USC pulls off perfect decoy punt return for TD vs. UCLA

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The USC Trojans scored a touchdown off of a decoy punt return in Saturday's win against UCLA.

USC pulled off the tricky score at the 9:28 mark in the first quarter. Bruins punter Stefan Flintoft stepped in to punt on a 4th and 6 play from the 31-yard-line. Flintoft took the snap and boomed the kick down the left side of the field. But Bruins defenders weren't paying attention to the ball's flight path, instead staring down the USC return team.

Ajene Harris and Michael Pittman Jr. went out to field the punt for the Trojans, with Harris manning the right side of the field and Pittman on the other side.

Harris aggressively pretended to field the punt, running up and closing his arms for a phantom catch, before running toward the end zone. Bruins defenders rushed to him to make a tackle.

But the football was on the other side of the field. Pittman casually made a catch and sprinted up the left side of the field, scoring a 72-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0 Trojans.

UCLA answered back quickly to tie the game at 7-7 at the 6:48 mark. The Trojans pulled off a 28-23 victory, moving to 10-2 on the season.