It's been a disappointing stretch for the North Carolina Tar Heels, who have dropped two consecutive games to open conference play.

This recent skid follows a 2-0 start, with wins over TCU and East Tennessee State. With all due respect, those two teams are nowhere near the caliber of competition the Tar Heels have and will face in ACC play. Carolina's weaknesses have been thoroughly exposed. That said, head coach Bill Belichick's team heads into a pivotal Week 6 matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Here are reasons the Tar Heels can pull off an upset on Saturday.

Pittsburgh's Quarterback Situation

For the second time this season, the Tar Heels will face a team playing without its Week 1 starter. In Week 5, quarterback Mason Heintschel suffered a torn ACL in Pittsburgh's 35-33 win over Virginia Tech.

The sophomore quarterback had jumped out to a scorching-hot start to the season, compiling 1,304 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and one interception, while completing 66.2 percent of his passes. Fifth-year quarterback Holden Geriner will start in Heintschel's absence. In his brief time on the field across quick spurts in three games, Geriner has completed 19-of-26 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He'll face a tough test against North Carolina's defense.

Opportunity for Tar Heels' Passing Attack To Break Out

Pittsburgh's pass defense has left much to be desired so far this season. Through five games, the Panthers have allowed 1,199 passing yards (239.8 per game). This defense is vertically challenged and is prone to giving up explosive plays. That said, Billy Edwards Jr. has struggled in that area, but this is an opportunity for the veteran quarterback to improve.

While Edwards Jr. has clearly struggled to connect on deep passes, North Carolina did produce multiple explosive plays this past weekend against Notre Dame. The Tar Heels have a chance to replicate that against a much weaker Pittsburgh defense.

Lack of Discipline

Penalties are an under-the-radar factor in wins and losses and can flip the script of any given game. Pittsburgh struggles in this area, committing 44 penalties for 397 yards this season. Those infractions extend opponents’ drives and directly derail the team.

For years, Belichick has valued those details and used them to his team's advantage. You can bet the longtime NFL head coach will prepare his team for that and look for ways to create penalties on the Panthers. North Carolina was incredibly disciplined against the Fighting Irish, so finding the edge in penalties is certainly something to watch for on Saturday.