Instant takeaways from UNC's loss to UCF

With North Carolina's 34-9 loss at UCF on Saturday, the Tar Heels have fallen to 0-2 on the year and their two-game win streak is over as they head into their bye week.

The Tar Heels fell behind early, giving up a touchdown on the opening drive and they never recovered. UNC couldn't muster much on offense at all, not scoring until late in the first half. They then allowed UCF to score before halftime and then right away in the first half.

UNC never got close either as UCF controlled this game and dominated. Now, UNC is looking for some answers before the week off and hosting Clemson in Chapel Hill.

Here is what we learned from Saturday's game...

Max Johnson needs to be the starting quarterback

We don't know what the injury is for Gio Lopez or if he will even miss any time in this one but I do know that Max Johnson needs to be the starter. Lopez struggled in this one before getting hurt and the Tar Heels couldn't move the ball. He had two interceptions, both on tipped passes, but he really didn't look comfortable at all.

North Carolina's offense really struggled with Lopez, who wasn't decisive, and it showed. Now, Johnson didn't have crazy stats or anything like that but the pass game felt a little more comfortable.

Time will tell what Belichick and the staff want to do, but this decision should be easy.

The defense is good but it needs help..

You will see that UCF put up 34 points in this game but it could have been a lot worse. UCF was moving the ball at ease in that first half but the defense stood tall and with UCF scoring on three of their first four drives, it was still just 13-0.

But then the dam broke.

Being on the field that long in the heat and humidity wore on the defense as the Tar Heels offense barely moved the football. The quick drives took a toll on the defense and they started to make mistakes. Steve Belichick's unit is a good one but they are going to need some help from the offense.

This is going to take some time

The old saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" should apply to Bill Belichick's first year at North Carolina. This was always going to be a project and anyone who expected this team to be really good right away was just fooling themselves.

Belichick needs time. The Tar Heels need to hit on recruiting classes moving forward to speed this up but not having the winter portal or a full 2025 cycle didn't help. This program will be very active in the portal this offseason and right now, it's about seeing who you have in terms of players that can impact your roster. It's going to be a big evaluation period the next few months.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Football: Takeaways from loss at UCF