Load ESPN college football play-by-play from the SportsDataverse data repo

Loads season-level ESPN-derived college football play-by-play – one row per play with the full EPA/WPA model columns and participant ids, covering 2004 to present. Published to the espn_cfb_pbp release tag on the sportsdataverse-data repo.

Delineation from the sibling pbp loaders: load_cfb_pbp() is the classic cfbfastR EPA/WPA pbp (FBS, 2014+, unchanged); load_espn_cfb_pbp() is this ESPN-derived build with deeper history; load_ncaa_mfb_pbp() is the stats.ncaa.org parse covering FCS and lower divisions (2013+).

Usage

load_espn_cfb_pbp(
  seasons = most_recent_cfb_season(),
  ...,
  dbConnection = NULL,
  tablename = NULL
)

Arguments

seasons

A vector of 4-digit years associated with given college football seasons. Published coverage runs 2004 through the most recent season. Pass seasons = TRUE for every published season. (Min: 2004)

...

Additional arguments passed to an underlying function that writes the season data into a database.

dbConnection

A DBIConnection object, as returned by DBI::dbConnect()

tablename

The name of the data table within the database

Value

Returns a cfbfastR_data tibble.

col_name	types	description
season	integer
game_id	integer
game_play_number	integer
pos_team	integer
def_pos_team	integer
pos_team_score	integer
def_pos_team_score	integer
half	integer
period	integer
down	integer
distance	integer
EPA	double
wpa	double
wp_before	double
wp_after	double
def_wp_before	double
def_wp_after	double
penalty_detail	character
yds_penalty	character
penalty_1st_conv	logical
def_EPA	double
rz_play	logical
scoring_opp	logical
middle_8	logical
stuffed_run	logical
change_of_pos_team	logical
downs_turnover	logical
pos_score_diff_start	integer
pos_score_pts	integer
home_wp_before	double
away_wp_before	double
home_wp_after	double
away_wp_after	double
end_of_half	logical
lead_pos_team	integer	Value of pos_team on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_play_type	character	Value of play_type on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lag_pos_team	integer	Value of pos_team on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
orig_play_type	character
offense_score_play	logical
defense_score_play	logical
pos_score_diff	integer
change_of_poss	logical
rusher_player_name	character
yds_rushed	integer
passer_player_name	character
receiver_player_name	character
yds_receiving	integer
yds_sacked	integer
sack_players	character
sack_player_name	character
sack_player_name2	character
pass_breakup_player_name	character
interception_player_name	character
yds_int_return	integer
fumble_player_name	character
fumble_forced_player_name	character
fumble_recovered_player_name	character
yds_fumble_return	integer
punter_player_name	character
yds_punted	integer
yds_punt_return	integer
yds_punt_gained	integer
punt_block_player_name	character
punt_block_return_player_name	character
fg_kicker_player_name	character
yds_fg	integer
fg_block_player_name	character
fg_return_player_name	character
kickoff_player_name	character
yds_kickoff	integer
yds_kickoff_return	integer
rush	logical
rush_td	logical
pass	logical
pass_td	logical
completion	logical
pass_attempt	logical
target	logical
sack_vec	logical
sack	logical
int	logical
int_td	logical
turnover_vec	logical
kickoff_play	logical
scoring_play	logical
td_play	logical
touchdown	logical
safety	logical
fumble_vec	logical
kickoff_tb	logical
kickoff_onside	logical
kickoff_oob	logical
kickoff_fair_catch	logical
kickoff_downed	logical
kickoff_safety	logical
kick_play	logical
punt	logical
punt_play	logical
punt_tb	logical
punt_oob	logical
punt_fair_catch	logical
punt_downed	logical
punt_safety	logical
punt_blocked	logical
penalty_safety	logical
fg_made	logical
fg_make_prob	double
penalty_flag	logical
penalty_declined	logical
penalty_no_play	logical
penalty_offset	logical
penalty_text	character
lead_wp_before2	double	Value of wp_before 2 plays ahead, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_wp_before	double	Value of wp_before on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_pos_team2	integer	Value of pos_team 2 plays ahead, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lag_change_of_pos_team	logical	Value of change_of_pos_team on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lag_pos_score_diff	integer	Value of pos_score_diff on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
id	integer
sequenceNumber	integer
text	character
awayScore	integer
homeScore	integer
scoringPlay	logical	ESPN flag marking the play as a scoring play.
priority	logical
modified	character
wallclock	character
teamParticipants	character
isPenalty	logical
statYardage	integer	Yardage ESPN credits to the play for statistical purposes.
isTurnover	logical
type.id	character	ESPN's numeric identifier for the play type.
type.text	character	ESPN's text label for the play type.
type.abbreviation	character	ESPN's abbreviation for the play type.
period.number	integer	Period (quarter) number in which the play occurred.
clock.displayValue	character	Game clock at the play, as the displayed mm:ss string.
