[Adam]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Two things... 1 - the OP said it was the starter.

I didn't see it.

Originally Posted by Eastshire

First, I'm not a football referee so just looking for some information here.

NCAA says "Two players playing the same position may not wear the same number during the game."

In the Cal/OSU game, the Cal QB and the Cal punter both are wearing 16. In the second quarter, the quarterback lines up as the punter in a kicking formation. Is this a violation of the rule? Why or why not?

Wait, here it is.

Originally Posted by Eastshire

1 - Right it was the starter. In this situation there was no substitution. Normally #18 - QB leaves and #18 - P comes on the field for 4th down punts but in this play #18 - QB stays on the field.

2 - Are they though under the rules? The rule has teeth in that the penalty is fairly severe, but it has no structure in that it's basically impossible to enforce since the rules don't define what positions are.

I also agree that it's basically unenforceable by the crew during the game due to the difficulty of confirming the separate identities particularly across long periods of time.

In the end I think it's a good idea turned into a badly written rule. I think this should be a violation but it's not entirely clear whether it is or not and even if it is, it would take an extraordinary effort by the crew to get it.