[5] The game was sponsored by Ford Motor Company through its service-center brand Quick Lane.
As the regular season came to a close Rutgers officials entered into negotiations with several bowls, hoping to secure a post-season berth.
Although apparently preferring the TaxSlayer and Music City Bowl, both of which had obligations to accept Big Ten teams, Rutgers accepted when Tom Lewand, president of the Detroit Lions and CEO of the Quick Lane bowl, extended an invitation on December 7, 2014.
[7] With the acceptance head coach Kyle Flood became the first in Rutgers history to reach a bowl game in his first three seasons.
[6] The North Carolina Tar Heels finished the regular season 6–6 (4–4 conference) under third-year head coach Larry Fedora.