start.down	integer	ESPN's down value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.distance	integer	ESPN's distance value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.yardLine	integer	ESPN's yardLine value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.yardsToEndzone	integer	ESPN's yardsToEndzone value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.team.id	integer	ESPN's team.id value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.down	integer	ESPN's down value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.distance	integer	ESPN's distance value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.yardLine	integer	ESPN's yardLine value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.yardsToEndzone	integer	ESPN's yardsToEndzone value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.downDistanceText	character	ESPN's downDistanceText value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.shortDownDistanceText	character	ESPN's shortDownDistanceText value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.possessionText	character	ESPN's possessionText value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.team.id	integer	ESPN's team.id value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.downDistanceText	character	ESPN's downDistanceText value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.shortDownDistanceText	character	ESPN's shortDownDistanceText value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.possessionText	character	ESPN's possessionText value for the play state at the start of the play.
scoringType.name	character	ESPN's name for the scoring type (e.g. touchdown, field goal).
scoringType.displayName	character	ESPN's display label for the scoring type.
scoringType.abbreviation	character	ESPN's abbreviation for the scoring type.
pointAfterAttempt.id	double
pointAfterAttempt.text	character
pointAfterAttempt.abbreviation	character
pointAfterAttempt.value	double
drive.id	character	ESPN's id field for the drive containing this play.
drive.displayResult	character	ESPN's displayResult field for the drive containing this play.
drive.isScore	logical	ESPN's isScore field for the drive containing this play.
drive.team.shortDisplayName	character	ESPN's team.shortDisplayName field for the drive containing this play.
drive.team.displayName	character	ESPN's team.displayName field for the drive containing this play.
drive.team.name	character	ESPN's team.name field for the drive containing this play.
drive.team.abbreviation	character	ESPN's team.abbreviation field for the drive containing this play.
drive.yards	integer	ESPN's yards field for the drive containing this play.
drive.offensivePlays	integer	ESPN's offensivePlays field for the drive containing this play.
drive.result	character	ESPN's result field for the drive containing this play.
drive.description	character	ESPN's description field for the drive containing this play.
drive.shortDisplayResult	character	ESPN's shortDisplayResult field for the drive containing this play.
drive.timeElapsed.displayValue	character	ESPN's timeElapsed.displayValue field for the drive containing this play.
drive.start.period.number	integer	ESPN's start.period.number field for the drive containing this play.
drive.start.period.type	character	ESPN's start.period.type field for the drive containing this play.
drive.start.yardLine	integer	ESPN's start.yardLine field for the drive containing this play.
drive.start.clock.displayValue	character	ESPN's start.clock.displayValue field for the drive containing this play.
drive.start.text	character	ESPN's start.text field for the drive containing this play.
drive.end.period.number	integer	ESPN's end.period.number field for the drive containing this play.
drive.end.period.type	character	ESPN's end.period.type field for the drive containing this play.
drive.end.yardLine	integer	ESPN's end.yardLine field for the drive containing this play.
drive.end.clock.displayValue	character	ESPN's end.clock.displayValue field for the drive containing this play.
seasonType	integer	ESPN season type for the game (2 = regular season, 3 = postseason).
week	integer
status_type_completed	logical
homeTeamId	integer	ESPN's home-team Id for the game, stamped on every play.
awayTeamId	integer	ESPN's away-team Id for the game, stamped on every play.
homeTeamName	character	ESPN's home-team Name for the game, stamped on every play.
awayTeamName	character	ESPN's away-team Name for the game, stamped on every play.
homeTeamMascot	character	ESPN's home-team Mascot for the game, stamped on every play.
awayTeamMascot	character	ESPN's away-team Mascot for the game, stamped on every play.
homeTeamAbbrev	character	ESPN's home-team Abbrev for the game, stamped on every play.
awayTeamAbbrev	character	ESPN's away-team Abbrev for the game, stamped on every play.
homeTeamNameAlt	character	ESPN's home-team NameAlt for the game, stamped on every play.
awayTeamNameAlt	character	ESPN's away-team NameAlt for the game, stamped on every play.
gameSpread	double	Point spread used as an input to the win-probability model.
homeFavorite	logical	True when the home team was favoured by the spread.
gameSpreadAvailable	logical	True when a spread was available for the game.
overUnder	double	Over/under total used as a model input.
homeTeamSpread	double	ESPN's home-team Spread for the game, stamped on every play.
clock.minutes	integer	Minutes remaining on the game clock at the play.
clock.seconds	integer	Seconds component of the game clock at the play.
lag_half	integer	Value of half on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_half	integer	Value of half on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
start.TimeSecsRem	integer	ESPN's TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.adj_TimeSecsRem	integer	ESPN's adj_TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the start of the play.
