CLEMSON — Dejected. That’s the word that describes Clemson running back Will Shipley after the loss to Duke on Labor Day night. Right outside of the visiting locker room, Shipley paced around and his frustration was visible, knowing there was nothing he could do to undo the loss that took place at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Shipley is as competitive as it gets, and watching him walk in and out of the locker room speaks to the emotion he was feeling after that game. He’s the engine that makes the Tigers’ offense go and he reflected back on that game Tuesday.

“I think it’s going to be a hell of a story, right,” Shipley said. “Looking back at it, it was a big loss and at the end of the day, it’s the opener. You always want to just start off on a great note.”

Echoing what head coach Dabo Swinney stood on over the last couple weeks, the numbers spoke for themselves against the Blue Devils. Clemson struggled at times, but the stats show that it was still very much a game that the Tigers could’ve controlled.

Shipley’s success may be the best example of it. 17 carries for 114 yards, paired with six catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. That’s what you expect out of a star running back, but the mistakes overshadowed any positives Clemson had. Shipley was frustrated, but it’s all a learning opportunity for this team.

“To be able to take the adversity, to learn from it and understand that it was a tough situation,” Shipley said. “We did really well on both sides of the ball, but the big mistakes that we made caused us to lose that football game. I think that my mindset towards it and the team mindset towards it is that it’s going to make one hell of a story at the end of the day if we capitalize off of it like we should.”

Clemson got back on track against Charleston Southern, but the snowball of momentum has to start rolling now as the Tigers approach ACC play. There’s no room for mistakes anymore if Clemson wants to finish that story Shipley described, and it continues Saturday at 8 p.m. against Florida Atlantic.