Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo shreds USC, Lincoln Riley over fake punt strategy: 'That is a disgrace'

USC pulled off the viral play of Week 11, disguising backup quarterback Sam Huard as a punter to steal a first down vs. Northwestern. Huard wore No. 80, the same as the Trojans’ normal punter, Sam Johnson. A wrinkle from head coach Lincoln Riley and one the Big Ten later deemed to be illegal.

Plenty of Los Angeles are proud of the play, even producing a funny video on the moment Wednesday. But others are not too happy with the stunt — mainly, ESPN’s Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo. He went on a major rant during the latest episode of First Take, claiming Riley should be embarrassed for needing such a play to beat Northwestern.

“They broke the rule,” Russo said. “The morality of the rule, the spirit of the rule. The regular punter is No. 80 but they had the third-string punter wear the same number, and they put it in the roster so supposedly it was legal. Northwestern was fooled and they go right down the field and score the touchdown… The biggest issue is this. Lincoln Riley, who hasn’t done a thing there at USC yet…

“He’s got to sit there and bring a fake punter and a quarterback in as the third-stringer to beat Northwestern? Can’t beat them in the acadmeic room, I know that. But to sit there and bring in the kid with the same uniform number — they did it on purpose, trying to be sneaky. This is USC, these are the Trojans, this is the LA Memorial Coliseum… That is a disgrace. USC’s gotta be bigger than this.”

USC went on to win the game quite comfortably, 38-17. However, the fake punt took place early in the second quarter when the score was tied at seven. As Russo mentioned, the Trojans went down the field and scored a touchdown to make it a seven-point game. They wound up not trailing the entire night.

Looking big picture, USC is still more than alive for the College Football Playoff. Coming in at No. 17 in Tuesday’s rankings, opportunity to move up presents itself in the coming weeks. USC hosts a ranked Iowa on Saturday before heading up to Eugene for a monster showdown against Oregon. Riley then closes out the season vs. rival UCLA.

Russo, apparently, wants USC to win in a way that does not include any deception. Good, clean, ethical football from Riley to finish 2025.