The run-pass option (or RPO) is all the rage in football these days. You can see dozens of teams torturing defenses with the clever misdirections every Saturday, and teams like the Chiefs and Eagles have even introduced the concept to the NFL. Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, though, isn’t as much of a fan.
The simplest explanation of the RPO is that it’s a type of play that gives the quarterback the option to throw a pass or hand off to his running back, depending on what the defense shows him at the snap. (Eagles coach Doug Pederson does a good job of explaining it here.