Bryce Perkins passed for 185 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 108 yards and two scores as Virginia kicked off the season with a 42-13 victory against visiting Richmond on Saturday night at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.

Making a strong debut for Virginia (1-0), Perkins, a junior, became the first Cavaliers quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards since Jameel Sewell gained 104 yards against Virginia Tech in 2009. Perkins had 107 in the first half. He finished 13-of-24 passing and rushed 13 times.

Richmond (0-1) had trouble moving the football without quarterback Kyle Lauletta, last season's Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year and a fourth-round draft pick of the New York Giants. Junior Kevin Johnson completed 11 of 28 passes for 194 yards with two interceptions.

The Cavaliers outgained the Spiders 492-225, including a 301-34 margin on the ground.

Virginia senior Olamide Zaccheaus extended his streak to 30 consecutive games with at least one catch. He tallied six receptions for 101 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Senior Jordan Ellis rushed 20 times for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns for the Cavaliers, finding the end zone with a 10-yard run in the second quarter and a 21-yard scamper in the third.

The last time Virginia had two 100-yard rushers in the same contest was in 2013 against VMI, with Kevin Parks (135) and Daniel Hamm (136).

Perkins originally signed with Arizona State but did not see any action in two seasons in Tempe. He redshirted the 2015 season and missed 2016 with a neck injury. He headed to Arizona Western College and led the Matadors to the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game in 2017 before transferring to UVA.

He bounced back quickly after his first drive resulted in a 72-yard interception return by Dale Matthews Jr. Perkins tied the game with a 36-yard touchdown run on the next series. After a Richmond field goal, his 22-yard TD run gave UVA the lead for good at 14-10 with 1:38 left in the first quarter. He became the first Cavs QB with multiple rushing scores in a game since Sewell at Southern Miss in 2009.

The Cavaliers' rushing attack ranked last in the ACC and 127th in the nation last season, averaging just 93.5 yards per game and scoring only 10 rushing TDs in 13 games. In their final three games -- losses to Miami, Virginia Tech and Navy (Military Bowl) -- they were limited to a combined 90 rushing yards. The last time UVA faced Richmond in the 2016 opener, the Cavaliers only managed 38 yards on the ground in a 37-20 upset loss to the FCS program.

The start of the game was delayed 45 minutes due to lightning. Virginia improved to 29-3-2 in the all-time series against the Spiders.

--Field Level Media