Rutgers Hammers North Carolina to Win Quick Lane Bowl
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSDEC. 26, 2014
Josh Hicks ran for 202 yards and a touchdown, and Rutgers beat North Carolina, 40-21, in the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday night.
Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and two scores to help the Scarlet Knights (8-5) cap their first Big Ten season with a victory.
Hicks was named the player of the game.
Rutgers led, 40-7, before the Tar Heels (6-7) scored twice in the final seven minutes. Two second-half touchdown passes for North Carolina were called back because of interference penalties.
North Carolina had defeated Rutgers in their three most recent regular-season meetings, but the Tar Heels were outplayed from the first snap Friday.
Quarterback Marquise Williams threw for one score and ran for another for the Tar Heels.
The Scarlet Knights lost the coin toss but got the ball when the Tar Heels deferred. They needed only 2 minutes 17 seconds to take the lead, with Nova hitting Andre Patton for a 34-yard touchdown.
North Carolina moved into Rutgers territory on its first two drives, but it turned the ball over on one and punted on the other. The Tar Heels blocked a punt to take over at the Rutgers 30, but the drive stalled at the 5, and a fake field-goal attempt resulted in a 4-yard loss.
Rutgers answered with a 91-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard run by Hicks to make the score 14-0 early in the second quarter.
