Shortly before his death in December, Mississippi State coach Mike Leach spoke with Phil Longo about Longo landing the Wisconsin offensive coordinator job.
According to Longo, Leach was delighted his Air Raid offense — the transcendent scheme he helped launch decades earlier — would finally reach the Big Ten after impacting every other major conference. Longo has used the offense while hopscotching the college ranks, most recently as a coordinator at Ole Miss and North Carolina. He has seen the Air Raid work in a variety of settings, but not the one behind his current office window: Camp Randall Stadium, home to the historically run-heavy Wisconsin Badgers.
For 30 years, the Badgers have won with powerful backs plowing behind gargantuan offensive linemen on clock-eating drives. The Air Raid, marked by quick tempo, receiver-heavy sets and passing proclivity, couldn’t be more different from what the Badgers have done. The first time Wisconsin gets the ball Sept. 2 against Buffalo will mark a watershed of sorts for the program, its fans and the Big Ten.
“It’ll be a little bit of a culture shock, but hopefully [fans] enjoy it,” Longo said. “If we’re scoring points, I think they’ll enjoy it. If we’re winning games, they’ll enjoy it. You have your old-school enthusiasts that don’t want change, but there seems to be a large part of the Wisconsin contingent that has been waiting for a change.”
The seismic shift at Wisconsin is the most noticeable move for a Big Ten offensive landscape whose plates are starting to rattle. Wisconsin is one of two Big Ten programs bringing the Air Raid to the league for the first time this season. Purdue will use it under new coach Ryan Walters and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, a record-setting quarterback for Leach at Texas Tech. Both teams brought in transfer quarterbacks from Texas — Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai (SMU) and Purdue’s Hudson Card (Texas) — to lead the units.
Wisconsin and Purdue headline an offensive shake-up that could be exactly what the Big Ten needs. Since 2015, the year after the Big Ten’s last national title, the league has had only two offenses rank in the top 25 in scoring (No. 2 Ohio State, No. 17 Michigan), only one (No. 2 Ohio State) in the top 48 in yards per game, and only two in the top 30 in expected points added (No. 3 Ohio State, No. 24 Michigan).
Big Ten defenses, meanwhile, have thrived during the same span. Five rank among the top 11 in fewest points allowed and five are in the top eight in expected points added. But how much of the defensive success is tied to the offenses they typically face? Perhaps more significant: Are Big Ten offenses adequately preparing their defenses for the College Football Playoff? Michigan was a top-five defense in points and yards allowed entering the CFP, while Ohio State was in the top 15 in both categories. The two allowed 79 offensive points (TCU had two defensive touchdowns) and 1,021 yards in narrow playoff losses to TCU and Georgia.
“Unless you’re playing Ohio State, you’re not going to get exposure to offenses like that,” a Power 5 defensive coordinator outside the Big Ten told ESPN. “Michigan only plays Ohio State once. Six Big Ten teams are in the top 25 defense-wise. Yeah, well a lot of that is because there’s only one or two offenses in the top 25.
“Now it kind of makes sense, once you start seeing through some of the layers.”
More offensive innovation will arrive in 2024 with the expansion additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. All four teams ranked among the nation’s top six offenses in 2022, while the existing Big Ten produced just one top-20 offense (No. 9 Ohio State) and two in the top 30 (No. 24 Michigan) last season.
“We should have had Michigan and Ohio State in the [national] championship game, so obviously, we’re right there,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “Bringing in a team like USC, you just look at how they recruit and the talent they have, it’s special. Now you’ve got another team that’s going to have that SEC-type talent. UCLA’s not that far behind. That part helps us.
“We’ve got to be able to have the athletes. You get exposed way too fast if you don’t. That’s been the knock in the past, and it’s slowly changing.”
Both Big Ten teams introducing Air Raid offenses to the league this fall are led by head coaches with backgrounds on defense and success within the conference. Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell played for John Cooper at Ohio State and then came up as a Buckeyes defensive assistant under Jim Tressel. From 2002 to 2010, Fickell helped build defenses to complement Ohio State offenses that flaunted typical Big Ten traits — run-based, methodical, often conservative but effective because of elite personnel.
After going 4-8 in his first season as a head coach at Cincinnati, Fickell decided to pivot from his football roots. Then, another revelation came.
“To change from the Jim Tressel [approach] to be more aggressive, to do some things on fourth [down], we had to do that at Cincinnati, but then I realized, I don’t know that I’m excited about staying and always doing the things, the same things you’ve always done,” Fickell said. “I want to win more than anything. A part of the evolution is not a bad thing.”
play
5:10
Is this the year Ohio State stumbles?
Daily Wager breaks down the Big Ten and whether this is the year Ohio State falls, plus they look at win totals for various teams in the conference.
