MADISON, Wis. — Not for the first time, Wisconsin’s Phil Longo talked Monday about the offense’s long-term vision under head coach Luke Fickell and the process to make it happen.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the offensive coordinator’s explanation. The problem is no one wants to hear it nearly two full seasons into an offensive overhaul that has yet to yield enough meaningful results and therefore hasn’t instilled confidence that such a development against quality competition is on the horizon.
Longo can help to change that narrative when Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) plays No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0) on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium in the Badgers’ first game against a top-ranked opponent in 14 years. Of course, Wisconsin likely will need to score at a rate that has been significantly lacking in big moments this season under Longo.
Wisconsin has played two top-five games at home already this season: a 42-10 blowout loss to Alabama and a gut-wrenching 28-13 defeat to Penn State. There was also a 38-21 loss to USC in which a hot offensive start fizzled with three second-half first downs and no points. Throw in Wisconsin’s latest performance — an embarrassing 42-10 loss to Iowa — and it’s easy to see why optimism about Longo’s potential is beginning to wane among fans.
“If you don’t take ownership in all the things that happen, then you can’t get better from it.”@CoachFick and @CoachPhilLongo meet with the media ahead of this week’s game vs Oregon.
Full pressers ⬇️
Fickell | https://t.co/bzjpYQ2m8G
Longo | https://t.co/lqsyJfsn2h pic.twitter.com/sFym57jQ4v— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) November 11, 2024
Longo was brought to Wisconsin by Fickell to modernize the Badgers’ offensive approach with a variation of the Air Raid and had many previous successes upon which to lean. In six seasons as an FBS offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and North Carolina, his teams never scored fewer than 32.8 points per game or ranked worse than 33rd nationally in scoring offense. He had two top-five FCS offenses in three seasons at Sam Houston from 2014 to 2016 and never scored fewer than 33.9 points per game. His offenses before that at Division II Slippery Rock and FCS Southern Illinois also thrived and made big jumps in Year 2.
But Longo’s time at Wisconsin has been unlike anything he has experienced in nearly two decades. Not since his Minnesota-Duluth offenses averaged 21 points per game in 2006 and 22.5 points per game in 2007 has his system floundered in the way it has the past two seasons for the Badgers.
Wisconsin averaged 23.5 points per game last season, which ranked 92nd in the FBS and was the lowest program mark in 19 years. The Badgers are averaging 25.1 points per game this season, which ranks 91st, and are outside the top 50 in rushing offense and outside the top 80 in total offense.
They rank 10th in the Big Ten in scoring offense, ninth in total offense, 14th in passing offense and fifth in rushing offense. And though some of those numbers might be OK in an expanded 18-team league, Longo wasn’t hired for his offense to be just OK. Considering he expressed little doubt that he would be able to generate immediate results, this is not the expected outcome. He has another year left on a three-year deal that pays $1.25 million annually.
Fickell was asked whether he had considered making any major changes during the team’s bye week after the Iowa loss but focused his response away from any potential coaching decisions. He said the emphasis was on taking ownership of shortcomings as a group, including not being physical enough, needing to handle a road environment better and not being able to stop the run defensively. Wisconsin surrendered 329 yards rushing against Iowa, its most in a game in 13 seasons.
Fickell also was asked what he needed to see over Wisconsin’s final three regular-season games to give him confidence for the future in this offensive system.
“It’s still continuing to see the progression of what it is that you’re doing,” he said. “You’ve got what you’ve got. We’ve had some wideouts that have been dinged up. We’ve had some tight ends that make it a little bit limited based on availability.
“But to see the progression, to see those guys finding a way to continue to grow and being able to evolve with all that we have, that’s — to me — the most important thing.”
Injuries in Longo’s two seasons have contributed to challenges. Wisconsin lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the season to a torn ACL in his right knee on the first series of the third game against Alabama. Running back Chez Mellusi left the team to rehab from injuries. Bryson Green, the team’s second-leading receiver last season, has missed the past four games with an injury. Injuries at tight end also have been an issue and impacted potential personnel groupings.
Wisconsin’s quarterback situation has significantly hampered progress because backup Braedyn Locke has thrown at least one interception in all six of his starts in place of Van Dyke and has nine turnovers. Locke completed 15 of 29 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions thrown into coverage against Iowa and had limited help from his running game. He is completing 56.8 percent of his passes this season, which ranks 16th in the Big Ten. The longer-term outlook at quarterback for Wisconsin remains unclear.
Longo said Locke has struggled with decision-making at times but stressed the importance of being able to develop quarterbacks. Locke was recruited out of the transfer portal by Longo, and Longo praised him this preseason by noting: “If Braedyn were our starter right now, we’d feel great about it.” Locke’s backup, true freshman Mabrey Mettauer, has played 16 snaps in three games as a reserve.
“Sometimes you can put those guys out there at any position, but particularly at quarterback, before they’re ready and it will hurt their development,” Longo said. “We’re going to build these guys and develop these guys and put them out on the field when they’re ready to roll. I think Mabrey is on schedule, and he’s in that process right now.”
There have been some individual bright spots offensively, just as there were for the team during a three-game winning streak at midseason. Wide receiver Vinny Anthony has emerged as the Badgers’ best big-play threat, averaging 18.5 yards per catch this season. The last Wisconsin player to record 16-plus yards a catch on at least 20 receptions was A.J. Taylor in 2018. Running back Tawee Walker has 10 rushing touchdowns and generally has handled the starting role well.
But there simply haven’t been enough playmakers to help Wisconsin’s offense be consistently effective, with quarterback play a dagger. And as the uninspiring results continue to pile up, so, too, do questions about Longo’s long-term future at Wisconsin.
“When you are building something to sustain success, it’s harder,” Longo said. “It’s more difficult to do that. You can go a certain route with regards to upgrading or changing your roster and get an immediate answer for that particular year, or you can build something that you want to sustain some success over the long haul, which is the goal here, and it’s what Fick wants. We’re grinding through that, and we do that every day and every week and every game. I think we’re progressing just like we wanted to.”
(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today via Imagn Images)
