By Will Vandervort.

ACC Notebook

NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has not thrown an interception since early in the second quarter of the Wolfpack’s season opener.

Brissett will carry into Saturday’s game at Clemson a streak of 156 passes without an interception, which ties for the 11th-longest in ACC history. Former Wolfpack quarterback Russell Wilson holds the ACC record of 379 passes without a pick.

“He’s a challenge. He’s playing with confidence, and they do a great job with what they do as far as formations and creating match-ups and creating a little bit of uncertainty for your defensive players,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “So we’ve got to be very, very disciplined against this bunch.”

Rating Game. When the Clemson-Florida State football telecast recorded a 4.5 national rating on ABC on Sept. 20, it was the highest national rating this year for any college football game on an ESPN platform.

In fact, telecasts involving ACC schools have recorded six of the top 10 rated college football TV broadcasts for ESPN to date this year, including Florida State vs. Oklahoma State (3.8), Virginia Tech at Ohio State (2.6), Notre Dame at Syracuse (2.6), Clemson at Georgia (2.3) and Miami at Louisville (2.3).

Last Saturday’s FSU-NC State game also drew a 3.5 as part of a regional window on ABC and nationally on ESPN2.

Getting defensive. Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino has been known for his offensive prowess throughout his coaching career, but he has also put together an exceptional defense for the Cardinals this year.

This week, Louisville leads the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 58.2 yards per game and ranks third nationally in total defense, allowing only 225.2 yards per game. The Cardinals are 2nd nationally in third-down defensive conversion (21.3%), 5th in turnovers forced (13), 8th in first-down defense (58), 9th in scoring defense (14.0) and 12th in pass efficiency defense (97.22).

Safety Gerod Holliman leads the nation in pass interceptions with six, including five in the last three games and defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin has four quarterback sacks in five games.

Getting takeaways. Virginia leads the nation with 18 takeaways through five games. UVa is No. 1 nationally with 10 fumble recoveries.

Of the 10 fumble recoveries, seven came on defensive sacks by the Cavaliers. Virginia had 13 takeaways through the first three games, the most by the Cavaliers through the first three games of a season since 13 to start the 2002 campaign.

Hokies own the Tar Heel state. Virginia Tech has had pretty good success playing in the state of North Carolina, winning 11 of its last 13 games.

Since 2000, the Hokies are 18-3 in games played in the Tar Heel State with the lone losses coming at the hands of ECU in Charlotte in 2008, Clemson in Charlotte at the 2011 ACC Championship Game and 2012 at North Carolina, where they will play on Saturday.

Under Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech is 21-6 in games played in North Carolina and is 4-1 facing the Tar Heels in Kenan Stadium.