Freshman Tyrod Taylor is undefeated as Virginia Tech's starting quarterback, but he will face a big test against Clemson.

Taylor and the 15th-ranked Hokies try to keep the No. 22 Tigers from bouncing back after their first loss when the ACC foes meet Saturday at Clemson Memorial Stadium.

Taylor improved to 3-0 as the starter for Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0) with Saturday's 17-10 win over North Carolina. He saw his first action of the season during the Hokies' 48-7 loss to LSU - currently the top-ranked team in the country - on Sept. 8 before leading them to three straight wins.

Taylor threw for 287 yards in a 28-7 win over Ohio and 72 in a 44-3 rout of William & Mary while playing just one half. He also ran for 60 yards and one touchdown in those two contests.

However, Taylor's inexperience showed against the Tar Heels . He completed 10 of 19 passes for just 66 yards with an interception, ran 11 times for 11 yards and took four sacks.

Coach Frank Beamer said Taylor will have to work on many aspects of his game as he prepares for Clemson (4-1, 2-1).

"Are you looking where you need to be looking? Should the ball be getting out of there or should you be scrambling?" Beamer said. "We're into some new stuff, different stuff offensively. We're still in the process of, No. 1, getting good at that, and No. 2, playing a quarterback that's learning every snap."

Taylor will have to learn quickly as he gets ready for a Clemson defense that ranks first in the ACC and eighth in the nation with 149.2 passing yards allowed per game. The Tigers have forced 10 turnovers over their last three games, holding opponents to an average of 14.3 points.

Clemson also will be eager to rebound from its first defeat of the season, last Saturday's 13-3 upset loss at Georgia Tech. A week after gaining 608 yards in a 42-20 win at North Carolina State, the Tigers managed only 228 against the Yellow Jackets , including 34 rushing.

James "Thunder" Davis ran for 60 yards on 12 carries, while C.J. "Lightning" Spiller was held to 2 yards on nine carries. The combined 62 yards was the second-lowest total the running back tandem has ever had, and came a week after the duo rushed for 280 yards - their second-highest total - against the Wolfpack.

"I let my team down," Spiller said. "There were a lot of holes I should have hit."

Quarterback Cullen Harper was sacked six times, completed just 17 of 39 passes for 194 yards and threw his first interception of the season. Kicker Mark Buchholz missed four field goals and the Tigers had a punt blocked that led to Georgia Tech's only TD.

However, Clemson is determined to avoid a repeat of last season, when it lost four of its final five games after starting the season 7-1. Coach Tommy Bowden is trying to remind his team of a fonder memory from 2006 - its six straight wins following an early season loss at Boston College.

"So I'm hoping after this loss the team can respond as they did last year after its first loss," Bowden said. "But, another team, another chemistry, I don't know."

Virginia Tech also will try to get its rushing game going on Saturday. Branden Ore , who ran for 1,137 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, has just 298 yards and three TDs this year.

However, he did pick up a season-high 93 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against the Tar Heels .

"That just comes from everybody being on the same page and working together," Ore told the Hokies' official team Web site. "The more practice and the more time we get together, I think we'll be successful. You can see that our guys (the offensive linemen) are working well together right now and they're doing their job."

Virginia Tech's defense, which ranks second in the ACC with 15.0 points allowed per game, set up a touchdown with an interception and stopped a North Carolina drive by forcing a fumble deep in its own territory. Linebacker Cam Martin had 10 tackles and three sacks and was named the ACC's defensive back of the week.

"What I like is our toughness," Beamer said. "When they absolutely had to, our defense stepped up. That's what I like to see - kids that will fight back.

"We are not as smooth as we want, but if we just keep giving effort, we're going to get there."

Clemson leads the all-time series 17-11-1, but Virginia Tech has won the last four meetings.