Hicks, Rutgers dominate UNC
DETROIT — Josh Hicks and Rutgers capped their first season in the Big Ten with a dominating effort in the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl.
The freshman running back rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown and the Scarlet Knights beat North Carolina 4021 on Friday night at Ford Field.
“This is a childhood dream come true,” said Hicks, the MVP trophy sitting just above him in his locker. “It is just now hitting me what happened out there. Our Oline was just so good today — they were opening lanes, and all I had to do was hit them.
Senior Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and two scores for the Scarlet Knights (85).
“I saw the predictions before the season, so I knew what the public perception of our team was, especially going into the Big Ten,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. “But I have always believed that this was going to be a competitive team that was going to play in the postseason, and we proved that all year.”
Flood, the brother of a New York Police Department officer, wore an “NYPD” cap during the game, as did many of his assistant coaches and support personnel. Some Rutgers fans also wore them.
“We’re here doing this, and my brother is going to two funerals in the next couple days,” said Flood, who has several other relatives who have worked for the department. “I wanted to show our program’s support for them, because that’s a very special relationship for us.”
Owned and operated by the NFL’s Lions, the bowl replaced the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, which had been played in Detroit under various names since 1997. The new bowl had hoped to make a bigger impact with a Big Ten versus ACC matchup, but drew a disappointing crowd. The announced attendance was 23,876 — smaller than all but one Pizza Bowl — and the actual crowd appeared to be less than half of that
“We knew this was going to be a challenge,” said Tom Lewand, president of both the Lions and the bowl. “When you partner with the Big Ten and the ACC, you know you will get some geographic diversity, and we knew there would be travel challenges for supporters around the holidays.”
Rutgers led 407 before the Tar Heels (67) scored twice in the final 7 minutes. North Carolina also had two secondhalf touchdown passes taken away because of interference penalties.