CLEMSON, S.C. -- Following Saturday's 30-20 loss, the Florida State football program has now won exactly one time in the last two decades in Death Valley.
Having the lead with three minutes to go, this was one of the closest defeats the Seminoles have had at Clemson during that 10-game stretch.
In fact, it was only the third fourth-quarter lead the Seminoles have had in that stadium since 2001. The first was in 2009, and the Tigers came roaring back to score the final 19 points of the game. The second was in 2013, and the Tigers didn't come roaring back at all.
And the third was on Saturday, when the Seminoles held a 20-17 lead until Jordan Shipley's game-winning, 21-yard run with 2:53 left in the fourth quarter.
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After the game, nobody inside the Florida State program was happy or content with the loss. Nobody wanted credit for coming close.
At the same time, it was quite noticeable how much closer the Seminoles are to their ACC rivals than they have been in a long time. And they're hoping to build off that effort as they finish off the 2021 regular season.
"We're in a game like this, a stadium like this, and we're working hard, it hasn't been like that for a while," FSU quarterback Jordan Travis said. "Since I've been here, I've never been in a game like that before. So, it's obviously good that we're in games and we're playing hard. But man, losing sucks.
"We've just got to come back this week and work harder."
Like Travis, defensive tackle Robert Cooper has been on some teams that were flat-out dominated by Clemson. So, he understands how much closer the Seminoles are to the Tigers than they were earlier in his FSU career.
"The last few times we've played here, it hasn't been that close," Cooper said. "We had some improvements (in this game), but it's just little things we've got to harp on more."
One big thing they'll be harping on all week is responding to the loss.
Florida State didn't do it well following the overtime loss to Notre Dame to start the season.
The Seminoles have a chance, albeit against a much tougher opponent than Jacksonville State, to show they've learned that lesson when they host N.C. State this Saturday at 4 p.m.
"A hundred percent," Travis said. "We're going to come back to work (on Sunday). Let this sit in tonight. Let it settle a little bit, get us upset. But man, (Sunday) we're going to come back to work."
It's the message Norvell has been preaching all year, and really since he took over the job. Control the response. The Seminoles are coming off a tough loss, one that was physical and emotional, but they have another challenge awaiting on Saturday against N.C. State.
So, it's not as if they can ease up because they hung tough with Clemson for 57 minutes.
Then again, as Norvell likes to point out, nothing is easy about playing football for Florida State. The coaches make every day a challenge, and he expects his team to rise to this latest one: Flushing a tough loss and getting ready for Saturday.
"I am grateful for the hearts that we have in that room," Norvell said. "From the minute the game was over with, you've got guys who have been here for a very short period of time, they come up and tell me they love me and are grateful for the work and the things that we're doing.
"We're going to respond. We know the stretch. We know what's in front of us. Today was our opportunity, and we came up short. But these guys, as they've done throughout the course of this year, they're going to respond the right way."
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