Bryce Perkins passed for 217 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 112 yards and a score as surging Virginia earned a 31-21 victory over longtime rival North Carolina in Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers (6-2, 4-1 ACC) became bowl eligible for the second straight year, the first time that has happened since it played in four straight bowls from 2002-05.

Virginia has won three straight and five of its last six to take over first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division. The Tar Heels (1-6, 1-4) have lost four in a row and are 0-5 on the road.

Billed as the South's oldest rivalry, this was the 123rd meeting since 1892. Among FBS rivalries, only Minnesota and Wisconsin's annual battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe has been played more often (127 times).

Perkins completed 18 of 27 passes in UVA's first home win against North Carolina since 2008. He ran the ball 21 times and posted his third 100-yard game on the ground this year. Olamide Zaccheaus caught 10 passes for 108 yards.

With his eighth catch, which was a 17-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter, Zaccheaus broke the Virginia career record of 210 receptions set by Billy McMullen from 1999-2002. He has caught at least one pass in 37 straight games.

For UNC, Nathan Elliott was 22-of-38 for 271 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He hasn't thrown a pick since the season-opening loss at Cal on Sept. 1.

The Cavaliers struck first in the second half, as Perkins' 33-yard touchdown pass to Hasise Dubois pushed their lead to 24-14.

Late in the third quarter, Chris Peace sacked and stripped Elliott, and Bryce Hall recovered at the UNC 35. Three plays later, Perkins fired a 16-yard scoring strike to Evan Butts to make it 31-14.

North Carolina's first five possessions of the second half produced four punts and one turnover. The Tar Heels ended the drought with a 92-yard drive and Michael Carter's 1-yard TD run, cutting the UVA lead to 31-21 with less than eight minutes to play.

The Cavs never trailed, building a 17-7 lead in the first half with a 10-yard touchdown run by Perkins on the game's opening drive, a 27-yard touchdown pass from Perkins to Joe Reed and a 37-yard field goal by Joe Delaney.

The Tar Heels pulled within 17-14 before halftime on Elliott's second touchdown pass of the game, a 16-yarder to a wide-open Carl Tucker with 5:01 to play. Elliott also tossed a 30-yard TD to Dazz Newsome in the first quarter.

--Field Level Media