⚡ CFB Dashboard

Play action remains one of the favored weapons in the arsenal of every offensive coordinator. With players spread more on offense, the consequences for bad eyes and misdiagnosing a pass for run are extremely costly. Playcallers at Lincoln Riley's level focus on creating all sorts of distractions through formation, motion and post-snap deception from more than the quarterback. Offensive linemen and skill guys also have roles of deception in some of the more elaborate play-action attacks. Riley traced his history with these concepts and pinpointed the moment where it became a permanent staple in his playbook.  "It's evolved a lot," Riley said. "My years at Texas Tech, we didn't play action a ton because we never ran the ball, so it probably wouldn't have worked. ECU we started to run the ball more, and with that, especially the later years at ECU, we got really good at play action. Our play action is definitely different now than it was then, but that's where I really fell in love with it, trying to complement some of the things we do in the run game to try to put people in conflict. And it's just evolved each year based on how we run the ball and what we think we're good at, or maybe something we can take advantage of."  USC's 49-30 win over Louisiana featured two big plays involving play action. We take a look at both in our debut film study for the 2026 season:   (Photo: 247Sports) USC had already gotten tight end Mark Bowman involved in the party when the Trojans lined up here for a second-and-10 play from their own 41-yard line. Bowman's five-yard touchdown reception earlier in the first quarter gave the Trojans their first lead of the game. Here Bowman is lined up to the field side in a stance already primed to create conflict. He's in an H-Back slot just off the right tackle with two receivers to his right and Corey Simms lined up to boundary side. King Miller if offset to the boundary from quarterback Jayden Maiava. Louisiana has four down linemen with two linebackers stacked tight over both A gaps. All three cover guys are playing soft and have their eyes in the backfield. There are two safeties not in the picture.  (Photo: 247Sports) The dupery begins in earnest at the snap. Note the layers of deception here. First off, Miller turns towards the field side as if to receive the handoff from Maiava. However, the extra spice we like is how USC pulls left guard Hayden Treter. USC's receivers are all into their breaks up the field, but look at the left of the frame. One of those previously unseen safeties has now creeped into view. Note also Bowman has yet to release and reveal himself as part of the pass concept. The linebackers are also on their toes leaning towards the line of scrimmage. Regardless of whether their key is Treter or Maiava, they've got split seconds to detect any chicanery, and USC is not revealing anything in this frame.