Porter Gustin did not leave his feet when his helmet made contact with the helmet of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger in the third quarter of USC’s 37-14 loss Saturday. In his mind, he had not intended to make a dirty play in the milliseconds after Ehlinger delivered the ball.
“In fact, I didn’t even think it was going to be a roughing-the-passer [penalty],” Gustin said this week. “I looked back and saw the call and was like, ‘Ah, wow.’ Then I heard they were going into review for targeting, and one thing led to the next, and then I was gone.