North Carolina has a new boss on the sideline—legendary Bill Belichick—and everybody wants to know one thing: who’s starting at quarterback? With Labor Day’s primetime clash against TCU right around the corner, the Tar Heel nation is sitting on pins and needles, but Belichick? He’s playing coy, dropping jokes like it’s open mic night. UNC might be unranked, but the drama is already top 10 material.

So here’s the deal: North Carolina stumbled to a rough 6–7 finish in 2024, giving up 70 points to James Madison. The defense was leaking like a busted faucet, and quarterback play? Never mind. Bill Belichick, 9 months into his Carolina experiment, with two arms in the QB ring: sixth-year vet Max Johnson and South Alabama’s Gio Lopez. And while Belichick won’t say who’s got the role yet, he’s got the whole ACC leaning in for answers.

On August 20, when reporters pressed him about the QB decision, Belichick cracked back with classic old-school, timeless 70’s dry humor: “We’re getting ready to do that this afternoon—to announce the starting lineups and the play times and how we’ll be substituting everything. So, Brandon will get that to you as soon as we get done. We want to make sure we get that out there right away.” Let’s be honest. This feels more like Belichick indirectly telling, ‘It’s not over until I say so.’

Now, here’s where it gets juicy. Word around fall camp says Gio Lopez has been balling out, showing command of the offense like he’s been in Chapel Hill for years. The South Alabama transfer isn’t just some feel-good story either—he threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, rushed for 463 yards, and tacked on 7 more touchdowns on the ground. The South Alabama QB ranked 22nd nationally in total offense per game and was ice-cold against the blitz, completing 67% of those throws with 8 touchdowns to just one pick. That’s not just efficient; that’s surgical.

Max Johnson, though, isn’t folding. The journeyman QB has the scars and stripes from LSU and Texas A&M, plus he’s finally back healthy after injuries derailed his 2024. He’s on the Comeback Player of the Year watch list, and experience matters when the lights hit on Labor Day night. It’s the classic college football cocktail: young gun flashing potential versus the seasoned vet fighting for one more ride. Young gunslinger versus the seasoned vet fighting for one more ride. More like the Atlanta Falcons‘ Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. kind of scenario.

And in true Belichick fashion, he’s keeping everyone guessing. So while fans argue in the barbershops and on message boards, Belichick is stone-faced, letting the battle cook until the last possible minute.

Bill Belichick on playoff expansion format proposal

With the College Football Playoff debate heating up, the old NFL warlord got tossed a question about the Big Ten floating wild ideas—24 or even 28-team brackets, maybe axing conference title games. Sounds like March Madness in cleats, right? Belichick, though, wasn’t taking the bait. “I think that one is over my pay grade,” he shrugged, before giving props to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC boss Greg Sankey. “Whatever the conference commissioners and NCAA, college presidents, decide, is what they decide. I’m going to kind of back out of that one. Whatever it is, try to focus on getting our team ready to play this season the best I can here.”

Classic Belichick—deflect the noise, lock in on the grind. Wish he did the same with the Jordon Hudson saga. Anyway, but if you read between the lines, there’s respect there. Respect for Petitti’s vision, respect for the machinery of college football. And honestly, can you blame him? The Hoodie spent decades turning Foxborough into Fort Knox. He’s not about to start spitballing playoff logistics like some talk radio caller.

That said, the CFP drama is real. A jump to 24 or 28 teams could tip the scales in favor of the SEC and Big Ten while leaving scraps for the rest. Smaller programs fear being iced out, while fans wonder if the regular season even matters in a bloated playoff. Belichick’s silence might be golden, but it’s also telling: he’s too smart to wade into that mess when he’s trying to drag UNC back from a 6–7 mess.

Expansion or not, Belichick’s target is clear: get UNC to the postseason. The bookies and the oddsmakers set the win total at 7.5, with many analysts leaning under.  Whether it’s the 12-team format or some Frankenstein 28-team mega-bracket, the Tar Heels need wins. That starts September 1 against TCU in primetime, with Belichick making his long-awaited college debut.