Walters spent the past two seasons surveying Big Ten offenses as Illinois’ defensive coordinator. In 2022, Illinois led the nation in scoring defense (12.8 PPG allowed). But when Walters landed his first head-coaching job at Purdue, he picked a scheme that he hadn’t truly seen in the league.
“Philosophically, the general thesis of the conference is: Control the clock, don’t turn the ball over, limit possessions and try to win the game in the fourth quarter, which equals success and that’s been proven,” Walters told ESPN. “But in today’s college football world, you see there are other ways to win games. Obviously, I still am a defensive guy and the goal is to keep points off the board, but I do want to be aggressive on offense and force the issue.”
Bret Bielema has observed Big Ten offenses for most of his adult life: as an Iowa defensive lineman, as a young Hawkeyes defensive assistant, as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator and head coach, and now as head coach at Illinois. Bielema followed Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin and continued using a run-heavy, clock-control, power-based style on offense. He saw the approach lead to overall team success, not only at Wisconsin, which won three straight Big Ten championships under his watch, but at other programs like Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota and, most recently, Michigan. Not surprisingly, he’s taking the same approach at Illinois, which last fall leaned on Chase Brown, the nation’s No. 4 rusher and No. 2 carries leader.
Bielema has categorized Big Ten offenses into those committed to similar schemes and principles, which rarely change much from year to year, and those who diversify. He’s also aware of the major shake-up coming.
“Wisconsin, in particular, you go from one extreme to the other,” he told ESPN. “That was a pro-style offense that was pretty old-school, and now you’re going to have this offense that is completely different from anything they’ve ever done. That’s a premier team in the league, so a big difference.”
A fresh approach likely was needed at Wisconsin, which ranked 90th nationally in scoring and 103rd in offensive plays of 10 yards or longer during the past two seasons. The program has been undeniably consistent, but with an expanded CFP coming in 2024, Wisconsin had to show it could keep up on the scoreboard.
During Longo’s four seasons as North Carolina’s OC, the team ranked fifth nationally in yards per play, sixth in yards per game and 12th in scoring. Last season, quarterback Drake Maye blossomed under Longo, setting single-season records for passing yards (4,321) and completions (342) while cementing himself as a top prospect for the 2024 NFL draft.
Longo’s version of the Air Raid isn’t exactly like Leach’s. He has had several 1,000-yard running backs and productive tight ends, two positions Wisconsin historically features on offense.
Still, the Madison makeover has drawn skepticism, from both within and outside the league. Several coaches and defensive coordinators told ESPN they question whether the system will work at a school that has recruited a certain way for decades. A defensive coordinator called Longo “one of the strangest hires” he had seen in the Big Ten. A Big Ten coach wondered if Wisconsin’s defense, among the nation’s best, would have a harder time preparing for the Big Ten offenses it typically sees after practicing daily against the Air Raid.
Longo has heard it all before.
“There may be those that don’t think we can run it in this league, maybe,” he said. “It’s been proven to be run just about anywhere. That’s what the [Kansas City] Chiefs are doing right now. I look at the Chiefs, and I feel like I’m watching our offense. There’s so much overlap.
“This system is really a part of what everyone’s doing right now.”
The Air Raid’s arrival is the latest phase in what Big Ten coaches consider a mini offensive renaissance, despite the league’s middling national representation.
Former Purdue coach Jeff Brohm brought aggressiveness and innovation to the conference, producing three wins over AP top-three opponents, six top-25 passing offenses in the past seven years (three in the top 15) and a West Division championship last season, before leaving for Louisville. Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who coordinated top-10 rushing offenses early in his career at Illinois, oversaw the nation’s No. 13 pass offense in 2021 and returns one of the nation’s most experienced quarterbacks this season in Taulia Tagovailoa. Locksley came to Maryland from Alabama, where he spent 2017 and 2018 in a coordinator role.
“Some of the branding that the Big Ten had — of being run-the-ball and I-formation — are over-exaggerated,” Locksley told ESPN. “It’s not your mama’s old Big Ten. There’s a ton of teams in this league that know how to throw the ball, that spread you out, that play with speed and tempo. I don’t see a big difference [with the SEC], having been in both leagues, from an offensive standpoint. What we do on offense, it’s the same thing Alabama is doing, the same thing that Georgia is doing.”
There are also more traditional Big Ten offensive schemes that recently have elevated their production, namely Michigan, which has bulldozed its way to consecutive league titles behind a rushing attack that ranks No. 8 nationally since 2021. The Wolverines are No. 7 in scoring during the span.
