By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
CLEMSON — Tajh Boyd remembered the feeling in the locker room after the Auburn game in 2010. That was the game in which Cam Newton led the eventual national champions back from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Tigers.
Auburn eventually won the game 27-24 in overtime. In the days that followed, no one really stood up and took charge of the situation. A redshirt freshman at time, Boyd said he wanted someone to say something that week, but he knew it could not be him because he had not earned that right.
Clemson went on to lose to Miami that next week in Death Valley, which was the start of a mediocre season in which the Tigers advanced to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Charlotte, N.C., was not exactly the destination in late December the team had in mind following a year in which they advanced to their first ACC Championship game.
“Being one of those younger guys and being in that same situation before, you want somebody to say something,” Boyd said.
Boyd is determined not to let that happen again. After last Saturday’s 49-37 loss to No. 4 Florida State, the Clemson quarterback could sense the younger players on the team did not know how to handle such a huge letdown after they put so much into beating the ‘Noles.
“It was one of those (losses) that hurt,” Boyd said. “All the stuff you have to deal with during the week and people talking about this and that, and then go out there and be up in the fashion we were, and still lose the game, it’s tough.
“You don’t want that to be a defining point in the season. We have so much to play for, and nothing that we want to achieve this season is lost. But again, we can’t worry about what everybody else has to do. All we can control is what we can as a team and build off of that.”
So Boyd called a “Players Only Meeting” before Monday’s practice. Before the 17th-ranked Tigers began preparations for Saturday’s road tussle at Boston College, Boyd wanted to make sure everyone on the team was on the same page. If there was any issue, this was the time to talk about it.
“I was not surprised at all that he called it,” Clemson center Dalton Freeman said. “I kind of got the sense around the team that we were not really settled. There was some (uneasiness) on the team and I think it was a good job by Tajh to come in and step up and say, ‘You know what, everything is okay. There is no need to jump ship. Everything is going to work out.’
“It really just got everybody on the same page and let us know there is still a lot to play for and it is time to sellout.”
Clemson (3-1, 0-1 ACC) does have a lot to play for. The Tigers are still considered to be the second best team in the ACC this year and nothing happened last Saturday disprove that theory. Though they might need some help along the way, playing for the ACC Championship is not out of the question either, and neither is playing in a BCS Bowl.
“We have to get refocused and not let this one loss turn into three or four,” right guard Tyler Shatley said. “We can’t keep our heads down. We have to pick our heads up. We played well. Now we just have to focus in and fix our mistakes.”
If Clemson can win out or win the remainder of its conference games, it could land a BCS bowl berth even if the Seminoles go on to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division.
“We have so much to play for,” Boyd said. “Nothing has been lost in what we want to play for this season. This is an important week of practice for us, and this is an important game for us and we have to be ready for it.”
Boyd is doing everything he can to make sure they will be.
“When we lost, as much as (the FSU) game meant, I think some of our younger guys did not know how to handle it or how to respond,” Freeman said. “They are looking to us to see how we handle it. So instead of just beating around the bush, Tajh just took the initiative and stood up and said ‘This is what we are going to do and this is how we are going to handle it and finish the rest of the season.’”