USC should have been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during its game against Northwestern for having a reserve quarterback who executed a fake punt wear the same number as the Trojans’ regular punter, the Big Ten announced Sunday.
Early in the second quarter of Friday’s game in Los Angeles, third-string quarterback Sam Huard lined up in the punter’s spot wearing jersey No. 80 on a fourth-and-6 play. He took the long snap and completed a pass to Tanook Hines for a 10-yard gain. The Trojans scored a tie-breaking touchdown five plays later and won 38-17.
Sam Johnson, the Trojans’ regular punter who wears No. 80, punted for the first time on the next possession. At that point, the Big Ten said in a statement, USC should have been penalized under the NCAA’s “Unfair Tactics” rule (Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2).
Paragraph D states, “Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.”
The Big Ten said it would continue to review the situation with both schools.
[MORE: Dave Portnoy on USC, College Football Doubling Up Numbers: ‘It’s Got To Go’]
Huard is listed as No. 7 on the Trojans’ official on-line roster. He was listed as No. 80 together with Johnson on the game-day roster.
It’s common for college football rosters to have duplicate numbers, however usually one of many gamers is on offense and the opposite is on protection.
Northwestern coach David Braun didn’t complain in regards to the play after the sport.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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