Nebraska is trying to reclaim its offensive roots under new coach Matt Rhule, especially along the line of scrimmage, after a schematic pivot under Scott Frost never materialized. Penn State and Minnesota are trying to open up their passing games with new quarterbacks — Drew Allar and Athan Kaliakmanis — while maintaining a strong foundation on the ground.
“Change is inevitable,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. “You can have traditions of this school used to do this, but that’s why the words ‘used to’ are there, because you’re constantly evolving, you’re constantly changing. Even us. Your identity and your belief as a football coach? I don’t know if that necessarily changes. But you can adapt to how the game is changing and what your team is going to have to do to win more.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty rallied after losing position heading into the final turn to win the $500,000 Jim Dandy by a length at Saratoga on Saturday.
Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty ran nine furlongs in 1:49.52 and paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite against four rivals, the smallest field of his career.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Sovereignty would be pointed toward the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 23 at the upstate New York track.
Approaching the turn, there were a few tense moments as it appeared Sovereignty was retreating when losing position to the advancing Baeza and deep closers Sandman and Hill Road, leaving Sovereignty in last for a few strides.
Alvarado said he never had a doubt that Sovereignty would come up with his expected run.
“It was everybody else moving and at that time I was just like, ‘Alright let me now kind of start picking it up,'” Alvarado said. “I had 100% confidence. I knew what I had underneath me.”
Baeza, third to Sovereignty in both the Derby and Belmont, finished second. Hill Road was another 9¼ lengths back in third. Mo Plex was fourth and Sandman fifth.
INDIANAPOLIS — Chase Briscoe became the first driver to win poles at NASCAR’s first three crown jewel races in one season Saturday, taking the Brickyard 400 pole with a fast lap of 183.165 mph.
His late run bumped Bubba Wallace out of the top starting spot.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won nine career poles, five coming this season including those at the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and now the only race held in Briscoe’s home state. He’ll have a chance to complete a crown jewel sweep at the Southern 500 in late August.
Briscoe has the most pole wins this season, his latest coming on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. It also came on the same weekend his sister was married in Indiana. Briscoe has never won the Brickyard.
Wallace starts next to Briscoe on the front row after posting a lap of 183.117 mph. Those two also led a pack of five Toyotas to the front of the field — marking the first time the engine manufacturer has swept the top five spots.
Qualifying was held after a brief, rescheduled practice session. Friday’s practice was rained out.
Briscoe’s teammate, Ty Gibbs, has the early edge in the championship round of NASCAR’s first In-Season Challenge. He qualified fifth at 182.445. Ty Dillon starts 26th. The winner will be crowned champion and walk away with $1 million.
Last week’s race winner Denny Hamlin faces a major hurdle in winning his first Brickyard title. He crashed hard during qualifying and will start from the back of the field, 39th, as he tries to become the fifth driver to complete a career sweep of the Cup’s crown jewel races. The 44-year-old Hamlin signed a two-year contract extension with JGR on Friday.
There’s plenty of history in the rivalry between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. It’s about 116 miles from Citi Field to Citizens Bank Park. The two teams been competing for the NL East since 1969. Star players from Tug McGraw to Jerry Koosman to Lenny Dykstra to Pedro Martinez to Zack Wheeler have played for both franchises. Mets fans loathe the Phanatic, and Phillies fans laugh derisively at Mr. Met.
Despite this longevity, the two teams have rarely battled for a division title in the same season. The only years they finished No. 1 and 2 or were battling for a division lead late in the season:
1986: Mets finished 21.5 games ahead
2001: Both finished within six games of the Braves
2006: Mets finished 12 games ahead
2007: Phillies finished one game ahead
2008: Phillies finished three games ahead
2024: Phillies finished six games ahead of Mets and Braves
So it’s a rare treat to see the Mets and Phillies battling for the NL East lead in as New York faces the San Francisco Giants on “Sunday Night Baseball” this week. This season has also been a bit of bumpy ride for both teams, so there is pressure on both front offices to make trade deadline additions in hopes of winning the World Series that has eluded both franchises in recent years despite high payrolls and star-laden rosters. Let’s dig into what both teams need to do before Thursday.
The perfect trade deadline for the Mets
1. Bullpen help
The Mets already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from the Orioles, but David Stearns will likely look for another reliever, given that the Mets’ bullpen has struggled since the beginning of June with a 5.02 ERA. In my grade of the trade, I pointed out the importance for the Mets to add left-handed relief. Think of potential playoff opponents and all the key left-handed batters: Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on the Phillies; Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy on the Dodgers; Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.
Soto has held lefties to a .138 average this season, and it does help that the Mets have two lefty starters in David Peterson and Sean Manaea. They also just activated Brooks Raley after he had been out since early 2024. If he is back to his 2022-23 form, when he had a 2.74 ERA and held lefties to a .209 average, maybe the Mets will feel good enough about their southpaw relief.
