After last week's exciting road victory over Minnesota to open their 2024 football season, the North Carolina Tar Heels return home to Kenan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 for their home opener against Charlotte.

UNC struggled on offense against the Golden Gophers, but Noah Burnette came through with an extra points and four made field goals, including the eventual game-winner with under two minutes remaining. Omarion Hampton recorded another 100-yard rushing game, while Max Johnson scored North Carolina's lone touchdown before leaving with a broken leg late in the third quarter.

Charlotte's offense fared even worse than the Tar Heels', with a second quarter touchdown pass its only time finding the end zone in a 30-7 loss to James Madison last Saturday.

UNC will need to find offensive answers quickly, as Conner Harrell now steps in as starting quarterback. Harrell showcased a lot of potential during North Carolina's Spring Game, consistently connecting with wide receivers on deep passes, plus he connected with top wide receiver J.J. Jones on a zone read throw in the fourth quarter against Minnesota.

The Tar Heels will almost certainly continue relying on Hampton as the main feature in their offense, but they also don't want to overwork him.

Playing Charlotte, a team with only one winning season since a program revival in 2013, gives North Carolina a perfect opportunity to play around with its offense.

Conner Harrell needs to be consistent

Conner Harrell doesn't need to play All Star-level football for UNC to win, but at least complementary to Hampton and the Tar Heel pass-catchers.

Luckily for Harrell, North Carolina has plenty of pass-catchers. Jones and Nate McCollum lead the wide receiver group, while Bryson Nesbit and John Copenhaver give UNC two uber-talented tight end.

Even though Harrell completed a beautiful play action pass to Jones, that was only one of Harrell's two completions.

I bet Mack Brown opens up the playbook a little more for Harrell tomorrow, especially given he's likely to start the Tar Heels's remaining games.

UNC's wide receiver group has to step up

Jones led all North Carolina wide receivers in the win against Minnesota, recording 52 yards on three catches. As UNC's top receiver, this was expected and welcomed.

Outside of Jones, though, Tar Heel receivers combined for nine yards on two catches. Christian Hamilton caught one pass for seven yards, while McCollum caught one pass for two yards.

Expect to see North Carolina's now-run-heavy offense continue against Charlotte. If UNC is handing the ball off to Hampton most of the time, though, the 49ers' defense will eventually catch on.

The Tar Heels can stretch the field if wide receivers can step up. Jones is the clear number one – which other receivers can make plays against Charlotte?

UNC needs another big game from Noah Burnette

Noah Burnette only missed one field goal in the entire 2023 college football season. In UNC's 2024 opener at Minnesota, Burnette was a perfect 5-for-5 on kicks: one extra point, plus field goals of 29, 52, 42 and the eventual game-winner from 45 yards.

North Carolina only generated 255 yards of offense against the Golden Gophers, so Burnette's big leg was helpful.

I expect the Tar Heels to score more touchdowns against Charlotte, as the 49ers are consistently one of the worst teams in college football. If the UNC offense stalls again, it luckily has a reliable kicker in Burnette to count on for three points.

Omarion Hampton needs to find the end zone

Hampton was amazing on the ground against Minnesota, carrying the football 30 times for 129 yards.

The Golden Gophers, despite allowing Hampton to average 4.3 yards per carry, kept Hampton out of the end zone.

If North Carolina is going to feature Hampton again on Saturday, he needs to find the end zone. The Tar Heel offense didn't show me a ton of confidence outside Hampton last week, so Hampton could be called on for an even larger workload this weekend.

Play consistent football from start to finish

In 2023, the Tar Heels had an issue with letting their foot off the gas, particularly after jumping out to big leads.

Remember the Georgia Tech loss? UNC led 35-24 after three quarters, then lost 46-42. A lot of that loss was on the defense, but North Carolina only scored seven fourth-quarter points.

The Tar Heels went scoreless for three consecutive drives after Johnson's rushing touchdown last week, while Minnesota scored 14 consecutive points.

If UNC wants to dispel any worries about its offense in Saturday' home opener, a consistent offensive performance will go a long way.

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : Offensive keys to UNC's 2024 home football opener against Charlotte