East Carolina 42, North Carolina State 28: Shane Carden passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two more as the visiting Pirates extended their winning streak to five games.

Vintavious Cooper rushed for 148 yards and Justin Hardy caught eight passes for 83 yards and a score for East Carolina (9-2). Carden was efficient, completing 23-of-30 passes for 255 yards without an interception.

Brandon Mitchell passed for 312 yards and four touchdowns for North Carolina State (3-8), which has lost seven straight. Rashard Smith was on the receiving end of seven passes for 104 yards and a score and Jumichael Ramos caught a pair of touchdowns.

The Pirates scored touchdowns on three of their first four series, with Carden tossing a 3-yard score to Hardy on the opening drive and adding a 5-yard TD pass to Bryce Williams and a 3-yard scoring run for a 21-7 halftime lead. The Wolfpack drove 76 yards in 14 plays on their first possession, tying it at 7 on Mitchell's 4-yard touchdown pass to Tony Creecy, but they didn't score again until Mitchell threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter after the outcome was decided.

East Carolina picked up where it left off in the second half, as Carden scored on a 1-yard sneak and Breon Allen capped a six-play drive with a 3-yard run on the Pirates' first two possessions after the break. Carden capped his big day with a 25-yard TD pass to Lance Ray to make it 42-14 before Mitchell and Ramos hooked up for two late scores.

GAME NOTEBOOK: East Carolina finishes with a winning non-conference record for the first time since 1999. … Carden became the fifth FBS quarterback this season with 30 (or more) TD passes, joining Oregon State's Sean Mannion, Fresno State's Derek Carr, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Florida State's Jameis Winston. … North Carolina State's first-quarter scoring drive ate up 7:52, its most time-consuming scoring drive since 2008 versus Boston College.