It was trending in that direction, but it does not make it any easier. While Tait Reynolds looked halfway decent filling in for an injured Christopher Vizzina on Saturday night, he will be getting all the first-team reps this week. This is because Vizzina "is considered week-to-week after injuring his elbow against Georgia Southern". If Vizzina can't give it a go, expect Reynolds to start versus North Carolina.
While Reynolds has played in both of Clemson's games this season, he is only a true freshman. He completed 16-of-27 passes for 178 yards after taking over for Vizzina in the first half. Reynolds also had 14 carries for 38 yards on the ground. Although he did show signs of promise on Saturday night, he will now be going up against Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels defense to kick off ACC play.
North Carolina may have been dreadful a year ago, but the Tar Heels are 2-0 on the season, including an impressive defensive struggle over TCU in Ireland during Week 0. Reynolds will be going up against a sixth-year season in Billy Edwards Jr., who is not afraid to let it fly. As expected, Belichick will gameplan to stifle Reynolds, and presumably his backup Trent Pearman, during next weekend's game.
Sources: Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina is considered week-to-week after injuring his elbow against Georgia Southern. Freshman Tait Reynolds is the expected starter against UNC, which will be the first of his career. pic.twitter.com/znMiH7ITjh
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 13, 2026
Bill Belichick defenses have devoured many young quarterbacks before
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the line has moved considerably since Vizzina's injury update was announced. It opened at Clemson laying 5.5 points, but now that line has dropped all the way down to Clemson only giving 3.5 points to North Carolina. After not getting much movement during their first two games of the year, we may potentially see North Carolina take even more points from Clemson.
Simply put, the Belichick part of it all makes this feel so ominous for Clemson. For years, we have seen a Belichick-led team completely embarrass rookie quarterbacks in the NFL, especially if they are making their first career starts. Since he tries to take away what a team does best offensively, look for Chad Morris' ground game to be non-existent once again. Reynolds must win with his arm.
Of course, North Carolina is far from a finished product on offense. The Tar Heels struggled to score points on a halfway decent TCU defense. They may have put up a boat load of points in Week 2, but that was against a lower-level opponent. The other thing that North Carolina may need work with is in special teams. That is usually a strength of any Belichick-led team, but the Tar Heels have work to do.
Right now, it is all about Morris and Reynolds getting on the same page with Dabo Swinney and Matt Luke's offensive line on how to push forward. Tom Allen's defense may need to be even more locked in because of this injury. Reynolds may be more talented than Vizzina, but the upperclassmen could be a steadying presence later on this season while the true freshman tries to establish his footing.
For Clemson to win this game over North Carolina, the Tigers will need for Reynolds to grow up fast.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Add us as a preferred source on Google