Rules Analyst Explains Why USC’s QB-Punter Number Swap Fake Punt Was Actually Illegal

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.

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].”

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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.

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