The North Carolina football team fell flat in a 40-21 loss to Rutgers as running back Josh Hicks dashed for 202 yards and a touchdown in the inaugural Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field Friday.

With the loss, the Tar Heels finished with a 6-7 overall mark on a season that began with high hopes and a Top 25 ranking.

Rutgers signal caller Gary Nova threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns, and Robert Martin ran for 100 yards and two scores to help the Scarlet Knights cap their first Big Ten season with an 8-5 record.

Hicks was selected as the player of the game for his efforts.

“The game of football is pretty simple,” UNC head coach Larry Fedora says. “If you give away the ball on offense, don’t force any turnovers on defense and make multiple game-changing mistakes on special teams, you aren’t going to win football games.”

Owned and operated by the NFL’s Detroit Lions, the bowl replaced the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, which had been played in Detroit under a variety of names since 1997. The announced attendance was a disappointing 23,876 — smaller than all but one Pizza Bowl.

Williams struggled all game to lead the UNC offense (UNC Athletics)

Williams struggled all game to lead the UNC offense (UNC Athletics)

Rutgers led 40-7 before the Tar Heels scored twice in the final 7 minutes of play. UNC also had two second-half touchdown passes taken away because of controversial interference penalties.

UNC quarterback Marquise Williams was never able to get going, although he did throw for one score and run for another. Most of the night, he was under considerable pressure from the Rutgers defensive front that consistently got into the backfield with only four men up front.

Williams got North Carolina on the board with a 1-yard run on the opening drive of the second half, but the Scarlet Knights came right back with a 34-yard pass from Nova to Andrew Turzilli to make it 30-7. Martin’s second touchdown run — this one from 28 yards — gave Rutgers a whopping 30-point advantage early in the fourth.

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

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