USC pulled an impressive win (38-17) over Northwestern on Friday. However, since the game, one particular play has dominated the discourse. No, it’s not Jayden Maiava throwing a pick and then tackling the defender to turn it into a touchback. It was the Trojans’ fake punt in the second quarter. Lincoln Riley stood by the play, but the conference doesn’t agree with him. 

Early in the second quarter, the Trojans decided to punt the ball on a 4th and 6 from their 46-yard line. The game was tied 7-7. However, instead of the punt, we got a fake, and the punter threw the ball to WR Tanook Hines, who completed a 10-yard pass and got the first down. Nothing fishy. Even the commentators thought so. The punter wearing the No. 80 jersey wasn’t Sam Johnson, but the Trojans’ third-string QB, Sam Huard.

While the USC fan base heralded Riley’s genius, many voices called into question the fairness of the play. Especially because Huard was wearing the same jersey number as the punter. For its part, USC revealed that it had changed Huard’s jersey number from No. 7 to No. 80 before the game. In its statement, the Big Ten has labeled the play ‘unfair tactics.’

The statement read, “NCAA Football Playing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2 is labeled Únfair Tactics’, with paragraph ‘d’ stating: “Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.””

As per the conference, rather than a successful 4th down conversion, the result of the play should have been a penalty. “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,” it said.

But USC didn’t get a penalty. The drive continued, and the Trojans scored a touchdown. As per the Big 10, the fake punt was a referee blunder. 

Lincoln Riley’s strong stance on the fake punt

The fake punt confused everyone, including the referee and the Fox commentators. However, USC head coach Lincoln Riley strongly believed it was a genius move. Riley, during the post-game press conference, explained with confidence that it was a nice play and a key point in the game.

“So, I’m glad none of y’all put it on Twitter.” Riley went on to explain, “It was just a well-thought-out thing by several of our staff members were involved in it and got it at the right time, and we had confidence in it. Sam stepped in there, made a good throw, and had a guy kind of in his face. It was a good throw tonight, made a nice play, and yeah, it was a key point of the game.”

However, this move upset the Wildcats’ head coach, David Braun, as he took the blame for not being aware of Riley’s play. “I don’t think Coach Riley has faked a punt since 2017. And ultimately, it 100 percent falls on me. It’s a lesson learned,” Braun said. Now, the Big Ten announcement could ease his frustration, but in the end, a loss is a loss that they would never forget.