USC reached deep into its bag of tricks Friday night in the Trojans’ 38–17 victory over Northwestern at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Early in the second quarter in a tie 7–7 game, the Trojans lined up to punt on fourth-and-6 with a player wearing No. 80—the same number as punter Sam Johnson—waiting to punt the ball away. When the ball was snapped, that player pulled the ball up and hurled it to the Northwestern sideline to connect with receiver Tanook Hines for a 10-yard pickup and a first down.
That player wearing No. 80 turned out to be third-string quarterback Sam Huard, not the punter Johnson. Huard changed his jersey number from No. 7 to No. 80 this week, and since USC doesn’t feature last names on the back of the jersey, everyone just assumed it was Johnson back to punt.
It fooled everyone in Los Angeles on Friday night—even play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and analyst Robert Griffin III on the Fox broadcast.
USC even faked us out 😅
This was actually @uscfb third-string QB Sam Huard who subbed in wearing the same number as punter Sam Johnson!! https://t.co/V6FAU5PLuj
According to Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira, the play shouldn’t have counted. The NCAA rulebook states that “two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.”
“Huard was lined up as the punter,” Pereira told The Athletic, “so therefore that’s actually a 15-yard penalty because both he and Johnson lined up as the punter [in the game].”
Well, that’s no fun. But the play did stand in the game, and the Trojans rolled to a 38–17 win to improve to 7–2 on the season.
The Big Ten released an official statement on the fake punt controversy. In the statement the conference laid out what Pereira says above, that two players wearing the same number are not permitted to line up at the same position. But it does not specifically address whether a penalty should’ve been called on the play. The Big Ten did note it would continue to review the situation with USC and Northwestern.
“During Friday's Northwestern vs. Southern California football game, with 13:58 remaining in the second quarter (4th & 6), USC #80 (Huard) lined up 13 yards in the backfield within a punt formation and completed a 10-yard pass. A second USC #80 (Johnson) is listed on the Trojans roster and punted twice in the contest.
“NCAA Football Playing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2 is labeled ‘Unfair Tactics', with paragraph ‘d' stating: ‘Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.' If a foul was identified when #80 (Johnson) entered the game as a punter, a Team Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty would have been assessed resulting in a 15-yard penalty from the previous spot. The Big Ten will continue to review the situation with both institutions.”
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Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.
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