Rutgers' reward for a 7-5 campaign and surprising fourth-place finish in the Big Ten?

A day-after-Christmas affair in Detroit against the Atlantic Coast Conference foe.

The Scarlet Knights on Sunday accepted an invitation from the Quick Lane Bowl, where they will meet North Carolina on Dec. 26 at Ford Field. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m., with ESPN set to air the game nationally.

Rutgers and North Carolina have met six times, the most recent meeting in 2011 when the Tar Heels rolled to a 24-22 victory. It marks the first time the two teams have met in a bowl, and Rutgers' third meeting versus an ACC opponent (including the 2012 Russell Athletic Bowl loss to Virginia Tech and the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl win over NC State).

The Quick Lane Bowl will debut this year, marking a new partnership between the Big Ten and the Detroit Lions. That Detroit is hosting a bowl game this winter is nothing new. Michigan's largest city has been in the college football bowl business since 1997, initially playing host to the Motor City Bowl, which later was renamed after its Little Caesars Pizza sponsor.

In July 2013, the Detroit Lions announced they would be taking over the now-defunct bowl and then partnered with the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference on a six-year deal that begins this season. The Lions joined the Houston Texans as one of only two NFL teams to operate a college football bowl game.



"We're thrilled to participate in the Quick Lane Bowl at a world-class venue against a power five opponent in North Carolina,'' Rutgers Athletics Director Julie Hermann said. "This is a tremendous reward for our program following a successful first season in the Big Ten. The opportunity to be in Detroit is based largely on the record-setting support we had from our fans this season. We believe our fan base will look forward to the opportunity to show up in force at Ford Field, one of the top NFL venues in the country, where it will be 72 degrees at kickoff.''



While Kyle Flood is the first coach in school history to lead Rutgers to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons as head coach, the 2014 senior class is appearing in a bowl for the fourth consecutive season. The only other senior classes in school history to play in four straight bowls were members of the 2008 and 2009 senior classes.



Rutgers is 5-4 all-time in bowl games after last season's 29-16 loss to Notre Dame in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.



Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.