Kickoff for North Carolina, Belichick at Charlotte pushed to 7:30; Lopez to start at QB for Tar Heels

North Carolina Tar Heels 0 Charlotte 49ers 0 ESPN+ |

CHARLOTTE — Bill Belichick’s first road game as North Carolina’s head coach was delayed 30 minutes because of pregame lightning and inclement weather. The teams had 60 minutes of warmups rather than the customary 90 minutes.

The game, which was set to start at 7 p.m., is now set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.

It is the biggest home game for the Charlotte football program, athletics director Mike Hill said earlier this week. UNC is just the third team from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 – the Power 4 conferences – to play at Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Quarterback Gio Lopez, who struggled in the Tar Heels' season-opening 48-14 loss against TCU and left the game with a back injury, is expected to start the game, a source with knowledge of the situation told WRAL Pat Welter. Belichick and quarterbacks coach Matt Lombardi didn’t commit to a starter Wednesday before the team had practiced.

Lopez completed 4-of-10 passes in the game for 69 yards. He turned the ball over twice, both were returned for touchdowns. Backup quarterback Max Johnson completed 9-of-11 passes in relief.

Charlotte (0-1) added additional bleacher seats for the game, expecting a capacity crowd before the bad weather. The 49ers have their own first-year coach in Tim Albin, who won 10 games each of the last three seasons at Ohio University.

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