The Tar Heel football team takes its 6-6 record up to the Motor City to take on the 7-5 Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the Quick Lane Bowl held at the home of the Detroit Lions: Ford Field.

For UNC, a win would be a decent consolation prize on a season that kicked off with a disappointing 2-4 start.  For the Scarlet Knights, it would be a bowl victory for head coach Kyle Flood in the program’s inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten.

Boasting a high powered offense that finished 3rd in the ACC in both scoring and total offense, the Tar Heels know that it is important to stay focused on that side of the ball if they want to have a chance at a victory in Detroit.  Quarterback Marquise Williams aims to reach the season milestones of 3,000 yards passing and 750 yards rushing against a Rutgers defense ranked 90th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just under 31 points per game.

Receiver Quinshad Davis looks to claim the all-time school receiving touchdown record

Receiver Quinshad Davis looks to claim the all-time school receiving touchdown record (ajc.com)

Junior receiver Quinshad Davis also looks to add a record of his own in Detroit. By hauling in one touchdown catch, Davis will have 22 for his career, surpassing the record he shares with former wideout Hakeem Nicks.

The defensive side of the ball is where most of the struggles have come for the Heels this season. As a result, defensive coordinator Vic Koenning opted to leave the team and will not be around to coach in the bowl game.

Coach Larry Fedora says in regard to the defensive philosophy against Rutgers, that “we’ve tweaked some things, added a few things, taken other things out, all trying to take advantage of the personnel that we’re going to have out there on the field.”

The Scarlet Knights, if they keep to what they’ve done all season, will look to pound the football up the middle with their pro-style offense, looking to set up the play action pass for 2nd Team All-Big Ten wide receiver Leonte Carroo. The 6’1″ Carroo has been the top target for quarterback Gary Nova, amassing over 1,000 yards already this year.

Rutgers standout receiver Leonte Carroo (ESPN)

Rutgers standout receiver Leonte Carroo (ESPN)

Cornerbacks coach Dan Disch will take over as the interim defensive coordinator for this game, and so far he likes the effort level that he’s seen in the practices leading up to Detroit.  He gives credit to the players for having their minds in the right place, saying that “they understand its a business.”

Motivation has not been scarce during the bowl season as redshirt freshman defensive end Dajuan Drennon says “Coach Disch has a lot of energy, he’s a real amped up guy, and that gets us going.”  Drennon also says that although the defense has received the bulk of the criticism for the team failing to meet expectations, “we’re looking at this game as the first game of the 2015 season, so this is just the building block.”

The meeting will be the 7th all time between the two teams, with the all-time series split at three apiece.  The Tar Heels have won the last three meetings, including the most recent, a 24-22 win back in September of 2011.