RELATED: THI Football Central thread on the Blue Heaven premium message board (updates all week leading up to the game)

Line: North Carolina -3

Where: Kenan Stadium (63,000), Chapel Hill, N.C.

Time/TV: 3:30 pm , ABC/ESPN2

Announcers: Dave Lamont, play-by-play; Ray Bentley, analyst; Alex Corddry, sidelines

Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network; Sirius (145)/XM (203) SiriusXM Online (964)

Weather: Chapel Hill, N.C.

Schedule | Roster | Statistics | Media Guide | Game Notes | ACC Notes

Rankings: AP Poll #25, Coaches Poll #32

Series vs. UNC: Virginia Tech leads 20-12-6

Last Meeting: North Carolina beat Virginia Tech, 30-27 OT, in Blacksburg on November 21, 2016, to clinch the ACC Coastal Division title. Game Story

Location: Blacksburg, Virginia

Nickname: Hokies

School Colors: Chicago Maroon & Burnt Orange

Stadium (cap.): Lane Stadium (65,632)

Surface: Grass

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

2016 record: 3-1 overall, 1-0 ACC

Head Coach: Justin Fuente

Record: 3-1 at VT; 29-24 Overall

Websites: HokieSports.com | Hokie Haven

Twitter: @VT_Football

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Jerod Evans said that he needed to clean up some things during Virginia Tech's upcoming off week.

The Hokies' fan base may be wondering what exactly that is. His play so far has been sparkling.

Evans, the Hokies' starting quarterback, threw three touchdown passes and rushed for one to lift Virginia Tech over East Carolina 54-17 on Saturday.

The Hokies (3-1) scored on their final five possessions of the first half, including all four of their second-quarter possessions, to overwhelm East Carolina (2-2) and snap a two-game losing streak to the Pirates.

Evans completed 13 of 20 passes for a career-best 282 yards and rushed for a career-best 97 more. He has thrown at least three touchdown passes in three of the Hokies' first four games and is completing 67 percent of his passes.

''I missed a couple of things here and there,'' Evans said. ''I have a lot of things that I can get better at for sure.''

Evans entered the game with an ACC-best 10 touchdown passes this season. Of more importance to Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente, he has thrown just one interception.

''I think he's pretty good,'' Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said of Evans. ''He's been judicious with the ball and he's going to the right place most of the time. He's been pretty efficient.''

Following a punt return for a touchdown by Greg Stroman and a touchdown run by Marshawn Williams that gave the Hokies a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Evans threw touchdown passes of 24 yards to Isaiah Ford, 13 yards to Travon McMillian and 55 yards to Cam Phillips. That final score gave the Hokies a 38-0 halftime lead.

ECU quarterback Philip Nelson had 362 yards passing and two touchdown tosses to Jimmy Williams. The Pirates had 443 yards of offense, but committed three special teams mistakes, fumbled once and were sacked six times.

''We studied the film well and they had a lot of keys when they were sliding the protection,'' said Ken Ekanem, who had two of the Hokies' six sacks. ''We had a lot of indicators and we knew when someone was going to be left one-on-one. We look forward to one-on-one matchups and pride ourselves on winning those. We did a good job of that today.''

THE TAKEAWAY

The Hokies dominated on special teams, scoring four touchdowns as a result of those units. Greg Stroman scored on an 87-yard punt return, and a blocked field goal attempt led to an Evans touchdown pass to Isaiah Ford. Cam Phillips blocked a punt that led to an Evans touchdown pass to Travon McMillian, and a sack of ECU punter Worth Gregory in the fourth quarter led to a 1-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Brenden Motley.