By William Qualkinbush.

The disappointment was all over Deshawn Williams on Monday.

It was in his voice. It was on his face. It was in his demeanor, and there was nothing that could change his mood.

Still smarting from Saturday’s heart-wrenching 23-17 loss at top-ranked Florida State, Williams faced the media on Monday to discuss a valiant effort from the Clemson defense in defeat.

Two days later, the senior Williams was still emotional when mentioning the heartache he felt in the aftermath of his final regular season showdown with the Seminoles.

“That game hurt,” a somber Williams said. “It still hurts to this day. But we put our best foot forward and we fell short.”

Williams and his teammates consistently slowed or stopped the Florida State offense on Saturday, putting to rest—at least for the moment—any lingering questions about the Tiger defense. After allowing 51 points last year to the Seminoles and getting worn down in the fourth quarter at Georgia last month, Brent Venables’ defense rose to the occasion against the nation’s top team.

“We went out there with that swagger the Clemson defense is known for having,” Williams said. “We knew we had them. We knew we were going to win. It just didn’t go the way that we wanted to.”

In the wake of the loss, Williams says there is a clear sense of accountability that has moved through the ranks. Even in dominating the Seminoles on the ground and limiting them to only one big play that occurred when a defensive back fell down in coverage, the lack of satisfaction is real, and it drives Williams and his teammates.

“Just to see my brothers, the hurt on their faces after the game, I told Grady it made me (want to) work so much harder than I did,” he said. “You don’t want to lose a game like that.

“This is going to help us, man. This loss is going to mold us. It’s going to keep us hungry to work harder to get where we want to get.”

Williams says the Tigers will take the same mindset they deployed on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium into this week’s contest with North Carolina. Minus the hype and the stakes on the line, he feels the same way about the Tar Heels he did about the Seminoles—superior and ready to prove it to the masses.

“When you know you’re better than your opponent, you’re ready to go out on the field. (On Saturday) we just wanted as many opportunities, as many series as we could get to get on the field because we were ready to go.”

The unique challenge facing the Clemson defense is not lost on the players. They understand, even as preparations for Larry Fedora’s football team are in the beginning stages, the pace at which the Tar Heels will play and the problems that can create if a team is still sulking about a past result.

“We’re going to get good conditioning this week,” Williams said. “They’re fast-tempo. Spot the ball, and they just go.”

He made that remark with a grin on his face, as if to invite another game week to do its worst so his unit can show up prepared to prove its worth once again against its well-respected foe.