By Kaila Burns-Heffner.

The overtime defeat Clemson faced in Tallahassee is not one the Tigers will easily forget, but there is a long season ahead of them to redeem their current 1-2 record and work their way back into the national polls.

“It hurts, but you know we’ve got to go on,” safety Robert Smith said. “That’s a pain that I think no one on this team will ever forget. We played our heart out. We really thought we were going to go in there and get a win, but we came up short.

“We’re going to try to make this the best nine-game season possible You know we are 1-2 right now, but all we can do is look ahead to the next nine games and have the best season we can possibly have.”

Clemson (1-2, 0-1 ACC) begins “the new season” against North Carolina this Saturday at 7 p.m. in Death Valley, and is determined to not let the Florida State loss affect its mindset.

“This week, especially (Monday), we took an approach that you know we’re gonna move on and not gonna let one loss beat us twice,” Smith said.

On Saturday, the Tar Heels (2-1, 0-0) were blown out by No. 23 East Carolina, 70-41, so they will be just as motivated to earn back their respect when they visit Death Valley for the first time since 2011.

“It’s the same situation with them,” Smith said. “They’re not gonna try to let one loss beat them twice and we’re not going to try to let one loss beat us twice, so both of the teams are going to go out and try to play their best, just try to prove a point, try to get back on that winning streak.”

Smith mentioned the Tigers  greatly benefit from playing the next couple of games in Memorial Stadium.

“When you’re here, running down the Hill and you know with the Clemson fans it’s a whole different atmosphere,” Smith said. “So I believe, you know, we’ll have that twelfth man factor to help us throughout the next couple games.”

Clemson’s defensive players played their hearts out last Saturday and held off the No. 1 team in the nation for almost the entire game. Smith mentioned how well freshman cornerback Mackensie Alexander held off Florida State’s star receiver, Rashad Greene. Alexander did slip up once against Greene, which unfortunately resulted in a 74-yard touchdown, but take away that one play and Greene had just 61 yards on eight catches.

Smith believes Alexander has the potential to develop into a great cornerback and credits the work the freshman puts in on and off the field.

“That’s kudos to Mackensie because that’s the type of player he is. He goes out day in and day out to try to be the best player,” the senior said. “Whenever he gets a challenge, he always tries to make the most of it.”

The veteran safety praised Alexander for how much time he puts into bettering himself as a player by constantly watching film. He mentioned how Alexander has a great understanding of the game and what it takes to prepare.

“I can tell you that I watch a lot of film, and I see him all the time. I can pretty much tell you that Mackensie, he’s watching film, and you know what, he’s a freshman,” Smith said. “You love things like that because you know you’re playing with a guy who loves it just as much as you do.”

The secondary made improvements in their performance since last year’s game against Florida State and Saturday their performance will be crucial in the success against UNC’s high-tempo offense.