LOS ANGELES — USC head football coach Lincoln Riley doubled down on the trick play that included a fake punt and jersey change in Friday night’s 38-17 victory over Northwestern.
The Big Ten Conference issued a statement on Sunday saying that it is reviewing the situation.
“I do have thoughts,” he told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “We’re very aware of the rules. The fake punt was entirely legal, our guys did a fantastic job executing it. There’s not really a whole lot else left to say.”
Riley also defended the play during his weekly appearance on Trojans Live, a USC Athletics-run show that airs on the radio and YouTube.
“It was a big play,” Riley said on the show. “Cool to see the guys execute it, we had a lot of confidence going into the game. I know there’s been a bunch of stuff on the outside about it. It was a perfectly legal play and our guys executed at a high level.”
Third-string quarterback Sam Huard, who changed his jersey number from 7 to 80 for the game, lined up in the backfield in punt formation and threw a 10-yard pass to Tanook Hines. Sam Johnson, who has worn 80 all season, punted twice in the game.
The statement issued by the Big Ten indicated it was the jersey number change rather than the trick play itself that should have led to a penalty.
Even though Huard was listed as a quarterback, the Big Ten is perceiving him as a punter. If that’s true, then two punters wearing the same number both played in the game.
“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,’” the statement 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.”
Northwestern head coach David Braun told reporters after the game that the jersey number change did not appear in the online roster but was on the roster issued on the day of the game at the Coliseum.
“The lesson I’ve learned for the rest of my career,” Braun said, “is when we arrive at a facility, we will go over that with a fine-toothed comb and look for any of those potential issues. If we knew that their backup quarterback was in the game in that situation, we would’ve either been in safe or called a timeout.”
AAWARDS WATCH
Running back King Miller was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Burlsworth Trophy on Tuesday, making him a contender to be named the most outstanding player in college football who began his career as a walk-on.
He’s one of two Big Ten players to be considered for the award, alongside Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher.
Miller, who prepped at Calabasas High, has collected 636 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 80 attempts, making him the most important part of USC’s running game after starting running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders both suffered injuries.
Receiver Makai Lemon was selected as a Maxwell Award semifinalist on Tuesday as well, making him one of 13 players in contention to be recognized as the College Player of the Year.
Lemon has already been recognized on the AP All-American Midseason First Team, Sporting News Midseason All-American First Team, CBS Midseason All-American First Team, The Athletic Midseason All-American First Team and Sports Illustrated Midseason All-American First Team.
He ranks third in the country in receiving yards per game (104.1) and is second in the Big Ten in receptions per game (6.78). The Los Alamitos High product has also returned seven kicks for 144 yards and four punts for 32 yards.