Defenses begin to dominate ACC

Virginia Tech at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU

Syracuse at Virginia, 3:30 p.m., FSSO

Boston College at Clemson, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Wake Forest at North Carolina, 7 p.m., FSSO

Forget about all those high-flying shootouts so prevalent in other parts of the country.

Defense is en vogue in the ACC.

Six of the top 15 defenses in the FBS reside in the conference, a trend against the norm in a time where offensive might is right.

They are:

And Florida State (310.2), which is 22nd in total defense, and Louisville (323.8), which is 26th, aren’t far off the pace.

Fewer yards have translated to fewer points.

Boston College (No. 2 in the FBS in scoring defense), Duke (No. 3), FSU (No. 10), N.C. State (No. 17), Clemson (No. 19) and Wake Forest (No. 20) are all allowing 17 points or less a game.

The Demon Deacons have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the defensive demeanor, leading to a strange stat.

They are 2-1 in ACC games the past two years when they don’t score a touchdown and 0-8 in games in which they reach the end zone, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported.

Wake Forest defeated Boston College 3-0 on Saturday, despite accumulating just five first downs, and beat Virginia Tech 6-3 last year.

“The whole defense was mad at me the whole week because I kept saying (Boston College had) the No. 1 defense in the country,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said this week.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are 0-3 in the ACC despite having allowed just one defensive touchdown in those games. Florida State defeated them 14-0 and Duke won 9-7.

“We are not scoring points right now,” Boston College coach Steve Addazio told the media this week. “But you have to look at (whether) you’re a long way away or a little bit away. Right now, I’d say we’re a little bit away. Now, that little bit can be grand, especially when you’re playing the defenses that we’re playing. We’re talking about a top-10 defense, a top-20 defense, a top-15 defense. We are playing some of the finest.”

Tiger on the loose

Wayne Gallman (Grayson) has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games for fifth-ranked Clemson (5-0).

This week’s task: Boston College, which also is No. 1 in the country against the run (41.7 yards a game).

Last week, Gallman became the first Clemson running back to run for at least 100 yards in three straight games in the same season since Reggie Merriweather in 2005, accomplishing a feat that C.J. Spiller, James Davis (Douglass) and Andre Ellington couldn’t replicate.

Gallman scored on a 66-yard run just 65 seconds into Clemson’s 43-24 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday and finished with 115 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

He’s averaged 121.7 yards in the past three games and is second in the ACC with 536 yards.

“(Gallman is) developing into a big-time back, right before our eyes,” coach Dabo Swinney said earlier this season.

Gallman has helped the Tigers run for more than 200 yards in each of their victories over Louisville, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

One QB for Cards

Speedy freshman Lamar Jackson appears to have taken over the quarterback job at Louisville (2-3, 1-1 in the ACC).

He’s started the past two games — victories over Samford and N.C. State — and rushed for at least 100 yards in both of them.

Reggie Bonnafon started at quarterback in Louisville’s opener against Auburn, followed by Jackson in a loss to Houston. Kyle Bolin started against Clemson and Jackson played sparingly that game.

Jackson is averaging 87 yards rushing and has 435 yards this season. And despite playing in just five career games, he’s 322 yards from breaking Louisville’s career rushing mark by a quarterback of 756, set by Stefan LeFors from 2002-04.

“I’ve seen him on film enough. I didn’t sleep much. … He gave me a headache,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told the media. “That guy can throw, he can run. We recruited him. I liked him out of high school (Boynton Beach, Fla.). I thought the guy was a very dynamic player, (a) really, really good player..”

No Motley crew

Virginia Tech’s Brenden Motley has gone from backup to one of the ACC’s top quarterbacks in five games.

Motley started the season behind Michael Brewer, but took over when Brewer was injured in the opener against Ohio State.

Motley is second in the ACC with 10 touchdown passes and has run for three more to lead the conference with 13 total touchdowns.

“I think he’s done a tremendous job,” coach Frank Beamer told the media. “I’ve always thought Brenden was smart, controlled, very much in control, can control the offense and the players. The offensive guys feed off of that. I think he certainly gives you a different element. He certainly gives you an element to run the football and (he) can pick up some valuable first downs.”

He said it

“They’re the premier team in our league. It’s a great challenge for us.” — Louisville coach Bobby Petrino on playing 11th-ranked Florida State (5-0) on Saturday.

Etc.

Florida State quarterback Everett Golson has thrown 139 passes without an interception. … N.C. State quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw an interception on his final attempt of Friday’s loss to Virginia Tech, ending his streak without a pick at 231 passes, the fifth longest stretch in ACC history. … South Florida’s victory over Syracuse gave the American Athletic Conference a 4-3 record against the ACC this year. … Louisville hasn’t won at Florida State since 1952, when Johnny Unitas threw three touchdown passes as a sophomore. … Wake Forest linebacker Brandon Chubb (Hillgrove) is second in the ACC in active career tackles with 269 and Duke safety DeVon Edwards (Alcovy) is fourth with 238. … Virginia Tech’s Isaiah Ford had six touchdown catches last year. He already has six in six games this season. … There are 14 players from Georgia on Louisville’s roster. … Clemson’s eight-game winning streak is tied for the fifth longest in the FBS.