Spirits were high after top-ranked Clemson defeated No. 16 Florida State to claim the Atlantic Division title this past Saturday.

Here is what we heard from the players and coaches in their Monday interview session:

ESPN did an emotional feature on co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott’s life, which aired before the game on Saturday. Elliott said that it was kind of tough for him to openly reflect on the tragedies in his life, but that the team helped him to refocus on the task at hand.

“It got a little emotional for me on Saturday morning when I saw the piece,” he said, “But being around the guys, they got me back locked in, they got me back focused, and that’s what I’ve used my entire life is the motivation of others around me, to push me, to keep me focused. Once I got back in front of the guys, I knew they were counting on me. I knew I didn’t have the time to be emotional and that they were counting on me to be prepared and lead them into battle.”

When asked about quarterback Deshaun Watson’s mistakes in the first half, Elliott said that he knew Watson would be able to come back stronger than ever to win the game.

“When I looked into his eyes, and I don’t ever look into players’ eyes, I saw determination. I am proud he came back the second half,” Elliott said.

Watson said that he knew he had to refocus after the mistake on the spike, so he followed a trick he learned from his high school coach to “snap and clear.” He knew that he would not let one mistake cloud his mind for the rest of the game.

“It was a learning lesson. There was a lot that was going on. Throughout the season, I’ve been growing up each and every game, getting better and becoming a better leader. Every win is not going to be pretty. I’m going to make mistakes, and Saturday I made that mistake on the spike, but one little mistake can’t affect me throughout the whole game. We knew we had a whole other half, and deep down we knew that we had the better team,” Watson said.

Sports Illustrated recently announced that Watson now tops their Heisman candidate list, but Watson won’t let that become a distraction for the remainder of the season.

“It won’t be a distraction to me. I’m still going to continue to be myself and be a team player, and keep doing what I’m doing. There’s no reason for me to change. It’s a great honor, but there’s still a lot of ball to play, and I still have to prove myself,” Watson said.

Clemson’s offense racked up 512 total yards of offense and had two players rush for over 100 yards against the Seminoles. Offensive lineman Tyrone Crowder had to exit the game early in the first quarter with a foot injury, but Maverick Morris filled in to help the offense be successful.

“I felt like I did okay, not as well as I wanted to do. I was a little nervous at first, I will admit. I made a few minor mistakes going in the first two or three drives, just settling in, but after that, I think I settled in and started to get the hang of it a lot better,” Morris said.

On the defensive side of the ball, Clemson held Florida State to 361 total offensive yards. Cornerback Adrian Baker had a crucial pick in the Red-Zone to prevent Florida State from scoring a second touchdown. Baker had previously toyed with the idea of transferring after being frustrated by the amount of playing time he was receiving. However, that made his interception even more satisfying.

“Swinney always talked to me about Coty Sensabaugh, about how he didn’t start until his redshirt senior year, so I actually talked to Coty a lot. He encouraged me a lot,” Baker said. “Travis Blanks as well. Those guys just kept encouraging me, telling me to fight through it, so I just stuck with it and kept faith.”