CLEMSON — James Davis didn’t go out much this past weekend visiting his Atlanta home, knowing if he went too far, the Clemson running back was sure to hear the same question over and over: “Why’d you come back to school?”

The same could be asked of seniors Cullen Harper, Aaron Kelly and Michael Hamlin. All passed up shots at the NFL for one final try at Clemson’s first Atlantic Coast Confeerence championship since 1991.

Instead, the Tigers are 3-4 and out of the ACC race. Davis and the others need an unlikely November surge to reach an end-of-the-line bowl game in their final month of college football.

“I know a lot of our goals are out the window,” Davis said this week. “Almost every goal is out the window.”

That wasn’t the case in January when the juniors jumped back on board with coach Tommy Bowden for a 2008 title run. Only defensive sack leader Phillip Merling stayed in last spring’s draft, going in the second round to the Miami Dolphins.

Davis originally declared his intentions to leave. As a two-time 1,000-yard rusher and the powerful “Thunder” portion of Clemson’s star-filled backfield, Davis was thought to be a solid prospect who could go as high as the third round.

A week later, Davis changed his mind and thought his best move was to stay.

Davis added to what was expected to be one of the most dynamic offenses in college football.

Beside him was C.J. Spiller, a speedy playmaker nicknamed “Lightning.” Kelly, a wide receiver who caught a school record 11 touchdowns in 2007, was the downfield threat while Harper, the quarterback who set 22 school records as a junior, triggered it all.

Hamlin, a fierce hitter at safety, was set to stuff offenses while nose guard Dorell Scott clogged the middle.

The Tigers were ranked No. 9 in the country and runaway favorites to end their nearly two-decade-long ACC title drought.

But right from Clemson’s season-opening blowout loss to Alabama, this was not the season any of them imagined.

The team fell from the national rankings after the 34-10 defeat. Even worse for players was the blow to their confidence, which never fully healed.

There were injuries to Spiller and the offensive line. There was also an uneasiness between Bowden and Harper that flashed throughout the season’s first few weeks. The cracks became irreparable after the Tigers went six quarters scoring only one TD in losses to Maryland and Wake Forest that ended their ACC title hopes.

On Oct. 13, Bowden stepped away for what he said was the good of the program. For Clemson’s upperclassmen, the reality they would leave short of the goal hit hard.

“Things haven’t gone like we wanted them to go,” Harper said. “But there’s not much we can do about it now.”

A tearful Davis was devastated at losing a coach he considered a father figure.

“There’s been some frustrating moments in this season,” Davis said. “But life keeps moving on. You’ve got to keep moving, too.”

Harper said the Tigers problems weren’t caused by on-field leadership or overconfidence, simply a lack of execution at the worst times. Just look at holding penalties that wiped out a Spiller scoring run against Maryland and a fourth-down conversion against Georgia Tech, both which could have meant victories in tight games.

Maybe, Harper said, Clemson had too many options on offense to use any of them effectively. “It is tough, sometimes, when you’ve got so many guys and you have to figure out how to get them the ball,” he said.

Clemson’s seniors will attempt to move forward under interim coach Dabo Swinney. The new coach says his upperclassmen have bought into his young tenure and want to end things with a flourish.

The stretch begins Saturday at Boston College. Because two of the Tigers’ victories came against Football Championship Subdivision foes, they’ll need to win four of their last five to be bowl eligible.

It’s a huge fall for a group so highly regarded.

The senior stars don’t regret returning, despite the struggles.

“Once you make your decision to come back, you have your reasons and that’s it,” said Kelly, the record-setting receiver who caught his first two TD passes of the year in Clemson’s last game.

“You have to make the most of the opportunity you have, being here another year, leading people, being a senior,” Kelly continued. “It’s all been good.”

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