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...I'm assuming that you don't have any scientific backing for players "taking it up notch" and in that absense, I am not going to take such a claim seriously.
You are not thinking this through very clearly. If there was such an ability, if a player did have an on/off switch for going to maximum talent, then it would make zero sense to reserve this only for "clutch" situations....
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This is the kind of reasoning that comes from people who have never actually played a competitive sport or game. People who do engage in such activities (and especially people who coach them), do recognize that there is such a thing as a clutch situation and that some players do tend to perform better in those situations. The one example that comes to mind most quickly is from basketball, where James Worthy actually played better in the playoffs than in the regular season.
However, coaches tend to believe that clutch players do not have the ability to turn it up a notch when the game is on the line; they have the ability to keep themselves under control when they have to make a play. In short, if you're taking the three pointer in the last second when your team is down two, the key to succeeding is not to raise your level of performance, but to be so well trained that you go through your normal routine to take your best shot, rather than hurrying or otherwise caving to the pressure.
So, a clutch player is not necessarily one who raises his level of play when the game is on the line. He's the one who maintains his level of play when everything depends on him. Anybody who has actually played a sport, especially a team sport, understands this.