They could still use another dependable righty reliever. Mets starters were hot early on, but they weren’t going deep into games, and outside of Peterson, the lack of longer outings is a big reason the bullpen ERA has skyrocketed. Carlos Mendoza has overworked his setup guys, including Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett. Brazoban has never been much of a strike thrower anyway, and Garrett similarly faded in the second half last season. Adding a high-leverage righty to set up Edwin Diaz makes sense. Candidates there include David Bednar of the Pirates, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran of the Twins, or maybe a longer shot such as Emmanuel Clase or Cade Smith of the Guardians.
Mark Vientos was a huge key to last season’s playoff appearance and trip to the NLCS, hitting .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs after beginning the season in Triple-A. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance, though, hitting .224/.279/.354. That has led to a revolving door at third base, with Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio starting games there in July. Overall, Mets third basemen ranked 24th in the majors in OPS entering Friday.
Lack of production at third is one reason the Mets’ offense has been mediocre rather than very good — they’re averaging 4.38 runs per game, just below the NL average of 4.43. They could use another premium bat, given the lack of production they’ve received from center field and catcher (not to mention Francisco Lindor‘s slump since the middle of June). Maybe Francisco Alvarez‘s short stint back in Triple-A will get his bat going now that he’s back in the majors, but going after Suarez to hit behind Juan Soto and Pete Alonso would lengthen the lineup.
Tyrone Taylor is a plus defender in center and has made several incredible catches, but he’s hitting .209/.264/.306 for a lowly OPS+ of 65. Old friend Bader is having a nice season with the Twins, hitting .251/.330/.435. Maybe that’s a little over his head, given that he had a .657 OPS with the Mets last season, but he would still be an offensive upgrade over Taylor without losing anything on defense — and he wouldn’t cost a top-tier prospect. The Mets could still mix in Jeff McNeil against the really tough righties, but adding Suarez and Bader would give this lineup more of a championship feel.
The perfect deadline for the Phillies
1. Acquire Jhoan Duran
Like the Mets, the Phillies already made a move here, signing free agent David Robertson, who had a 3.00 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 72 innings last season with the Rangers. On paper, he should help, but he’s also 40 and will need a few games in the minors to get ready. Even with Robertson, the Phillies could use some more help here. They’ll eventually get Jose Alvarado back from his 60-game PED suspension, but Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason. At least the Mets have an elite closer in Edwin Diaz. Jordan Romano leads the Phillies with eight saves and has a 6.69 ERA. Matt Strahm is solid, but more useful as a lefty setup guy than a closer (think of all those left-handed batters we listed for the Mets, then sub out Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo for Harper and Schwarber).
And the Phillies’ bullpen has consistently come up short in big games. Think back to last year’s NLDS, when Jeff Hoffman lost twice to the Mets. Or 2023, when Craig Kimbrel lost two games in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks. Or the 2022 World Series, when Yordan Alvarez hit the huge home run off Alvarado in the clinching Game 6.
So, yes, a shutdown closer is a must. Maybe that’s Bednar, maybe Clase if he’s available (although he struggled in last year’s postseason), maybe Helsley. But the guy Dave Dombrowski should go all-in to get: Duran. The window for the Phillies is slowly closing as the core players get older. Duran is under control through 2027, so he’s a fit for now and the immediate future. The trade cost might be painful, but with his 100 mph fastball and splitter, he has the elite stuff you need in October.
The Phillies have received below-average production from both left field (mostly Max Kepler) and center field (Brandon Marsh/Johan Rojas platoon). The center-field market is pretty thin except for Bader or maybe a gamble on Luis Robert Jr. I’d pass on Robert, stick with the Marsh/Rojas platoon and upgrade left field with O’Hearn, who is hitting .281/.375/.452 for the Orioles. He isn’t the perfect fit since, like Kepler, he hits left-handed and struggles against lefties, but he’s a patient hitter with a much better OBP, and he’s passable in the outfield.
Here’s the bottom line: The Phillies have to admit that some of their long-term position players aren’t getting the job done — such as second baseman Bryson Stott, who has a 77 OPS+. Third baseman Alec Bohm has been better but also has a below-average OPS.
That makes Castro a nice fit. He’s not a star, but he’s an above-average hitter, a switch-hitter who plays all over the field for the Twins, having started games at five different positions. He could play second or third or start in left field against a lefty. Philadelphia could even start him in center instead of Rojas, although that would be a defensive hit. Bottom line: Castro would give the Phillies a lot more versatility — or a significant offensive upgrade over Stott if they start him every day at second.
Note as well: Stott has hit .188 in 33 career postseason games. Bohm has hit .214 with two home runs in 34 postseason games. The Phillies need a different offensive look for October.