The Result: Virginia held off North Carolina in a 38-31 shootout in Chapel Hill. The triumph was UVa’s third straight over the Tar Heels and improved the team’s record to 6-3 on the year, 4-2 in ACC play. That leaves the Cavaliers all alone in first place in the Coastal Division.

The Turning Point: A Bryce Perkins 65-yard touchdown run on the second play of the third quarter. Virginia had tied the game with a touchdown just before half and Perkins’ run down the sideline gave the Hoos a lot of momentum and as well as giving them the lead for good

The Stat That Tells the Story: UVa went 5-for-5 on red zone opportunities in the game, scoring 31 points. After struggling to score TDs near the goal line at times throughout the season, the Cavaliers cashed in on four of their five trips and made a field goal on the other drive deep into Carolina territory.

Wahoo of the Week: It’s Perkins, who set a school record for all-purpose yards in a game with 490. It was an excellent bounce-back effort for the senior capatain who also didn’t turn the ball over, which was critical in a one-possesion game.

Bronco’s Winning Formula:

24+ Points?: Yes (38)

+1 Turnover Margin?: No (Even)

+5 Average Starting Field Position?: No (-2)

1) Win the field position battle.

For the game, Virginia lost the average starting field position battle by two yards. But neither team really benefited from good field position during the contest and that worked out pretty well for the Hoos. UVa had taken advantage of many short fields throughout the season, scoring 36 percent of its offensive touchdowns on drives that began in enemy territory by virtue of a turnover or a long special teams play. But last night, neither team had a drive that started in enemy territory. Virginia’s scoring drives were 70 yards, 76, 78 , 75, 85, and 75. The Cavaliers were able to sustain drives and while they didn’t have many big special teams plays to flip the field, they didn’t really need them to score points. UVa also didn’t give UNC any gifts, with no short fields for the Tar Heels’ explosive offense, so we’ll call this one a wash.

Grade: C

2) Finish strong.

Virginia had faltered in the second half of its three losses, getting out-scored 52-16 after the break at Notre Dame, Miami and Louisville. On Saturday night, the game went into halftime tied at 17-17 after the Hoos had trailed by a score as the break approached. But Virginia not only scored but then punched first out of the locker room, scoring 14 straight points to take control of the game. Carolina wouldn’t go away, but the Hoos outscored Carolina 21-14 in the second half, despite not scoring any points in the fourth quarter. While it would’ve been nice to tack on another score after getting to 38, Virginia’s second-half effort on offense did not resemble the struggles that we saw them down the stretch on the road through most of the season. The defense also deserves credit for getting two big 4th-down stops on UNC’s final two drives to seal the win.

Grade: A