Outside of linebacker sensation Sammy Brown, Clemson’s steadiest weapon may be Nolan Hauser. The Tigers’ kicker has become the kind of player a team can lean on when the offense is still trying to find its rhythm, and his start to the season has been as reliable as it gets.
Hauser opened the year by putting Clemson on the board with the first three points against LSU in Week 1. In Week 2 against Georgia Southern, his five field goals were essential to the win.
Then he kept rolling against UNC, hitting all three of his attempts. Put together, it’s a stretch that has made him one of Clemson’s most dependable players.
The numbers behind it are even more striking. Dating back to last season, Hauser has now made 12 straight field goals from 40 yards or longer.
His last miss from that range came more than a year ago, on Sept. 13, 2025, when he missed a 52-yard try at Georgia Tech in a game Clemson eventually lost on a last-second field goal. Since then, he’s been automatic from distance.
That kind of consistency matters because special teams can swing games. Hauser’s 16 points against Georgia Southern were a huge part of that result, and his 10 points against North Carolina carried the same kind of weight. Clemson’s offense may not be firing on all cylinders, but when the Tigers get into range, Hauser has made those trips count.
That reliability also gives Clemson a little more room to breathe while the offense works through its issues. Tait Reynolds has only made one career start at quarterback, and he remains a work in progress running the offense. Even so, Clemson has been better about making smart second-half adjustments lately, and that has helped the team stay afloat.
There’s also a clear contrast with North Carolina. Aeron Burrell is doing what he can, but he hasn’t been trusted from 40 yards out the way Hauser has. Clemson, meanwhile, has a kicker who can turn stalled drives into points, which changes the feel of a game in a hurry.
That could matter again when Clemson visits Cal. The Tigers are aiming to move to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, but this looks like another game that could tighten up late.
If that happens, Clemson may need Hauser once, twice, or even three times more. In a matchup like that, the team that handles all three phases best is the one most likely to walk away with the win.
In Other News...
Clemson Fans Just Lost A Future Showdown They Had Circled For Years
Clemson and Georgia have quietly taken a long-anticipated series off the board, ending four scheduled home-and-home football games that had been set for 2029 through 2033. The decision, already formalized in a contract termination signed in March, comes as both the SEC and ACC adjust their scheduling formats, forcing schools to rethink how nonconference marquee matchups fit into the calendar.
For Clemson fans, it removes one of the more eye-catching future dates from the schedule, especially given the regional pull and national intrigue of a Tigers-Bulldogs meeting. The two programs are still open to finding another way to play down the road, with neutral-site options among the possibilities, but for now the showdown that had been circled for years is off the table. [Read more 🡒]
Clemsons Top 2027 Commit Just Gave Fans A Reason To Worry
Clemsons 2027 recruiting board got a little more complicated when Jamarin Simmons, one of the Tigers top wide receiver commitments, acknowledged that Florida is still making a push. The highly regarded prospect remains verbally committed to Clemson, and he has continued to express support for the program, but the Gators have not backed off in their pursuit of him.
For a Clemson staff that has already seen its share of recruiting shakeups in recent classes, that kind of attention is enough to keep the pressure on. Simmons is still lined up to be around the Tigers soon, with an Oct. 3 home game against Miami on his schedule, but Floridas persistence means this one is hardly settled just because a commitment is in place. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Win Reignited A Debate Fans Know All Too Well
A late September night in Death Valley turned into one of those college football marathons that leaves everyone talking well after the final whistle. During Clemsons game against North Carolina on Sept. 19, play was halted for about 2 1/2 hours in the fourth quarter because lightning was detected within eight miles of the stadium, stretching the night into a nearly six-hour affair and putting the leagues weather policy back under the microscope.
Kirk Herbstreit took aim at the NCAAs lightning delay rules on his podcast, questioning the logic of the eight-mile radius, while Joey Galloway pushed back by emphasizing the safety side of the equation. The debate around the policy has long been familiar to fans, but it landed especially hard in a game that ended with Clemson rallying after the stoppage, another reminder that in this sport the waiting can sometimes become part of the outcome. [Read more 🡒]