CHARLOTTESVILLE - Not one question was posed Saturday about a Virginia home winning streak against North Carolina that dates to 1983.

To suggest the Tar Heels were the victim of any kind of curse or jinx would have done disservice to UVa's performance in a 56-24 victory at Scott Stadium. It was UVa's second-highest scoring output in the 112-year history of the series with the highest coming in 1912, when the Cavaliers trounced the Tar Heels 66-0 in Richmond.

If desired, 15th-ranked Virginia (2-0, 1-0 ACC) might have been able to hang 66 points on the Tar Heels, but the score Saturday was so lopsided that UVa quarterback Marques Hagans did not play in the final 14 minutes.

Hagans completed 10 of 12 passes for 209 yards and was not intercepted for the second game in a row, but the day belonged to the UVa running game and to the Cavaliers' special teams.

Four different UVa running backs scored touchdowns, including three by junior Wali Lundy for the second game in a row. Sophomore fullback Jason Snelling had eight carries for a team-leading 80 yards and, along with Lundy and Michael Johnson, was one of three UVa running backs who rushed for 70 yards or more.

"Call us what you want," senior Alvin Pearman said. "Just don't call us soft."

Pearman scored two touchdowns, the second after a 93-yard kickoff return to the North Carolina 1-yard line.

"I told the coaches on the phone, 'Give him the ball [on first and goal] if he's got to crawl in there,'" UVa coach Al Groh said. "Alvin had a spectacular day. He's reveling in his versatility."

Virginia set a school record with 238 kickoff return yards, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by fifth-year senior Marquis Weeks, a former running back in his first year as a safety.

Weeks' kickoff return was his second for a touchdown, both coming against the Tar Heels. In 2002, his 100-yard return of the second-half kickoff was instrumental in the Cavaliers' rally from a 21-0 halftime deficit for a 37-27 victory.

That was the second-greatest comeback in Virginia history but the suspense was over early Saturday, when a sun-kissed crowd of 62,790, second-largest in Scott Stadium history, watched the Cavaliers score touchdowns on their first seven possessions and eight of the first nine.

Over a period of five quarters dating to the teams' 2002 game, UVa outscored the Tar Heels 86-10.

Carolina (1-1, 0-1) came into the game off a 49-38 victory over visiting William and Mary, when the Tar Heels rushed for 341 yards and amassed 575 yards in total offense.

UVa showed who ruled the line of scrimmage, when, after taking a 14-0 lead, the Cavaliers saw North Carolina drive to the 2-yard line. The Tar Heels needed inches for a first down at the 1, but, on fourth down, UVa defensive tackle Chris Canty stopped Ronnie McGill well short of the mark.

The Cavaliers proceeded to march 97 yards on a seven-play touchdown drive that required less than 2 1/2 minutes.

"It didn't matter if they had the ball on the 1 or the 5 or the 40," North Carolina coach John Bunting said. "They scored every time they had the ball."

The goal-line stand was the first defining moment of the first half. The second defining moment came when Carolina pulled to 28-10, only to have UVa respond to a Connor Barth field goal with Weeks' touchdown return.

"I'm very disappointed in the way we played defense [but] I'm probably even more disappointed in two kickoff returns for touchdowns," said Bunting, who didn't need to be reminded that Pearman had been stopped at the 1. "That just can't happen.

"Any time you try to build momentum and have two kickoff returns for touchdowns, that's just really poor play, poor coaching and that's got to be corrected."

North Carolina finished with 434 yards in total offense, compared to the Cavaliers' 549, but much of the Tar Heels' yardage came against a UVa defense that included many substitutes. Groh expressed disappointment that his reserves hadn't played better, but otherwise, he had few complaints.

"It wasn't boring for me," Groh said. "This was a good game for us. It was a positive step forward. I don't think it's a game to do jumping jacks or handsprings over. We've got a long ways to go, but I'm not going to throw any cold water on the parade."