Freshman sparks Rutgers’ drubbing of North Carolina
Rutgers freshman Josh Hicks ran for 202 yards and a touchdown and the Scarlet Knights beat North Carolina 40-21 on Friday in the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit.
Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and two scores to help Rutgers (8-5) cap its first Big Ten season with a victory.
Hicks was selected the player of the game.
“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 O-line was just so good today — they were opening lanes, and all I had to do was hit them.”
Rutgers led 40-7 before the Tar Heels (6-7) scored twice in the final seven minutes. North Carolina also saw two secondhalf touchdown passes taken away because of interference penalties.
“They did exactly what we expected them to do in every phase of the game,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “We just didn’t stop them.” North Carolina State 34, Central Florida 27: Jacoby Brissett threw for 262 yards and one touchdown and Matt Dayes scored on runs of 24 and 15 yards to help the Wolfpack (8-5) beat the Knights (9-4) in the Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Brissett threw a 37-yard TD pass to Johnathan Alston to put N.C. State ahead for good in the second quarter. Running back Shadrach Thornton got the Wolf Pack going early with an 18-yard scoring pass to Jaylen Samuels.
Central Florida began the night ranked in the top 10 in fewest yards allowed per game, as well as pass efficiency, rushing and scoring defense. But the co-champions of the American Athletic Conference allowed 488 yards of total offense. Louisiana Tech 35, Illinois 18: Kenneth Dixon scored one of his two touchdowns on an 80-yard reception and Xavier Woods scored on a 69-yard interception return to help the Bulldogs (9-5) defeat the Illini (6-7) in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Louisiana Tech also got touchdown runs of 16 yards from Jarred Craft and 28 yards from Blake Martin on a dark, overcast day at the Cotton Bowl stadium. Moving on: Georgia coach Mark Richt said junior running back Todd Gurley has informed him that he plans to enter the NFL draft.
Gurley was a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate and rushed for 773 yards in his first five games before receiving a four-game suspension for taking $3,000 for autographed memorabilia and other items over two years. In his first game back against Auburn, he ran for 138 yards but tore his anterior cruciate ligament, ending his season.
In his first two seasons at Georgia, Gurley ran for 2,374 yards and 27 touchdowns. Briefly: West Virginia senior quarterback Clint Trickett is retiring from football because of concussions and won’t play in the Liberty Bowl on Monday against Texas A&M. Trickett said Friday that he had endured five concussions over the last 14 months. Sophomore Skyler Howard will start at quarterback for the Mountaineers. ... As expected, Pat Narduzzi, the longtime Michigan State defensive coordinator, was named head coach at Pittsburgh. He succeeds Paul Chryst, who left Pitt last week after three seasons to become the coach at Wisconsin.