Bill Belichick's first season with North Carolina football has been a nightmare so far. The Tar Heels dropped to 2-2 with a disastrous 34-9 loss to UCF on Saturday, their second blowout loss to a Big 12 team this season.
To make matters worse, starting quarterback Gio Lopez went down with an injury during the game and did not return. However, he did not suffer a season-ending injury and will return at some point, according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.
Lopez has plenty of time to recover, as North Carolina gets a much-needed week off in Week 5 before a game against Clemson. That will be a contest between two teams with some of the worst vibes in the nation, and North Carolina will want Lopez healthy to try to turn its season around.
The Tar Heels were also bludgeoned in Week 1 by TCU in a 48-14 home rout to open the Belichick era, so they badly need a reset to get back on their feet. Their two wins came over Charlotte and Richmond, so they still don't have a Power Four win on the season.
Veteran lefty Max Johnson replaced Lopez in both the TCU game and the UCF game after the injury and played much better football than the South Alabama transfer. On Saturday, Johnson completed 11-of-19 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown after Lopez left following a two-interception day and very well could get a chance to start against Clemson in two weeks' time.
If Johnson continues to play solid football, there will be real questions asked about whether he should remain the starter under center even when Lopez returns from his injury. Lopez was highly-recruited out of the transfer portal after showing flashes of greatness at South Alabama, but that has not carried over into 2025.
Regardless of who is at quarterback, Belichick has some very difficult decisions to make as he tries to get this North Carolina squad on track during his first season at the helm.
