North Carolina football fans shifted from excitement to the early exit Monday. Those who stayed inside Kenan Stadium likely saw Bill Belichick yank Gio Lopez for Max Johnson against TCU.
Lopez engineered the first drive that ended with Caleb Hood scoring the first touchdown. But the Horned Frogs blew the game open from there before halftime. Then took a commanding 41-7 lead late into the third quarter.
Belichick realized he'd seen enough from the College Football Transfer Portal addition Lopez. But he left due to a reported back issue. He entered the game as the first QB1 of the Belichick era.
Johnson came in as one of the last holdovers of the Mack Brown regime. The same Johnson returning from a horrific leg injury of 2024. Johnson immediately impressed — despite the stadium becoming half empty.
Bill Belichick watches backup QB lead North Carolina back to end zone
Johnson looked very much like the efficient passer before Belichick's arrival.
He delivered this emotional moment: Tossing a late red zone touchdown pass to brother Jake in the third quarter.
Something something Chris Paul and huge three pointer
Max Johnson hits his brother Jake to cut the TCU lead to 27 pic.twitter.com/a2RaAr089R
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) September 2, 2025
Johnson reportedly nearly lost his football career, plus leg, one year ago. He provided the emotional moment of the night. But on what became a rather forgettable one for UNC and Belichick.
Lopez got shut down by TCU on defense after the opening drive. He didn't even complete a pass in 12 minutes and 26 seconds of action before halftime. Which stretched over one whole hour without a completion.
The former South Alabama QB ended his evening completing four passes out of 10 attempts. He tallied just 69 yards. Lopez racked up 58 of those yards during the first drive before the Frogs adjusted.
Johnson ended up hitting seven of his first eight passes for 81 yards. He got the ‘Heels to break out of their offensive slump that saw these last seven scenarios: Five punts, interception that became a Bud Clark touchdown, and a scoop-and-score from TCU linebacker Devean Deal.
