Quick Lane Bowl
Ford Field - Detroit, MI
Kickoff: Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET
Line: North Carolina -3, Total: 67

North Carolina tries to finish its season with a winning record when it collides with Rutgers on Friday in Detroit for the Quick Lane Bowl.

These two teams have built up nice momentum with Rutgers erasing a 25-point deficit to win at Maryland in its regular-season finale, and North Carolina finishing 4-2 (SU and ATS) in the second half of the season. The Scarlet Knights don't have a 500-yard rusher on their roster, but junior WR Leonte Carroo has given opponents fits all year with 10 TD grabs and a hefty 19.7 yards per catch. The Tar Heels got a strong season out of dual-threat QB Marquise Williams, but he threw only 3 TD passes in his final four games. Both defenses have struggled, especially on the road where Rutgers allows 40.5 PPG and 496 total YPG, while UNC surrenders 44.0 PPG on 525 total YPG. While the Knights are 31-15 ATS in away non-conference games since 1992, the Tar Heels are 16-6 ATS in this same timeframe in non-home games off a conference home loss. While Rutgers will be without DB Kiy Hester (personal) and top RB Desmon Peoples (undisclosed) is doubtful, North Carolina may not have questionable DB Ryan Mangum (undisclosed), but RB Elijah Hood (undisclosed) has been upgraded to probable for Friday.

Which school will leave Detroit with a victory? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014-15 bowl season. StatFox Dave is heating up with a 73% ATS mark (8-3) in College Football Best Bets in the past four weeks, while StatFox Brian is 63% ATS (10-6) in Best Bets over the past five weeks. Brian began his bowl season with a perfect 6-0 ATS record in all picks through Monday, while Dave, StatFox Scott and StatFox Forecaster are all 4-2 ATS in bowl picks.

Rutgers scores only 25.6 PPG on 379 total YPG this season, but has been better in non-home games (3-3 SU, 4-2 ATS) with 26.2 PPG on 391.5 total YPG. Defensively is where the school really struggles though, allowing 30.9 PPG on 440 total YPG (6.5 yards per play). The Knights gain 148 rushing YPG (4.0 YPC) and 231 passing YPG (8.2 YPA), but they allow 213 rushing YPG (5.6 YPC) and 228 passing YPG (7.7 YPA). Senior QB Gary Nova (2,667 pass yards, 8.7 YPA, 20 TD, 12 INT) is coming off a monster game at Maryland on Nov. 29 when he threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. That was quite a turnaround from the 3 TD and 5 INT that he amassed in his previous five games combined. His main target is WR Leonte Carroo (53 rec, 1,043 yards, 10 TD), who has six 100-yard receiving efforts and three multi-touchdown performances this season. He caught six passes for 104 yards and two scores in the last game at Maryland. Sophomore WR Janarion Grant (25 rec, 312 yards, 0 TD) also had a big day against the Terrapins with eight receptions for 105 yards. With top RB Desmon Peoples (447 rush yards, 3.9 YPC, 3 TD) unlikely to play, the bulk of the rushing workload will reside with freshman RB Robert Martin (334 rush yards, 4.9 YPC, 5 TD) who has rushed for 208 yards (5.2 YPC) and 4 TD in his past three games. The Knights need to be more careful with the football on Friday, as they have at least one turnover in 11 of 12 games this season, including five giveaways in the past two contests. The defense has only three multi-takeaway efforts in the past 10 games.

North Carolina's offense has scored a hefty 34.3 PPG (33rd in nation), thanks in large part to an air attack gaining 279.3 YPG (24th in FBS) and much smaller part to the ground game with 146.2 rushing YPG on 3.8 YPC. The defense has really hurt this program though, as it allows 38.9 PPG overall (119th in nation) on 496 total YPG (6.4 yards per play). The Heels have been hurt in both facets, as they surrender 232 rushing YPG (5.0 YPC) and 263 passing YPG (8.5 YPA). Junior QB Marquise Williams (2,870 pass yards, 7.3 YPA, 20 TD, 9 INT) is coming off his worst game of the season in the 35-7 defeat versus NC State (11-of-22, 97 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), but has thrown for more than 275 yards in five of his past nine games, while tossing multiple TD passes seven times during the 2014 season. Williams is also the team's leading rusher with 737 yards (4.1 YPC) and 12 TD on the ground. The team will try to get RB T.J. Logan (472 rush yards, 4.5 YPC, 3 TD) back on track after he gained a mere 11 yards on six touches in the last game, which was a far cry from his 271 total yards and 2 TD in his previous two contests. UNC has a host of talented receivers with four players surpassing 400 yards through the air. Sophomore WRs Ryan Switzer (55 rec, 703 yards, 4 TD) and Mack Hollins (34 rec, 611 yards, 18.0 avg, 8 TD) are the top targets for Williams, but the duo combined for just 36 yards on six catches in the Nov. 29 loss. North Carolina has committed multiple turnovers in 6-of-12 games this year, but has also forced multiple turnovers five times during the 2014 season.