Boyd’s favorite Clemson memory adds a little flavor for 2021

By Will Vandervort | June 13, 2021 7:47 am ET Follow @steelerwill

Clemson’s season opener against Georgia is going to bring back a lot of memories for legendary quarterback Tajh Boyd.

Boyd told The Clemson Insider recently, the Tigers’ 2013 opener against the Bulldogs is his fondest memory at Clemson, even if he can’t remember if he were the captain for the game or was running down the hill.

“That Georgia game is forever locked in there,” Boyd said. “You look at the video and Brent Musburger talking about, ‘Even the Dawgs have to take a look’ type of deal. I can just remember that bus ride, dropping the [All In] chips into the bucket.

“I can’t remember if I was actually on the bus or if I was at midfield. I think I was at midfield. I think I was a captain for that game. Maybe I wasn’t.”

Regardless, Boyd remembers how great the experience was and the atmosphere at Death Valley that night as the Tigers, then No. 8, beat No. 5 Georgia to open the season.

“I am looking at [the video] and I am just kind of imagining it and reliving that experience,” Boyd said. “Each guy gets on that bus individually, single file line, and it is dead silent. So, we come around the bend and we got people beating on the bus and then it is silent for a minute. Then you come around that last little stretch before you get to the rock and everything changes.

“They open up those flood gates and it is like gladiators walking into an arena. I am just like, ‘Damn!.”

Boyd played like he felt.

Four times the Tigers and the Bulldogs drew to a tie that night, and like the old days of the 1980s, it came down to a special teams play to decide the outcome. A muffed snap on an easy field goal attempt late in the third quarter proved to be the difference as Clemson knocked off Georgia, 38-35.

Boyd threw for 270 yards and accounted for all five of Clemson touchdowns, including a 77-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers became the first non-SEC team in history to beat two SEC top 10 teams in back-to-back games. Clemson ended 2012 with a win over then No. 7 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

“In that time. In that game. At eight o’clock or whatever it was and in front of the whole world, it just does not get much better than that,” Boyd said. “Those kids will have that opportunity for that experience this year, so I am excited for them.”

Clemson and Georgia will kick off their seasons on Sept. 4 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, as part of the Duke’s Mayo Classic.