College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Virginia Tech 34, North Carolina 3
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 8, 2016
Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Temperature: 65°
Head Official: Ron Cherry
Attendance: 33000

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Through the rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew and everything else Saturday, Virginia Tech wanted to be heard again.

The No. 25 Hokies did just that, smothering No. 17 North Carolina's potent offense in a 34-3 romp.

"We're tired of hearing about everybody else," said quarterback Jerod Evans, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a game played in heavy rain at Kenan Stadium.

Virginia Tech (4-1 overall, 2-0 ACC) limited the Tar Heels to 131 yards of total offense, by far the lowest figure under coach Larry Fedora.

North Carolina (4-2, 2-1) had a 10-game conference regular-season winning streak snapped. The Tar Heels were unable to put themselves in position for a final-second victory like they pulled off the previous two weeks.

"It was a pretty darn fantastic performance," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. "It wasn't perfect, but it was a great team effort. ... I think we should be a confident football team. This certainly won't hurt."

Virginia Tech made the most of its 237 yards of total offense.

The Tar Heels didn't take care of the football and didn't solve the Virginia Tech defense.

"They seemed to handle the weather," said Fedora, whose team was without a touchdown for the first time in his five seasons on the job. "We did a poor job all the way around."

It was the opposite for the Hokies.

"I don't know if there's anything schematically that we did to prepare," Fuente said. "But I think at least emotionally we prepared to play in whatever Mother Nature threw at us."

Evans rushed for 76 yards on 17 attempts and threw for 75 yards on 7-for-17 passing.

North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who entered the week leading the country in completion percentage (76.0), was 13 of 33 for 58 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked twice.

"When the ball was in the air, they made plays," Trubisky said.

The Hokies collected four turnovers and gained a possession in North Carolina territory on a messed-up punt play.

"We turned the ball over five times - all in our end," Fedora said. "You can't put your defense in that position."

Virginia Tech scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the second half for a 27-3 edge.

Defensive tackle Woody Baron returned a fumble 9 yards to the North Carolina 22, with the next play resulting in a touchdown pass from Evans to running back Sam Rogers.

Moments later, the Hokies had another short field when North Carolina punter Tom Sheldon dropped a snap, giving Virginia Tech the ball at the Tar Heels' 4. Evans ran 1 yard on fourth down for the score.

Later in the quarter, North Carolina didn't take advantage of getting the ball in Virginia Tech territory after a botched punt play. The Tar Heels failed to convert on fourth down after reaching the Virginia Tech 20 later in the quarter.

"We had a great game plan," Trubisky said. "We just couldn't make it work."

Virginia Tech running back Travon McMillian capped the scoring with a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.

The Hokies held a 13-3 halftime lead, scoring the game's first touchdown on Evans' 1-yard pass to tight end Chris Cunningham. That was set up a play earlier by Evans' 28-yard pass to tight end Bucky Hodges, who made a diving catch near the pylon.

Virginia Tech converted a pair of first-quarter turnovers in North Carolina territory into field goals of 35 and 28 yards by Joey Slye in the first 10 minutes.

North Carolina turned a fumble recovery into Nick Weiler's 28-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Virginia Tech drove to the North Carolina 7 midway through the second quarter, but Evans lost the ball on a third-down run with defensive tackle Nazair Jones forcing and recovering the fumble. Evans had 41 rushing yards on the possession, but forcing a punt from the end zone that helped set up a touchdown later.

North Carolina hasn't won consecutive home games against the Hokies since five in a row from 1929 to 1945.

NOTES: This was the first matchup of ranked teams in Kenan Stadium since North Carolina defeated Georgia Tech 28-7 in 2008. ... It was the first time since 2008 that North Carolina faced ranked opponents in consecutive weeks since 2008. The Tar Heels beat then-No. 12 Florida State a week earlier. ... When North Carolina QB Mitch Trubisky was picked off by CB Greg Stroman in the first quarter, it ended his school-record streak of 243 passes without an interception. It was the first interception in a North Carolina game (for or against the Tar Heels) this year. ... North Carolina RB Elijah Hood missed the game after suffering an undisclosed injury a week earlier at Florida State. Freshman RB Jordon Brown made his collegiate debut. ... A year ago in Blacksburg, Va., the Tar Heels defeated Virginia Tech 30-27 in overtime to clinch the ACC's Coastal Division title, spoiling the final home game for the Hokies under long-time coach Frank Beamer.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Virginia Tech   North Carolina
Travon McMillian Player T.J. Logan
17 Attempts 14
76 Yards 67
4.5 Avg Yards 4.8
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Receiving
Virginia Tech   North Carolina
Bucky Hodges Player T.J. Logan
1 Receptions 6
28 Yards 30
28.0 Avg Yards 5.0
0 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Virginia Tech 264 189 75 4 2 2 2.0 1
North Carolina 131 73 58 0 1 0 2.0 1