Quick Lane Bowl 2014: Game Grades, Analysis for Rutgers vs. North Carolina

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights steamrolled the North Carolina Tar Heels, 40-21, in the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl.

Driven by a powerful offensive line, Rutgers racked 340 rushing yards during the impressive victory, which capped the program's first season in the Big Ten at 8-5. North Carolina dropped to 6-7 with the loss.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B	B-
Run Offense	A-	A
Pass Defense	B	B-
Run Defense	B-	C+
Special Teams	C-	C
Coaching	B	B+

Pass Offense: Gary Nova connected on seven of 14 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and the senior could've had higher marks without a couple drops. During the latter half, however, Nova threw three should-have-been interceptions that UNC mishandled.

Run Offense: Robert Martin raced to a career-high 202 yards and one touchdown, while Josh Hicks added a career-high 100 yards and two scores. If two running backs setting "career-high" marks doesn't explain Rutgers' success enough, well, both of Nova's 30-plus-yard passing touchdowns were a result of play-action calls.

Pass Defense: The Rutgers pass rush simply dominated UNC's offensive line. Darius Hamilton was the only Scarlet Knights player to record a sack, but Marquise Williams was constantly pressured and forced to throw mostly checkdowns because of great coverage by the secondary.

Run Defense: Run defense was Rutgers' glaring issue, considering the Tar Heels managed 219 yards on the ground. However, since the Scarlet Knights offense continued to build a nearly insurmountable lead, North Carolina couldn't rely on their backs.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Special Teams: Kyle Federico connected on two field goals (19, 31 yards) but missed one of his five extra points. Punter Joey Roth averaged 44.7 yards per kick, and the coverage team held dynamic returner Ryan Switzer to five yards on three attempts.

Coaching: Kyle Flood utilized a perfectly timed fake punt, which sparked Rutgers during the third quarter and effectively sealed the game. Offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen capped his first year at the school by calling an outstanding game for Nova and Co.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	C	C+
Run Offense	B-	B-
Pass Defense	C-	D+
Run Defense	D	F
Special Teams	D	D+
Coaching	F	F

Pass Offense: Marquise Williams terribly underthrew Mack Hollins on what would've been a 58-yard touchdown. Switzer was called for a pass interference on what would've been a 58-yard touchdown. Jack Howard was flagged for OPI in the end zone after catching a touchdown. It just wasn't the Tar Heels' day through the air.

Run Offense: T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood found running room and combined for 172 yards, and Williams scampered for 64 if a 13-yard sack is ignored. Logan averaged 9.6 yards per first-down attempt (8 CAR, 77 YDS), but Carolina failed to capitalize on that success.

Pass Defense: The Tar Heels secondary allowed too many open receivers, even if a throw ultimately became an incompletion due to poor placement or a drop. Although Nova only completed nine of of 20 passes, six gained 19 yards or more.

Run Defense: A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for the UNC run defense. Rutgers manhandled the Heels up front, smashing its way to 8.2 yards per rushing attempt and scoring three touchdowns. The 340 yards allowed was only the fourth-worst season performance.

Special Teams: North Carolina blocked a punt and recovered two onside kicks, but the poor plays heavily outweighed the favorable. In addition to Thomas Moore pushing a 31-yard field goal wide right, Nick Weiler and Joey Mangili combined to manage just 31.2 yards over five punts.

Coaching: Larry Fedora called a disastrous fake field goal, both in design and execution. Then, he actually attempted a field goal down 20 points—a truly horrific decision. From top to bottom, UNC wasn't ready for the Quick Lane Bowl. And it showed.

Follow Bleacher Report college football writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.