Tajh Boyd's Updated 2013 Heisman Outlook After Win Against Syracuse

Tajh Boyd bolstered his Heisman Trophy credentials with a huge performance against Syracuse on Saturday.

He led the Clemson Tigers to a 49-14 win over the Orange and finished 20-of-27 passing for 455 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. More impressive were his first-half numbers of 363 yards and four touchdowns. They were enough for Boyd to set himself apart from his contemporaries of the past few years, via ESPN Stats and Info.

One of those touchdowns was this 42-yard bomb to Adam Humphries to put Clemson up 21-0.

While it's not the kind of performance that will win Boyd the Heisman, he made sure to keep pace with the guys at the top.

He's still third behind Marcus Mariota and Johnny Manziel in ESPN's Heisman Watch. Beating Syracuse isn't the kind of victory that will leapfrog him over those two guys.

What it does is reinforce the idea that the Tigers quarterback is one of the best players in the country and firmly in the thick of the Heisman discussion. This is all he can do until Clemson meets the Florida State Seminoles on October 19.

That will be a great matchup between him and Jameis Winston, and it will be imperative for Boyd to get the better of the freshman sensation. That's the kind of Heisman decider every previous winner has had.

Until then, Boyd must continue to do exactly what he's been doing. Heisman voters will look for every little thing they can in order to knock down a player, especially one who comes from Clemson.

If he continues with these kinds of performances for the rest of the year, it'll be hard to keep the Heisman away from the Tigers star.