By Tom Luicci
ScarletKnights.com

DETROIT, MICH. - It was almost impossible to come away from Rutgers' dominant 40-21 victory over North Carolina today in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field without feeling the program's future is bright.

How can it not feel that way when a couple of freshmen running backs turn in the type of performances that Josh Hicks and Robert Martin did, accomplishing something only Ray Rice had before them - followed by star wide receiver Leonte Carroo's locker room announcement that he will return for his senior season?

But this wasn't just about what's ahead. For the 19 departing seniors it was a reminder of the mark they left on the program, helping to put an exclamation point on Rutgers' inaugural Big Ten season.

Tabbed by many to finish last in the East Division of the Big Ten and to be a sub-.500 team, the Scarlet Knights finished a rousing 8-5.

"We stayed strong as a team," said senior left guard Kaleb Johnson. "There were ups and downs this season but this team stayed together, never got down on each other. That's what strong senior leadership can do for you.

"When you have that and you stay together through the tough times you have a chance to accomplish the things we did this year. That's what stands out to me about this team."

At one point in this bowl victory, Rutgers had a 40-7 lead and had turned in what was arguably its most complete performance of the season to that point. Only a couple of touchdowns by North Carolina (6-7) in the final 6:45 spoiled that.

But it didn't take away from the dominance. Hicks (who was named the game's MVP) rushed for 202 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Martin added 100 yards and two scores on 19 carries as the Scarlet Knights - powered by an offensive line featuring three seniors - rolled up 340 rushing yards.

That's a school record for a bowl, the most rushing yards by the Scarlet Knights since 2007 (against Army) and Hicks and Martin joined Rice as the only true freshmen in school history to rush for 100 yards in a bowl game.

"When you see 300-plus on that rushing stat you know you did your job," said fifth-year senior right tackle Taj Alexander. "To go out like this it feels great. Being here five years you think about everything it took to get to this point and you really appreciate it when you have a game like this, especially when it's your last one."

Quarterback Gary Nova didn't dazzle in his final game (9-of-20 for 184 yards with two touchdown passes) but he didn't have to. And he was good with that.

"I think this senior class deserved this bowl win," he said. "I think we deserved to go out like this. That's all that matters."

Because the running game was so good, Nova only needed to complete two passes in the second half. But the damage was done by then. Rutgers' 23-0 halftime lead was its largest ever in a bowl game, and it was 37-7 with 14:11 to play after a 34-yard Nova-to-Andrew Turzilli touchdown strike and a 28-yard scoring run by Martin. Kyle Federico added a 31-yard field goal with 10:04 remaining to make it 40-7.

"I couldn't be prouder of this football team and what they accomplished today," said head coach Kyle Flood. "They're a special group of young people."

The defensive side did more than its share, quieting a North Carolina offense that is the most productive in school history. Fifth-year senior strong safety Lorenzo Waters played a major role in that, collecting 14 tackles, recovering two fumbles and blocking a field goal attempt.

"It doesn't get any better than this if you're a fifth-year senior playing your last college game," Waters said. "A lot of people get caught up in statistics but it's not about that. All I did was make plays that were available to me and the way the scheme dictated things.

"They put a lot of my shoulders today, asking me to make a lot of open-field tackles so we could do a few other things on defense, and I was able to do that."

Carroo's announcement that he is returning means that Rutgers will be brimming with as much talent at wide receiver as it will at running back.

"I'm very excited about the future for Rutgers. I know we'll have a great team next year," said Carroo, who finished with 55 catches for 1,086 yards with nine touchdowns.