As Clemson prepares to travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., Saturday to square off against Boston College, the team seems to be trying to regroup and find something still left to play for, a reason to keep fighting.

Many of the Tigers, including star running back James Davis, admitted as much earlier this week.

“This has been a very discouraging season for me, and probably for a lot of other players on this team… I know a lot of our goals are out the window. Almost every goal is out the window, but me personally, I would love to go to a bowl game to end my season,” Davis said.

Another team leader, center Thomas Austin, seemed to echo that sentiment.

“You want to go to a bowl, and obviously, we are not going to go to a bowl that we wanted to. But there is still a lot on the table, and with the ACC looking like it is now, we have to win four games to be eligible,” he said.

Obviously, the Tigers are disappointed in where they stand.

But explain this to me – exactly what goals are out the window? Why, exactly, are they not going to go to a bowl that they wanted to?

A national championship? Yes, that’s certainly out the window. But that goal went out the window on the very first day of the season when Clemson was trounced by Alabama.

The other goals – winning their division, going to the ACC Championship game, winning that game and garnering the accompanying BCS berth – are still on the table. Again, all those goals are STILL ON THE TABLE.

Sure, they’re all sort of long shots. But bear with me here, and I’ll explain why all those goals are definitely not “out the window.”

The first thing that has to happen is for Clemson to win all its remaining games – except the South Carolina game, that game is meaningless from this standpoint – a tall task, but it’s a quitter’s mentality to believe that it’s not possible.

And keep in mind, this is all based on the Tigers winning all of their remaining ACC games. That’s the one caveat to all of this.

If the Tigers do that, then Boston College will have at least three conference losses and Florida State will have at least two – since Clemson will have beaten them both.

Personally, I believe the Seminoles will lose to Georgia Tech tomorrow, meaning they will then have at least three losses.

If that happens, then both FSU and BC will have the same number of conference losses that Clemson currently has. And let’s not forget, the ’Noles and Eagles play each other on Nov. 15. So in this scenario, one of those teams would then have four losses. Even if FSU beats Georgia Tech tomorrow, a loss to BC would mean the ’Noles and Eagles would still both have three conference losses.

Which brings us to Maryland, which stands at 3-1 in league and also holds the first tiebreaker over the Tigers – having beaten them head-to-head. But the Terps are by no means guaranteed to finish ahead of Clemson. Their remaining ACC schedule shows Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State and BC still left to play. Maryland is not a great football team, as evidenced by its loss to Middle Tennessee State and the fact that the only time Clemson has looked like a good team this season is in the first half against the Terps.

I could easily see Maryland losing all four of those games, and in fact, the only one I would give them a good chance to win is against Virginia Tech, which will likely be playing without its top two quarterbacks. Even if they beat the Hokies, which I’m not convinced they will, that still leaves the Terrapins with a 4-4 finish in league play.

The final team with a chance to finish ahead of Clemson in the ACC Atlantic is Wake Forest, which also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tigers. The Deacs are also not a great football team, as evidenced by their loss to Navy and the fact they were trounced by Maryland 26-0.

Wake, at 2-2 in league play, still has ACC games against Duke, Virginia, N.C. State and BC. It’s certainly not a stretch to believe that the Demon Deacons could lose at least two of those four, most likely against Virginia and BC – although Duke is not the weak sister it used to be.

If the scenario I have detailed plays out – and I see it as very possible – that leaves Clemson and either Florida State or BC atop the Atlantic standings at 5-3, and with the Tigers owning the head-to-head tie-breaker.

And that’s not the one and only scenario that would result in Clemson going to the ACC Championship game. As I pointed out earlier, there’s some wiggle room there. Even if Clemson finished tied with both Florida State and BC, it would still own the tiebreaker, having beaten both along the way.

As I said, I realize it’s a long shot, but it’s a quitter’s mentality to believe it’s not possible.

Having said that, it’s also a quitter’s mentality to, when given the chance to save your job by winning the conference, just go ahead and resign – even with only two league losses at the time and everything still “on the table.”

In turn, however, it’s not unreasonable to assume that it’s that very mindset that causes a team to lose three games in a row in which it held a lead in the fourth quarter of each.

So the big question is – can Dabo Swinney change that mindset?

He seems to believe he can.

“This place was built on winning, and we have to get that mindset back,” he said earlier this week. “You are here to win. You practice to win. You meet to win. You eat to win. You sleep to win. Everything you do goes into creating a mindset.”

And that starts with realizing that nearly all of your goals are still on the table. With having a winner’s mentality. One that says, “It’s over when we say it’s over.”

And, in reality, nothing is over.

The proverbial fat lady hasn’t yet sung to the Clemson Tigers.

Unfortunately, some of them seem to believe they’ve already heard her.

Maybe Dabo can get that tune, and that mentality, out of their heads.

Maybe Dabo can get them to go “all in.” Unless, of course, they’ve already folded.