lead_text	character	Value of text on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_start_team	character	Value of start_team on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_start_yardsToEndzone	integer	Value of start_yardsToEndzone on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_start_down	integer	Value of start_down on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_start_distance	integer	Value of start_distance on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lead_scoringPlay	logical	Value of scoringPlay on the next play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
text_dupe	logical	True when the play description duplicates the previous row's text.
end_state_missing	logical
start.pos_team.id	integer	ESPN's pos_team.id value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.def_pos_team.id	integer	ESPN's def_pos_team.id value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.def_pos_team.id	integer	ESPN's def_pos_team.id value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.pos_team.id	integer	ESPN's pos_team.id value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.pos_team.name	character	ESPN's pos_team.name value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.def_pos_team.name	character	ESPN's def_pos_team.name value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.pos_team.name	character	ESPN's pos_team.name value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.def_pos_team.name	character	ESPN's def_pos_team.name value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.is_home	logical	ESPN's is_home value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.is_home	logical	ESPN's is_home value for the play state at the end of the play.
homeTimeoutCalled	logical	True when the home team called a timeout on the play.
awayTimeoutCalled	logical	True when the away team called a timeout on the play.
end.homeTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's homeTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.awayTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's awayTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.homeTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's homeTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.awayTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's awayTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.TimeSecsRem	integer	ESPN's TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.adj_TimeSecsRem	integer	ESPN's adj_TimeSecsRem value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.posTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's posTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.defPosTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's defPosTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.posTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's posTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.defPosTeamTimeouts	integer	ESPN's defPosTeamTimeouts value for the play state at the end of the play.
firstHalfKickoffTeamId	integer	ESPN id of the team that received the opening kickoff.
start.yard	integer	ESPN's yard value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.yard	integer	ESPN's yard value for the play state at the end of the play.
lag_scoringPlay	logical	Value of scoringPlay on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
down_1	logical	True when it is 1st down at the start of the play.
down_2	logical	True when it is 2nd down at the start of the play.
down_3	logical	True when it is 3rd down at the start of the play.
down_4	logical	True when it is 4th down at the start of the play.
down_1_end	logical	True when it is 1st down at the end of the play.
down_2_end	logical	True when it is 2nd down at the end of the play.
down_3_end	logical	True when it is 3rd down at the end of the play.
down_4_end	logical	True when it is 4th down at the end of the play.
td_check	logical	Internal flag used while reconciling whether the play produced a touchdown.
forced_fumble	logical	True when the defense forced a fumble on the play.
is_home	logical
lag_HA_score_diff	integer	Value of HA_score_diff on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
HA_score_diff	integer	Home score minus away score for the play.
net_HA_score_pts	integer	Net points the play added to the home-minus-away score margin.
H_score_diff	integer	Home team's score minus the away team's, from the home perspective.
A_score_diff	integer	Away team's score minus the home team's, from the away perspective.
lag_homeScore	integer	Value of homeScore on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
lag_awayScore	integer	Value of awayScore on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
start.homeScore	integer	ESPN's homeScore value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.awayScore	integer	ESPN's awayScore value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.homeScore	integer	ESPN's homeScore value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.awayScore	integer	ESPN's awayScore value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.pos_team_score	integer	ESPN's pos_team_score value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.def_pos_team_score	integer	ESPN's def_pos_team_score value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.pos_score_diff	integer	ESPN's pos_score_diff value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.pos_team_score	integer	ESPN's pos_team_score value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.def_pos_team_score	integer	ESPN's def_pos_team_score value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.pos_score_diff	integer	ESPN's pos_score_diff value for the play state at the end of the play.
start.pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff	logical	ESPN's pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff	logical	ESPN's pos_team_receives_2H_kickoff value for the play state at the end of the play.
