Between missed extra points, muffed punts and failed punt fakes, special teams had an afternoon to forget in windy Boston. While the Irish ultimately earned the 25-10 victory against Boston College, their special teams unit had glaring problems in the kicking department. The Irish went 1-for-3 on extra points between three kickers and had other notable issues that must be solved if this team is to make the College Football Playoff.
Injuries can certainly affect the outcome of kicking, but between the three kickers on the Irish roster, you would expect at least one to have confidence. Veteran senior kicker Noah Burnette was the first to attempt an extra point, and he sent it off the goalpost. At the end of the first half, freshman Erik Schmidt pushed a manageable kick inside of 40 yards way wide. Next, junior Marcello Diomede missed an extra point in the third quarter. Schmidt finally converted an extra point in the third quarter, but leaving five critical points on the board from reasonable kicks could be the difference in a closer game.
After the game, head coach Marcus Freeman reflected on the struggles.
“The issues were every time we kicked the ball, it did not go in between the field goal posts,” Freeman said. “That’s the issue ... we have three kickers, but if you rotate three kickers, you don’t have one.”
This was not the first time Notre Dame had a significant issue in the kicking game. In the home opener against Texas A&M, senior quarterback Tyler Buchner botched the hold on the extra point for the late, go-ahead touchdown. That singular point was the difference in a heartbreaking 41-40 loss against the Aggies. Kicking issues have come in the form of Burnette’s injuries, holding problems for Buchner and flat-out missed kicks from everyone on the roster. These problems are starting to become trends for the Irish. If Notre Dame wants a chance to make the Playoff, or much less win out this season, the kicking has to be solved.
The trouble didn’t end there for the Irish special teams. Junior wide receiver Jordan Faison muffed a punt that luckily did not end in a fumble for the Irish. While Faison has been impactful on both sides of the punt game, returning kicks and completing passes on punt fakes, this was his second muffed punt of the season. While neither ended up in the hands of the opponent, those mistakes will need to be cleaned up. The Irish were also stuffed on a fake punt attempt for one of the few mishaps on a fake this season. It was a jarring night for Irish fans, as every special team issue imaginable came to fruition on the road.
Overall, the Irish are 34-for-38 on extra points and 5-for-8 on field goals between three kickers. The percentages may be acceptable, but the total numbers tell a bigger story. The Irish have only attempted eight field goals this season. They have gone for it on fourth down in more places with less confidence in the kicking unit, and it has changed the game plan in what many teams would consider kicking territory. As the margin for error becomes tighter toward the end of the season, the Irish need to build confidence in this kicking unit to be able to at least make 30-plus-yard field goals.
While survive and advance might be the mantra for this battle-tested Irish team trying to win out to sneak into the postseason, these results certainly don’t seem promising for a close game in the future. Notre Dame is up to No. 10 in the most recent AP Poll, jumping Vanderbilt and Miami, who both suffered their second loss of the season. All it takes is one slip-up for Notre Dame to join the ranks of the three-loss teams that will almost surely miss out on the Playoff altogether. Right now, it seems plausible that another special teams disaster could result in a loss against a more dynamic scoring team. Leaving any points on the board is frustrating for Irish fans in the moment, and it becomes a larger issue when these patterns add up over time.
I suspect many people, myself included, are skeptical of this team’s ability to kick in the clutch. If Notre Dame had to kick a game-winning field goal, or even convert an extra point for that matter, there wouldn’t be a stadium full of believers. It’s one thing if this were an early-season problem, but the Irish have already experienced these struggles, and it’s not getting better. Notre Dame needs to find its go-to kicker, and it needs to do so soon.
