The entire defense knew the last play was coming. Only one player—the biggest on the field—was able to stop it for good.

Defensive tackle Deshawn Williams broke up a pass on the game’s final meaningful snap to seal a Clemson victory over Louisville by a slim 23-17 margin at home on Saturday. It was a fitting way to win for a defense that spent the entire game figuring out ways to stymie a Cardinals attack led by Bobby Petrino.

It all came down to the final play, but the Tigers had been setting the stage all game long. As one of a gaggle of senior leaders on defense, Williams welcomed the challenge associated with picking up the slack for a Clemson offense without its starting quarterback and top receiver for much of the game.

“When we’re hot like we were tonight, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “We wanted to go back out there.”

Williams’ last-play heroics were forecast by the way Louisville struggled to move the football all day. The Cardinals have had issues offensively all season, but the Tigers exasperated those problems with a dominating effort.

In Saturday’s game, Williams and the Tiger defense held the Cardinals to season lows in points (17), plays (68), yards (264), and first downs (10). Louisville featured the top-ranked statistical defense in the nation coming in, but it was Clemson’s unit that stole the headlines.

“When we’re all on our assignment, when we all get a call, nobody can play with us,” Williams said. “When we all know what we’re doing, it shows. I can’t be prouder of my defense.”

“Our guys were like a bunch of piranhas out there at times,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “I loved watching them play with the effort they played with, the guts that they played with.”

The resilience of a unit that held Louisville to just one third-down conversion in 17 attempts during the game was tested late. With less than a minute to play, a 73-yard pass play set Louisville up on first-and-goal. After a quick slant, a stonewalled rushing attempt, and a spike that stopped the clock, fourth down came.

Many Clemson defenders recalled seeing Louisville run that final play on film, and Venables prophesied the importance of stopping it during preparation. Williams says he and his teammates expected a run, but it did not take long for them to adjust.

“The way he rolled out, I had to keep working,” Williams said. “I had to keep fighting off the guard and tackle. He threw it, and I was like, ‘He threw it at me, so I’d better do something.’ I just put my hand up.”

Williams’ hand caught a piece of the football, setting off a celebration on the Clemson sideline that leaked onto the field.

The exuberance of the masses in Memorial Stadium was a combination of joy and relief, but Williams says the defense was fully prepared for that critical moment at the end of the game.

“We’re built for stuff like that,” Williams said. “We’ve been through so much, playing against Georgia and Florida State. We’re war-ready for that. We just knew there was no other way. We led the team the whole game, so why not finish it?”

Williams had five tackles in Saturday’s game, including one-half of a tackle for loss, but the one pass he broke up will be the play he most remembers.