Orange County Register

It now appears that USC will lose only one timeout for wearing its cardinal home jerseys at UCLA on Saturday.

USC coach Pete Carroll was planning to do it even if his team lost a timeout each half, but Pac-10 coordinator of football officials Dave Cutaia requested clarification on what the penalty would be, and got a new interpretation from NCAA secretary-rules editor Rogers Redding.

Here’s Redding’s response:

Rule 1-4-3-a (FR-30) specifies that (1) the teams must wear jerseys of contrasting colors, (2) the visitors must wear white jerseys, and (3) the home team may wear white jerseys when the teams have so agreed prior to the start of the season.

Rule 1-4-4 (FR-31) does not show contrasting or white jerseys in the list of mandatory equipment, and Rule 1-4-5 (FR-32) does not specify that non-compliance with the jersey color rules constitutes illegal equipment.  However, it is absolutely clear that the intent of the rules committee is that the colors of the jerseys on the opposing teams must be contrasting. It is also the intent of the committee that one and only one team wear white jerseys.

Regarding non-compliance of the jersey-color rule, the current interpretation is as follows:

Players of opposing teams must wear jerseys of contrasting colors. If the home team wears colored jerseys and the visiting team does not wear white jerseys, the visiting team will be assessed one timeout following the opening kickoff of the game. The game will proceed from that point with no further penalty for the violation.

The Pac-10 again intends to request that the Football Rules Committee, at its next meeting, eliminate the portion that says one team must wear white and simply have the rule state that the teams must wear jerseys of contrasting colors.

Related links:

• USC football poll: Is Carroll committing a cardinal sin?
• USC football: Penalty or not, Trojans wearing cardinal against UCLA

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