CLEMSON — The box score never tells the full story, and there’s few cases more representative of that than Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas against Florida State.

From the opening defensive drive, the Tigers sixth-year star was an agent of chaos for the Seminoles. While he had just a single sack, Thomas made a living in Florida State’s backfield and had four total tackles on the day.

On the Seminoles’ touchdown drive to end the half, Jordan Travis found Keon Coleman for a 38-yard gain and Thomas was left staring at an official after the play. Before the completion, he blasted by the offensive line and was clearly held, but no laundry found the grass.

That image became normal Saturday and Thomas’ frustration was evident. This is a prove-it year for him and his performance against a top-five team was easily his best of the season to date. It was an effort from the pass rush Thomas believed was successful, but his tone was focused on the game’s result.

“I thought we did a pretty good job but we didn’t get the job done,” Thomas said. “We expect to go win that game. We know what type of team that we have. The players that we have in that room. Country may not see it but we know. Like I said, it’s a long season and we plan to flush this and we plan to go 10-2 and control what we can control.”

A dejected Thomas was very clear about his outlook on the heartbreaking loss. It’s in the past and he’s turning the page to the rest of the season. On a personal note, Thomas proved the disruptor he can be at the NFL level but his efforts Saturday weren’t enough to take down the Seminoles, and that’s clearly fuel for him moving forward.