SC State Fake Punt Attempt Is A Spectacular Failure

South Carolina State opened its season in Orlando, Florida taking on the University of Central Florida.

Unfortunately, it didn't go very well for the Bulldogs who took a 58-10 beating courtesy of the Knights.

One play encapsulated the Bulldog's trip to the City Beautiful and it was a disastrously botched fake punt on their opening drive.

With the Bulldogs facing 4th and 19 so early in the game, surely they'd just boot one to the Knights and let their defense keep them in it.

Nope.

SC State's punter handled the snap cleanly then took off, blowing the minds of everyone watching. He picked up another 11 or twelve yards with no problem. There was a chance he'd even reach the first down marker if he kept his legs moving.

However, the punter decided to go ahead and punt the ball in a rugby-esque fashion. There was only one major problem: he was well in front of the line of scrimmage.

You can't do that.

SC State was dealt a penalty while UCF got some prime field position and quickly found the endzone.

Strangely, It's Not Clear Who Was Responsible For The Disasterous Fake Punt

It's kind of confusing because on the telecast they mentioned that it was Bulldogs punter Dyson Roberts who made the gaffe. However, he's listed as No. 32 and the only player who wears No. 15 is freshman running back Tyler Smith.

It kind of works out great because either one of those guys has some plausible deniability. Roberts can say that he's not No. 15 while Smith can say he's not a punter.

It was an unmitigated disaster, but you've got to love the ballsy play call. Under normal circumstances, it doesn't make any sense, but the Bulldogs knew they were up against the 2017 National Champions (argue all you want, but it's true). Shaking things up was the only chance they had to maybe tip the momentum scales in their favor.

It didn't work at all, but at least it gave us a new blooper we'll be watching for the rest of the season.

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