One of the strangest plays that you will ever see happened on Friday night when the USC football team attempted a fake punt that counted in the moment, but in retrospect was actually illegal, according to Mike Pereira. USC brought in third-string quarterback Sam Huard for the fake punt, but he was wearing the same number as punter Sam Johnson. The entire play was confusing, raising questions about its legality.
Former NFL referee Terry McAulay has continued to debate USC fans online on social media over the play due to its unusual nature. His take is that the Trojans clearly violated the rules, and he agrees with the Big Ten's ruling on the play as well. In response to a fan suggesting that USC could claim it was a deep shotgun pass rather than a punt, and that defenses need to be prepared regardless.
McAulay quoted the post, saying, “I get a lot of hardcore fans twisting themselves in knots defending their team, even though their team clearly and obviously violated the rules.' But those trying to explain that USC #80 was not a player in the position of a punter has been something to behold. At best they are being incredibly pedantic. At worst, intentionally daft.”
He also posted three different pictures of how punters line up, and stated that there is no way that the Big Ten would seriously consider that as a possibility.
The Big Ten reviewed the penalty and stated that USC should have been penalized for the play, deeming it illegal. The issue is that because it's such an outside-the-box play, it confused everyone involved, especially the referees. In that case, it became almost impossible to review and police.
Both Huard and Johnson were listed with No. 80 on USC's game-day roster, but Huard appears as No. 7 on the team's online roster and in the game notes for the Northwestern contest. Most college teams have multiple players with the same jersey number, but they don't play on the same side of the ball. It is also worth noting that USC does not have names on the back of its jerseys, which could have helped the officials catch it in the moment.
Northwestern coach David Braun took responsibility for the play, saying USC “did legally submit that” and that “it 100 percent falls on me.”
The Big Ten cited an NCAA rule under the “Unfair Tactics” section, and said “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.”
