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USC football pulled off what could be the fake of the century in Friday night’s blowout win over Northwestern.
Punter Sam Johnson was hailed as a hero after appearing to pull off an incredible fake punt by completing a 10-yard pass to Tanook Hines early in the second quarter on fourth-and-6. The play extended the drive, resulting in Jayden Maiava’s touchdown.
Third-string quarterback Sam Huard (80) of the Southern California Trojans makes a pass on a fake punt past Ricky Ahumaraeze (10) of the Northwest Wildcats for a first down during the first half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on November 7, 2025. (Harry Comment/Getty Images)
But it wasn’t Johnson’s play to take credit for.
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Third-string quarterback Sam Huard, wearing the same No. 80 jersey as Johnson, was actually the one behind the pass. And the thing itself? Completely legal.
Huard, despite wearing jersey No. 7 earlier this year, was officially put on the roster this week with the new number — a change coach Lincoln Riley quietly made. College football teams often feature two players with the same number.
Southern California Trojans quarterback Sam Huard (7) warms up before a college football game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Southern California Trojans at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana on September 13, 2025. (Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“It was just a thoughtful thing,” Riley said. “I did it at the right time, and we had confidence in it, and Sam stepped in and made a good throw.”
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Riley said the change had been in place for weeks and jokingly thanked reporters for not putting it out there on social media.
“You guys have to be careful,” he said. “Seriously, it’s been there for three weeks. I’m glad none of you put it on Twitter.”
Northwestern coach David Braun called it a “lesson learned.”
Southern California Trojans quarterback Sam Huard (80) leads the group after a college football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Southern California Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California on November 7, 2025. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“He wasn’t on the online list. He hadn’t shown up anywhere else,” he said. “But they submitted it legally. It was on the game day roster that was here present at the Coliseum. And the lesson I learned from that for the rest of my career is we come into a facility, we’ll comb that through and look for any of these potential issues.”
