Tar Heels' Lone Star in Embarrassing Week 1 Loss

The passing game wasn’t much better as the Tar Heels only threw for 172 yards. After UNC’s opening scoring drive, the Tar Heels did not complete another pass until the third quarter. The only pass “completion” that happened during that stretch was when Gio Lopez threw a pick-six to TCU defensive back Bud Clark late in the second quarter.

However, the one bright spot of UNC’s offense was quarterback Max Johnson, who played in his first game since he suffered a gruesome leg injury in last season’s opener against Minnesota.

What Did Max Johnson Do?

After Lopez injured his back after he got stripped, which led to a TCU scoop-and-score in the third quarter, Johnson came in to relieve him.

Johnson started on fire as he completed eight of his nine passes for 81 yards in his first drive. He completed a two-yard touchdown pass to his brother, Jake. It was Johnson’s first touchdown pass since Nov. 4, 2023, when he was the starter at Texas A&M.

Jake's touchdown reception was also his first at North Carolina, as he only recorded two catches for 21 yards last season. Jake's 2023 campaign in College Station was his best to date, when he tallied 24 receptions for 235 yards and four scores.

• “We threw a couple touchdowns when we were together at Texas A&M," Max said during postgame media availability.

• "I honestly didn’t even know he (my brother) was in the game. I knew the play was called, we had a tight end there, I didn’t know it was Jake at first. And then once I threw it to him, it was, what a special moment. Just to celebrate with him, it felt like we were little kids again, playing pee-wee football, just going out there and celebrating. We gotta come to work next week and put on a better show.”

North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick praised Johnson’s resilience, noting he stepped in when the Tar Heels needed it most.

• "Give Max a lot of credit," Belichick said. "He came in after being off for a long time and hung in there, and made some plays in a tough situation. So give him a lot of credit for what he did tonight."

Johnson finished the game by going 9-for-11 for 103 yards.