with his 11th straight made field goal, converting from 42 yards, for a 27-17 lead with 4:13 remaining.
Liberty drove downfield quickly, the drive ending in a 17-yard toss from Salter to Elijah Canion with 1:49 left to get within three points.
Preston Daniels recovered the onside kick for Kennesaw State, but the Owls were unable to pick up a first down and gave the ball back to Liberty with six seconds left at its 35-yard line. Salter’s throw went out of bounds, and fans rushed the field, but the officials put one second back on the clock. After the fans returned to the stands, Liberty fumbled a lateral play to end it.
Salter threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns.