Big Ten says USC should've been penalized for fake punt

Editorial Team

The USC Trojans pulled off one of the slickest trick plays on Friday night's 38-17 win over Northwestern. But now it seems to good to be true.

The Big Ten Conference said Sunday that USC should have been penalized for using an illegal uniform number during the play. The incident occurred early in the second quarter when USC faced a fourth and 6 and lined up to punt.

Backup quarterback Sam Huard entered the game wearing No. 80, which is the same number as punter Sam Johnson and took the long snap before throwing a 10-yard completion to Tanook Hines. The successful fake helped set up a touchdown that gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead.

According to the Big Ten, Huard’s participation under Johnson’s number violated NCAA rules on “Unfair Tactics,” which state that two players playing the same position cannot wear identical numbers in a game.

“If a foul was identified when No. 80 entered as the punter, a Team Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty would have been assessed resulting in a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot,” the league said in a statement via ESPN. “The Big Ten will continue to review the situation with both institutions.”

Northwestern coach David Braun said USC “did legally submit that,” but accepted blame for not identifying the duplication. USC coach Lincoln Riley later joked the move had gone unnoticed.

One thing is clear from the play. USC's opponents will study their punt unit more closely from now on.

Big Ten says USC should've been penalized for fake punt

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Contributing Writer