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WATCH: Notre Dame takes blocked punt to the house, takes early lead over Clemson

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz11/05/22NickSchultz_7

Notre Dame’s special teams continue to make noise this season. The Fighting Irish blocked another punt — and used it to take an early lead over Clemson Saturday night.

Jordan Botelho got a hand on it, and Prince Kollie caught the ricochet and took it back 17 yards for a touchdown to put Notre Dame ahead 7-0 early in the first quarter. It’s the Fighting Irish’s sixth blocked punt of the season, meaning they move into No. 1 in the nation in that category after totaling just one punt block over the last two seasons combined.

In fact, only two teams had six blocked punts all of last season. That speaks to the job Brian Mason is doing in his first season as Notre Dame’s special teams coordinator.

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Notre Dame is trying to not only become bowl eligible in its first season under Marcus Freeman, but it’s trying to pull off a big upset of Clemson. The Tigers came in at No. 4 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings earlier this week and brought an 8-0 record into the tilt.

Marcus Freeman shares how weather impacts Clemson game plan

The weather will be a big challenge for both teams Saturday night. Winds are forecasted to gust up to 50 miles per hour during the day and 30 miles per hour at night, which could create some headaches on both sides of the ball.

Marcus Freeman knows that, and talked about how much that factors into the game plan.

“You’ve just got to be aware of it and understand that you’ve got a certain plan that you have when you’re going with the wind and depending on how strong the wind is, you’ve got to have another plan when you’re going against the wind,” Freeman said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “Defensively, you’ve got to be ready for shots when the offense has the wind and offensively, you’ve got to be ready to take some shots with the wind.

“Special teams-wise, the same thing, understanding if you’re kicking to the wind or kicking against the wind. … Again, it’s just having a plan to utilize the wind or understand that the opponent has the wind or we’re going against the wind.”