How did Clemson running back James Davis feel about his team’s performance in the Georgia Dome and the combined eight carries he shared with C.J. Spiller in last week’s 34-10 loss to Alabama? Each week, the Daily Journal / Daily Messenger sits down with the All-ACC running back to get an insight into what he is thinking, while trying to lead Clemson to its first ACC Championship since 1991.

DJM: Your thoughts about the team heading into The Citadel game?

Davis: I feel pretty good about the game plan. I feel we will be fine, but we just have to get back on the field and see what we can do. We lost to Alabama. That’s over, and we are trying to move on.

DJM: People want to know why you and C.J. didn’t touch the ball more. Have you addressed this with head coach Tommy Bowden and offensive coordinator Rob Spence this week?

Davis: We did not do that. We knew we were down and that was part of the deal. We knew we had to throw the ball to get back in the game, obviously. We did not do that. Plus, we have 11 more games to go and we don’t think that really hurt us.

DJM: So there wasn’t any animosity at all?

Davis: Last year when we played Virginia Tech we didn’t get the ball a lot. I just think the game wasn’t played our way. If we were going to get the ball it probably would have been in the passing game because that’s the way the game was going. It was tough for us to run the ball. Our offensive line had some difficulty up front, but we have that handled and we are moving on to the next game, and obviously we are trying to get our running game going. You should definitely see it in this game.

DJM: This is a big week for the Clemson running game, right?

Davis: It will be important to establish a running game because that’s what opens up the pass. The coach has it in the game plan for us to run the ball, but they have to pass the ball too. To me, you never know what to expect until the game gets here. We don’t know what’s going to happen. If we are hot in the running game, hopefully we will keep running the ball, but if not, Coach will call the plays.

DJM: What’s the team’s mood?

Davis: A lot of guys are playing aggressive out there, especially the offensive line. Coach (Brad) Scott is really getting onto those guys. They are playing really aggressive up front. You like to see that out of your young guys. The defense is playing very tough. I think everybody has a chip on their shoulder about what happened last weekend, and to me, I think they are probably going to try and take it out on The Citadel. We just have to see what happens.

DJM: Do you as team have something to prove, not to your naysayers out there, but to yourself?

Davis: This team does have something to prove. We have to prove that last week was not our team. That wasn’t us. We have to come out and prove we are a much better team than that. I think it’s bound to happen. Nobody wants to lose. That’s self-explanatory. We just have to do our job. If we do that, there is no doubt as to what this team can do. We definitely have to stay back to protect Cullen (Harper). We have to be able to protect him so he can have time to throw in the pocket and execute our offense because he is the guy in the driver’s seat right now.