Why is Clemson allowing so many blocked field goals? Dabo explains struggles

Clemson football escaped Virginia Tech with a win.

But disaster — specifically, field goal unit disaster — struck again.

During a 24-14 win over VT on Saturday night, Clemson surrendered a nation-leading sixth blocked kick this season. The ensuing chaos put the Tigers in an early hole at Lane Stadium.

Early in the second quarter, Clemson true freshman kicker Nolan Hauser lined up for a 46-yard field goal in a scoreless game. But Virginia Tech blocked his attempt and returned it 77 yards down the sideline for the opening touchdown of the game, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Hokies defensive lineman Keyshawn Burgos blocked the field goal up the field, and freshman safety Quentin Reddish returned it for the score.

Clemson (7-2, 6-1 ACC) ultimately responded with 24 second-half points (after a first-half shutout) and left with a win over the Hokies (5-5, 3-3 ACC).

But the second quarter block only added to the Tigers’ struggles on their field goal protection unit, which has now allowed three blocked kicks in its past two games alone.

So, what happened?

“Just a low kick,” Swinney said postgame. “Really low.”

He added of Hauser: “That’s the worst kick he’s had all year.”

Virginia Tech’s blocked field goal returned for a touchdown on Saturday was the first it’s had in game since 2016 against Duke, and the first blocked FG return for a touchdown Clemson has allowed since 2020 against Miami.

The block also added to Clemson’s nation-leading total … in a category no team wants to be No. 1 in. Entering Saturday, the Tigers were tied with three other teams (Syracuse, Nebraska and Northern Illinois) with five blocked kicks allowed this season.

That metric includes blocked field goal and extra point attempts — but not punts — and has now jumped to six allowed for Clemson through its first nine games:

• A blocked extra point in a win against Syracuse

• Two blocked field goals in a win at Florida State

• Two blocked field goals in a loss to Louisville

• A blocked field goal returned for a touchdown at Virginia Tech

Perhaps ironically, the issues come during a season when the Tigers have more coaches than ever working directly with the special teams unit. That’s thanks to an NCAA rule change allowing any coach or staffer to provide on-field instruction during practices and games.

Cornerbacks coach and assistant head coach Mike Reed is the Tigers’ special teams coordinator, but Clemson also has new staffer Will Gilchrist listed as its director of special teams and former NFL punter Ryan Allen as a special teams player development coach.

Swinney attributed the blocked extra point against Stanford to Hauser, a five-star recruit who’s been excellent during his true freshman season, and attributed the team’s four previous field goal blocks to breakdowns on the protection unit.

After FSU blocked two field goals against the Tigers on Oct. 5, Swinney said the blocks came down to “just sloppy technique and fundamentals” on the left side of the protection formation.

After Louisville blocked two field goals in Memorial Stadium, Swinney once again said the issue was with protection and it was “disappointing” and the responsibility of coaches to fix.

On Saturday night, though, Clemson’s coach pinned the latest block on Hauser, who is now 13 of 18 on field goals this season and 42 of 43 on extra points, with all six of his misses coming on blocks.

“The protection was good,” Swinney said. “I was pleased with that. Really pleased with that.”

Hauser finished 1 of 2 on field goals Saturday after hitting a 34-yarder in the fourth quarter to extend Clemson’s lead on Virginia Tech to 24-7. He was 3 for 3 on extra points, too.

Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry said postgame the Hokies had prioritized special teams heading into the game after blocking an extra point last week against Syracuse.

“We’ve worked hard at that, they’ve had some issues. We wanted to see if we could capitalize on it,” Pry said. “Fortunately we were able to. I was hoping we’d get another one down the stretch right there. That was the message to the group.”

Swinney said Clemson could’ve easily folded and lost momentum after the field goal block but said he was proud of the Tigers’ response.

“Protection was good and not only is it a block but it’s a score,” Swinney said. “So, easy to maybe go in the tank right there and honestly we haven’t handled adversity great this year in some of these games. But I saw our team really handle the adversity really well.”