penalty_in_text	logical	True when the play description mentions a penalty.
pass_breakup	logical	True when a defender broke up the pass.
pass_depth	character
pass_direction	character
rush_direction	character
qb_hurry	logical
fg_attempt	logical	True when the play was a field-goal attempt.
pos_unit	character
def_pos_unit	character
sp	logical
play	logical
cleaned_text	character
kneel_down	logical
scrimmage_play	logical	True when the play is a play from scrimmage rather than a special-teams or administrative row.
pos_score_diff_end	integer	Score differential from the possessing team's perspective at the end of the play.
fumble_lost	logical
fumble_recovered	logical	True when a fumble on the play was recovered.
field_goal_result	character
extra_point_result	character
two_point_conv_result	character
air_yardsToEndzone	integer
air_yards	integer
yards_after_catch	integer
kicking_team	integer
return_team	integer
fumble_or_muff	logical
recovery_team	integer
recovery_team_2	integer
fumbling_team	integer
int_turnover	logical
pos_fumble_lost	logical
def_fumble_lost	logical
is_pos_team_turnover	logical
is_def_pos_team_turnover	logical
is_turnover	logical
turnover_team	integer
is_st_turnover	logical
is_blocked_punt_turnover	logical
is_blocked_fg_turnover	logical
sack_team	integer
interception_team	integer
pass_breakup_team	integer
forced_fumble_team	integer
fumble_recovery_team	integer
punt_return_team	integer
kick_return_team	integer
fg_team	integer
punt_team	integer
penalized_team	integer
penalty_yards_signed	integer
new_down	integer	Down after the play, including any penalty enforcement.
new_distance	integer	Distance to go after the play, including any penalty enforcement.
under_2	logical
goal_to_go	logical
stopped_run	logical	True when the rush was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
opportunity_run	logical	True when a rush reached 4 yards – the carries on which the blocking did its job. Matches cfbfastR's espn_cfb_15 definition. Assets published before the 2026-08 fix carry the inverted (4 yards or fewer) flag.
highlight_run	logical	True when the rush gained 8 or more yards.
adj_rush_yardage	integer	Rushing yards capped at 8, the input to the line-yards decomposition.
line_yards	double	Yards credited to the offensive line on a rush, using the standard sliding scale: 1.2x the capped yardage on a loss, all of it through 3 yards, half of each yard from 4 to 8, and a 5.5-yard ceiling beyond that.
second_level_yards	double	Rushing yards earned from 4 to 8, split evenly between line and carrier under the line-yards decomposition.
open_field_yards	integer	Rushing yards gained beyond 8, credited to the ball carrier rather than the line.
highlight_yards	double	Second-level plus open-field yards – the yardage credited to the carrier.
opp_highlight_yards	double	Highlight yards earned on opportunity runs, isolating carrier production on carries where the blocking succeeded. Assets published before the 2026-08 fix are identically 0 here, because the inverted opportunity_run gate could never co-occur with non-zero highlight yards.
short_rush_success	logical	True when a short-yardage rush gained the yardage needed.
short_rush_attempt	logical	True when the play is a rush in a short-yardage situation.
power_rush_success	logical	True when a power rushing attempt gained the yardage needed.
power_rush_attempt	logical	True when the play is a short-yardage power rushing attempt.
early_down	logical	True when the play is a scrimmage play on first or second down.
late_down	logical	True when the play is a scrimmage play on third or fourth down.
early_down_pass	logical	True when the play is a pass on an early down.
early_down_rush	logical	True when the play is a rush on an early down.
late_down_pass	logical	True when the play is a pass on a late down.
late_down_rush	logical	True when the play is a rush on a late down.
standard_down	logical	True when the offense is on schedule for the series – first down, second down needing fewer than 8, or third/fourth down needing fewer than 5.
passing_down	logical	True when the offense is behind schedule for the series – second down needing 8 or more, or third/fourth down needing 5 or more.
TFL	logical	True when the play was a tackle for loss.
TFL_pass	logical	True when the play was a tackle for loss on a pass play (a sack).
TFL_rush	logical	True when the play was a tackle for loss on a rush play.
havoc	logical	True when the defense disrupted the play: a pass breakup, tackle for loss, interception or forced fumble.
start.pos_team_spread	double	ESPN's pos_team_spread value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.elapsed_share	double	ESPN's elapsed_share value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.spread_time	double	ESPN's spread_time value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.pos_team_spread	double	ESPN's pos_team_spread value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.elapsed_share	double	ESPN's elapsed_share value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.spread_time	double	ESPN's spread_time value for the play state at the end of the play.
penalty_assessed_on_kickoff	logical
start.yardsToEndzone.touchback	integer	ESPN's yardsToEndzone.touchback value for the play state at the start of the play.
EP_start_touchback	double	Expected points the offense would have had from a touchback on this play.
EP_start	double	Expected points for the offense at the start of the play.
EP_end	double	Expected points for the offense at the end of the play.
lag_EP_end	double	Value of EP_end on the previous play, used for sequence-aware derivations.
