Lincoln Riley says fake punt was ‘entirely legal’ after Big Ten rebuke
USC coach Lincoln Riley insists the Trojans’ fake punt against NW was perfectly legal. (Eric Thayer/LAT)
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — Lincoln Riley isn’t backing down from his belief that the fake punt ploy USC pulled last Friday in its win over Northwestern was perfectly within NCAA rules.
“The fake punt was entirely legal,” Riley said on Tuesday. “Our guys did a fantastic job of executing it. And there’s not really a whole lot else to say.”
The play in question from Friday’s game appeared to be a normal fake punt, with USC and Northwestern locked at 7 apiece, early in the second quarter. But unbeknownst to Northwestern, USC third-string quarterback Sam Huard lined up as the punter, wearing the same uniform number as Sam Johnson, the Trojans’ usual starting punter. Huard, who quietly changed to No. 80 weeks earlier, hit freshman receiver Tanook Hines (16) for ten yards and a first down, and USC went on to score.
“It was just a well thought out thing by several of our staff members who were involved in it,” Riley said after the game. “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.”
The next morning, the Big Ten Conference made it clear that it didn’t see it that way.
In a statement, the conference pointed to NCAA Football Playing Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2, labeled “Unfair Tactics,” which states that “two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game.”
But it also notes that any unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would have applied when Johnson, the actual punter, came out to punt on the ensuing drive.
“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.”
Most former officials and football rules analysts have agreed with the Big Ten’s interpretation. Terry McAuley, an NBC analyst and former official, posted on social media that USC “obviously violated the rules,” before venting his frustration about USC “fans twisting themselves in knots defending their team.”
“Those trying to explain that USC #80 was not a play in the position of a punter has been something to behold,” McAuley wrote. “At best they are being incredibly pedantic. At worst, intentionally daft.”
Riley clearly feels differently.
“I do have thoughts. We’re very aware of the rules,” he said.
latimes.com
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