The Big Ten Conference has issued a scathing rebuke to Southern California, stating that the Trojans' decision to have their reserve quarterback wear the same jersey number as their regular punter during a crucial game against Northwestern was unsportsmanlike conduct.
On Friday's matchup in Los Angeles, third-string quarterback Sam Huard donned the number 80 jersey, while his teammate Sam Johnson wore the same number on special teams. Despite being listed as number 7 on the Trojans' official online roster, Huard appeared to break NCAA rules by wearing the identical number during a fourth-and-6 play.
The Big Ten has ruled that this tactic constitutes an "Unfair Tactics" infraction under their league's rules, with Section D stating that two players of the same position cannot wear the same number during competition. The conference will continue to review the situation with both USC and Northwestern.
While it may be common practice for college football teams to have duplicate numbers on their rosters, especially between offense and defense, the Big Ten has deemed this particular instance as a breach of sportsmanship. It remains to be seen whether any disciplinary action will be taken against the Trojans for this incident.
On Friday's matchup in Los Angeles, third-string quarterback Sam Huard donned the number 80 jersey, while his teammate Sam Johnson wore the same number on special teams. Despite being listed as number 7 on the Trojans' official online roster, Huard appeared to break NCAA rules by wearing the identical number during a fourth-and-6 play.
The Big Ten has ruled that this tactic constitutes an "Unfair Tactics" infraction under their league's rules, with Section D stating that two players of the same position cannot wear the same number during competition. The conference will continue to review the situation with both USC and Northwestern.
While it may be common practice for college football teams to have duplicate numbers on their rosters, especially between offense and defense, the Big Ten has deemed this particular instance as a breach of sportsmanship. It remains to be seen whether any disciplinary action will be taken against the Trojans for this incident.
. Like, it's just one game right? Can't they see that Sam Huard wasn't even playing when he wore that jersey number 80? 
And what's the harm in having two guys with the same number on their roster anyway? It's not like it was a deliberate attempt to confuse the refs or anything. I think it's just a big deal over nothing 
. Maybe they should focus on something more important, like ensuring player safety 
.
. I mean, I get why they're upset about it - it's not exactly the most cool thing to do on the field. But at the same time, isn't that just a normal thing that happens in college football? Like, every team has some kind of number switch-up between offense and defense, right? 
seriously though, who checks that stuff out? it's not like it's a game of musical chairs out there. and what's with the NCAA rules being more strict than the Big Ten? is this some kind of joke? can't they just chill about it?
. And what's with the rule now? "Unfair Tactics" this and that... in my day we called it 'giving it your all' 
! Maybe they should focus on the actual game instead of nitpicking over jersey numbers 
It's one thing having duplicate numbers on your roster, but you can't just rock the same number as someone else on the field! 
I mean I get it, trying to throw off the opponent, but come on Sam Huard 
I'm keeping an eye on this situation to see if the Trojans get any disciplinary action. Fingers crossed they don't! 
#CollegeFootball #SportsmanshipMatters #UnfairTactics
it's not like they're trying to make an example out of USC or anything... just saying, if it weren't for the rules, maybe someone would've thought twice about wearing the same number 
and now we're all stuck with this awkward situation. i guess you could say the Big Ten is really good at 'protecting' its rules from those pesky NCAA regulations 
But honestly, it's just a minor infraction, like, what's the big deal?! 
anyway, it's just a silly rule that's being enforced and all the haters are gonna hate 
but honestly, it's just basic rules, you know? don't wanna be that team that gets hammered by the big ten 
