The North Carolina Tar Heels football program returns to the field on Saturday for their home opener as they host Charlotte in Kenan Memorial Stadium. And they will do so with Conner Harrell leading the way at quarterback.

After Max Johnson got injured in the third quarter of last week's win over Minnesota, he was ruled out for the year as the team turned the starting job over to Harrell. The redshirt sophomore will make his second career start and first of this season, looking to help get UNC to 2-0 on the year.

The Tar Heels will enter this game as three-touchdown favorites but they cannot look down on the 49ers and really need to come out and play well.

There is also some familiarity between the two programs despite this being the first meeting between them all-time. Three former UNC coaches are on Charlotte's staff for this year: Tim Brewster, Dre Bly, and Tim Cross. UNC also has a few former players on the roster with defensive backs Dontae Balfour and Ja'Qurious Conley, and receiver Justin Olson.

Key to victory for UNC

Limit the turnovers. The Tar Heels are the favorites in this game and they should win this game if they can limit the turnovers.

The longer that UNC lets Charlotte hang around, the more confidence the 49ers will have in the game and the more they feel like they can pull off an upset. Winning the takeaway margin is key and could be the biggest factor in this game overall for UNC.

Something to watch for UNC

Conner Harrell. This one is pretty easy. All eyes will be on Harrell for the Tar Heels after he was named the starter due to Max Johnson's injury. This could be the perfect game to make his debut as the starter this season, facing an opponent where you should win.

Harrell doesn't need to do anything special in this game but he needs to be good enough to give you confidence that he is the guy moving forward. Let's see if Harrell can take advantage of this opportunity.

Injury Report

UNC:

QB, Max Johnson – out for season

RB, Caleb Hood – questionable

S, Will Hardy - day-to-day

Charlotte:

DL, Jalar Holley – out

WR, Duane Thomas – questionable

OL, Jordan Spasojevic-Moko - doubtful

Leaders

Passing:

Max Johnson (UNC): 12/19, 71 yards, 1 INT

Max Brown (Charlotte): 22-45, 193 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

Rushing:

Omarion Hampton (UNC): 30 carries, 129 rushing yards

Terron Kellman (Charlotte): 9 carries, 76 yards

Receiving:

J.J. Jones (UNC): 3 receptions, 52 yards

Sean Brown (Charlotte): 6 receptions, 70 yards

What you need to know

WHAT? Charlotte 49ers ( 0-1 ) AT North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0)WHEN? Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ETWHERE? Keenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North CarolinaTV? ACC Network RADIO? SiriusXM (Channel 84 and 193)WEATHER?  76 degrees, partly cloudyLINE? UNC -22.5LAST MEETING? First meeting.ALL-TIME SERIES? First meeting.PREDICTION? UNC 45, Charlotte 20

This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : UNC football vs. Charlotte game preview, prediction, info and more