Analytics: What Can We Learn From Phil Longo’s Play-Calling Tendencies?

Analytics breakdown of the new look Wisconsin Football Offense under Phil Longo: analyzing his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Down Play-Call Tendencies.

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I’m so excited to bring you Part Two of my Pre-Season Series: TOP 10 Wisconsin Football Stats you need to know for the 2023 Season! For Part 1 read it here.

For more of my thought's around Phil Longo's Offensive Philosophy & some interesting differences from the former Offense. Read it here.

Theme #9: Phil Longo’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Down Play-Calls

One of my biggest gripes with the coaching staff, specifically with the offensive staff. Was what I thought of as a lack of creativity and, frankly, predictability in their play calls. With a particular emphasis on their 1^st Down play-calls. Which I thought lacked a good amount of Play-Action/RPO, given they ran the ball on 71% of 1st Down Snaps. And by only offsetting that with 9% of 1st Down Snaps Play-Action/RPO passes, IS NOT the appropriate mix.

And it showed in the Yards Per Attempt (YPA) numbers...

Just really striking stuff, and a true shame that it wasn't exploited or more well-balanced last Season. A lot of easy yards were left on the table!

Now let's dive into Phil Longo's Play-Calling, that's the future, and that's what matters NOW!!!

Wisconsin’s Potential 1st Down Play-Calls Under Phil Longo:

First, I want to look at 1^st Downs by Play_Type by first looking at Motion vs. No Motion. Then at the mix of RPO vs. No RPO + Play-Action vs. No Play-Action. Then I want to go a level deeper and see how those evolve when we add in Run vs. Pass. As well as how heavy the box was (7 or More vs. 6 or Less) and how those aspects influenced the Play-Call. Then finally, do we see any differences in outsized/diminished returns from a Yards Per Attempt (YPA) perspective when taking all of these aspects into account?

Let's Look at Motion vs. No Motion:

• Only about ~13% of 1st Down Play-Calls Utilize Motion

  • A very similar story with Red Zone Play-Calls

  • This may be something we will need to get used to with a reduction in Motion Used

Now Let's Look at RPO/Play-Action vs. No RPO/Play-Action:

1. We can see a significant uptick in RPO & Play-Action Plays >30% vs. <10% for UW in 2022

Let’s go that layer deeper...