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This bowl features Rutgers (7-5) going against North Carolina (6-6)
By: Michael Hanley (@Magic20099)
Game Information
Date: December 26th
Time: 4:30 PM EST
Where: Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
Channel: ESPN
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights were expected to do next to nothing in their inaugural season in the Big Ten conference. They were suppose to be the doormat of the league where team could easily face them and pick up an easy win. That was far from the case when the games were actually played.
Rutgers more than held its own against the conference foes. Now a 3-5 conference record is nothing to thump your chest about, it is something that did give the team confidence in that is has what it takes to compete in this conference if they play to their abilities.
The Scarlet Knights coaching staff is particularly happy that not only are they competing in a bowl game but that it is taking place in a region of the country that they are looking to recruit really over the next couple of years: the Midwest. Head coach Kyle Flood and his staff know how crucial it is to get some of those Midwest kids to come play for their program in order to move up the Big Ten conference food chain.
Their quarterback Gary Nova is looking to cap his career at Rutgers on a positive note and finish a season off in which he has so far threw for 2,667 yards and 20 touchdown passes, both rank third in the conference.
You can expect that he will try and go to his most reliable and dangerous wide receiver in Leonte Carroo. This play maker has been a huge cog in the Scarlet Knights offense as he has 1,043 yards receiving, including 10 touchdown catches. He is primed to have a big game against a Carolina secondary that is weak when it comes to covering wide receives of his size and speed.
North Carolina
After what was a slow start to their season and on that looked like it would go all the way south on them possibly, the Tar Heels rebounded nicely in the second half of the season as they won four of their last six games to get to six wins and qualify for a bowl game.
This is a significant benchmark for this program to hit as it is a very young one full of underclassman who can clearly benefit from the extra bowl practices and reps they are getting from the coaches. It also gives head coach Larry Fedora and his staff time to evaluate where they are in terms of developing their young players and working on ways to continue to help them out.
North Carolina features a potent offense that averaged 34.3 points per game to rank third in the ACC. The offense was engineered by quarterback Marquise Williams, who was a major threat not only with his strong arm but his speed and mobility as well. He threw for 2,870 yards and 20 touchdowns while also being a force on the ground as he rushed for a team high 737 yards and including 12 touchdowns runs.
That is a scary couple of stats if you are the Rutgers defense. Williams will make the scarlet Knights defense have to essentially pick their poison in how they chose to try and stop him during the game.
Mitch Trubisky also was very effective in his time on the field as he threw for 394 yards and four touchdown passes.
Their defense though has had a rough year to say the least as it gave up points and yards at an alarming rate. It got so bad that Fedora decided to fire the defensive coordinator and start fresh next season with someone new. This unit will be refreshed and will be ready to come out and prove all the critics wrong about their lack of ability to get any consistent stops.
Prediction
This figures to be a fairly high scoring game with both offenses being able to run their stuff and not have too much resistance from either defense. I think the Tar Heels will be able to score enough points on offense and get a turnover or two on defense that will make the difference in the game. I am going with North Carolina 45-37 over Rutgers.
