BLACKSBURG, Va. — Clemson football's field-goal kicking woes continued on Saturday vs. Virginia Tech.

Freshman kicker Nolan Hauer attempted a 46-yard field goal, and the Hokies blocked it up the middle. The deflected ball landed in defensive back Quentin Reddish's hands, and he returned it for 77 yards to give the Hokies the first lead of the game.

Now, No. 17 Clemson (6-2, 5-1 ACC) has had five field goals blocked this season, which ranks among the top of FBS. Hauser is now 12-for-17 from field-goal range and 39-for-40 on point-after attempts. All of his misses have came from blocks.

Clemson entered the game tied for most blocked kicks allowed (5) with Northern Illinois, Nebraska and Syracuse.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney aimed to fix his team's field-goal protection after two were blocked against Florida State in October. The issue arose again vs. Louisville last week when two were blocked. Each of these blocks occurred on the left side of the line, and Swinney made personnel changes to improve it.

However, Saturday's blocked field goal came through the interior of the line and led to critical points. Clemson trials Virginia Tech (5-4, 3-2) 7-0 in the second quarter at Lane Stadium.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football kicking woes continue as Virginia Tech scores on block