Notre Dame players pelted by snowballs

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Notre Dame football players were pelted by snowballs from fans sitting in the student section during their game against Syracuse on Saturday.

The game was played a day after South Bend got hit with about 10 inches of snow. The stands and field were clear, but there was snow along the fringes of the field.

At first people started by throwing the snow in the air, but then began quickly tossing snowballs toward the Notre Dame sideline. Defensive lineman Ian Williams got hit in the helmet, defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and a St. Joseph County police officer on the sideline looking into the crowd got hit in the chest. An NBC camera man also was a frequent target and several snowballs reached the field, although none landed near where play was occurring.

When the Irish defense held a meeting on the sideline, injured linebacker Brian Smith stood on a bench to try to shield his teammates. But when a snowball hit defensive tackle Pat Kuntz, he stood and faced the crowd and appeared to challenge whoever threw it to come down on the field.

At least one fan was seen being led away by police.

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