AP photo Boston College linebacker Isaiah McDuffie tackles North Carolina wide receiver Dyami Brown (2) during the first half of Saturday's game in Chestnut Hill.

OSTON (AP) — North Carolina safety Trey Morrison stepped in front of the 2-point conversion attempt and saw a path to the other end zone, 99 yards away.

He went for it, and sealed a long-awaited victory for the 12th-ranked Tar Heels.

Morrison intercepted Phil Jurkovec’s pass on the potential game-tying 2-point play and ran it back for a score with 45 seconds left Saturday to help North Carolina beat Boston College 26-22 for its pandemic-delayed second victory of the season.

With the cancellation of one game because of the coronavirus and a scheduled off week leaving North Carolina idle since Sept. 12, the Tar Heels (2-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) sent BC (2-1, 1-1) to its first loss under new coach Jeff Hafley.

Carolina had nine penalties, a missed field goal and a mental error on a kickoff return that led to BC’s first touchdown.

“We were concerned about the three weeks off, and having a sloppy game,” coach Mack Brown said. “And that’s just what happened.”

Sam Howell completed 14 of 26 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard score to Javonte Williams that gave Carolina a 21-13 lead with just over a minute left in the first half. Williams ran for 57 yards and caught two passes for 56, and Michael Carter carried 16 times for 121 yards for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina led 24-16 with just under six minutes left before Jurkovec drove BC into Tar Heels territory and completed three passes in the end zone. The first two were negated by penalties, but a 6-yard pass to C.J. Lewis made it a two-point game with 45 seconds left, with the 2-point conversion to come.

Jurkovec scrambled and threw to the end zone, but Morrison picked him off and ran down the left sideline for the rare defensive 2-point conversion.

“I just saw the ball in the air and I just went to go get it,” Morrison said. “I just caught the ball and I just ran it all the way back.”

A week after rallying to beat Texas State — a three-touchdown underdog — Boston College almost pulled off another comeback for what would have been its first victory over a ranked team since 2014.

Here’s a look at other key games on a very busy Saturday for ranked teams:

NO. 1 CLEMSON 41, VIRGINIA 23

Trevor Lawrence threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns, two to Amari Rodgers, and No. 1 Clemson started 3-0 for the sixth straight season with a 41-23 victory over Virginia on Saturday night.

The Tigers (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked a bit sluggish after a week off, but heated up against the Cavaliers (1-1, 1-1) when their offensive stars — Lawrence, Rodgers and tailback Travis Etienne — got rolling.

Clemson was up just 3-0 late in the first quarter when Etienne went for a 16-yard scoring run — nearly losing his balance after a couple of hits before powering into the end zone. Lawrence and Rodgers opened things up with a pair of scoring passes in the final six minutes before halftime.

NO. 2 ALABAMA 52, NO. 13 TEXAS A&M 24

Mac Jones launched his first pass far to John Metchie III for a 78-yard touchdown. It was most definitely a sign of things to come.

Jones passed for a career-high 435 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of deep throws to Metchie and an even longer one to Jaylen Waddle, and No. 2 Alabama romped

Briefly threatened early, Jones and the Crimson Tide (2-0) flexed their considerable big-play muscle in the passing game to put away the Aggies (1-1).

NO. 4 GEORGIA 27, NO. 7 AUBURN 6

Stetson Bennett threw for 240 yards and a touchdown in his first college start, Zamir White ran for a pair of scores and No. 4 Georgia romped in the first Top 10 matchup of the college football season.

The Bulldogs (2-0) buried Auburn with a 24-0 blitz in the first half, extending their domination of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry.

TCU 33, No. 9 TEXAS 31

Texas ran out of comebacks against Max Duggan and TCU.

The Horned Frogs quarterback ran for the go-ahead score with 4 minutes left and the defense made it stand with a goal-line fumble recovery to beat No. 9 Texas Saturday in a game that had 26 penalties and ended with TCU taking a safety to run out the final seconds.

In doing so, the Horned Frogs (1-1, 1-1) dealt another tough blow to the Big 12′s College Football Playoff hopes now that Texas and Oklahoma, the league’s highest-ranked teams at the beginning of the season, each have early home losses to unranked opponents.

IOWA STATE 37, NO. 18 OKLAHOMA 30

Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run with 4:06 left and Isheem Young intercepted Spencer Rattler’s pass in the end zone on No. 18 Oklahoma’s final drive, giving Iowa State an upset win.

The Sooners (1-2), beaten at home by Kansas State last week, lost back-to-back regular-season games for the first time since 1999. They lost in Ames for the first time since 1960.

The Cyclones (2-1) wore down the Sooners with the running of Hall, who rushed for 139 yards. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy passed for 254 yards and had a 2-yard touchdown run to tie it at 30.

NO. 20 LSU 41, VANDERBILT 7

The LSU Tigers proved they could protect their quarterback, and Myles Brennan showed what he could do with some time to throw.

Brennan threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns and No. 20 LSU bounced back

The defending national champs never trailed after losing their season opener last week to Mississippi State when Brennan was sacked seven times. LSU also extended its winning streak over the Commodores to nine in a series it leads 24-7-1.