EP_between	double	Change in expected points across the play, before penalty adjustment.
EPA_scrimmage	double	EPA credited to the play on plays from scrimmage.
EPA_rush	double	EPA credited to the play on rush plays.
EPA_pass	double	EPA credited to the play on pass plays.
EPA_explosive	logical	True when the play was explosive.
EPA_non_explosive	double	EPA credited to the play on non-explosive plays.
EPA_explosive_pass	logical	True when the pass play was explosive.
EPA_explosive_rush	logical	True when the rush play was explosive.
first_down_created	logical	True when the play produced a first down for the offense.
EPA_success	logical	True when the play was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_early_down	logical	True when the play on an early down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_early_down_pass	logical	True when the pass play on an early down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_early_down_rush	logical	True when the rush play on an early down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_late_down	logical	True when the play on a late down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_late_down_pass	logical	True when the pass play on a late down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_late_down_rush	logical	True when the rush play on a late down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_standard_down	logical	True when the play on a standard down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_passing_down	logical	True when the play on a passing down was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_pass	logical	True when the pass play was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_rush	logical	True when the rush play was successful by EPA.
EPA_success_EPA	double	EPA on successful plays.
EPA_success_standard_down_EPA	double	EPA on successful plays on a standard down.
EPA_success_passing_down_EPA	double	EPA on successful plays on a passing down.
EPA_success_pass_EPA	double	EPA on successful pass plays.
EPA_success_rush_EPA	double	EPA on successful rush plays.
EPA_middle_8_success	logical	True when the play in the middle eight was successful by EPA.
EPA_middle_8_success_pass	logical	True when the pass play in the middle eight was successful by EPA.
EPA_middle_8_success_rush	logical	True when the rush play in the middle eight was successful by EPA.
EPA_penalty	double	EPA credited to the play attributable to penalties.
EPA_sp	double	EPA credited to the play on special-teams plays.
EPA_fg	double	EPA credited to the play on field-goal attempts.
EPA_punt	double	EPA credited to the play on punt plays.
EPA_kickoff	double	EPA credited to the play on kickoff plays.
start.ExpScoreDiff_touchback	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_touchback value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.ExpScoreDiff	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio_touchback	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio_touchback value for the play state at the start of the play.
start.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio value for the play state at the start of the play.
end.ExpScoreDiff	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff value for the play state at the end of the play.
end.ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio	double	ESPN's ExpScoreDiff_Time_Ratio value for the play state at the end of the play.
wp_touchback	double	Win probability the offense would have had starting from a touchback.
wp_before_naive	double
wp_touchback_naive	double
wp_after_naive	double
def_wp_before_naive	double
home_wp_before_naive	double
away_wp_before_naive	double
lead_wp_before_naive	double
lead_wp_before2_naive	double
def_wp_after_naive	double
home_wp_after_naive	double
away_wp_after_naive	double
wpa_naive	double
cp	double
cpoe	double
era	integer
xpass	double
pass_oe	double
drive_start	double	Yard line at which the drive began.
drive_stopped	logical	True when the play ended the drive.
drive_play_index	integer	Sequence number of the play within its drive.
drive_offense_plays	integer	Offensive plays run on the drive.
prog_drive_EPA	double	Cumulative EPA accrued by the drive up to and including this play.
prog_drive_WPA	double	Cumulative win-probability added by the drive up to and including this play.
drive_offense_yards	integer	Offensive yards gained on the drive.
drive_total_yards	integer	Total yards gained on the drive.
qbr_epa	double	EPA variant used as an input to the QBR calculation.
weight	double
non_fumble_sack	logical	True when the play was a sack that did not produce a fumble.
sack_epa	double	EPA credited to the play when it is a sack.
pass_epa	double	EPA credited to the play when it is a pass.
rush_epa	double	EPA credited to the play when it is a rush.
pen_epa	double	EPA attributable to a penalty on the play.
sack_weight	double	Weighting applied to the sack component of the play.
pass_weight	double	Weighting applied to the pass component of the play.
rush_weight	double	Weighting applied to the rush component of the play.
pen_weight	double	Weighting applied to the penalty component of the play.
action_play	logical	True when the play advanced the game state – excludes timeouts, end-of-period markers and other non-action rows.
athlete_name	character
rusher_player_id	integer
passer_player_id	integer
receiver_player_id	integer
fumble_player_id	integer
sack_player_id	integer
sack_player_id2	integer
interception_player_id	integer
pass_breakup_player_id	integer
fumble_forced_player_id	integer
fumble_recovered_player_id	integer
fg_kicker_player_id	integer
punter_player_id	integer
kickoff_player_id	integer
kickoff_return_player_id	integer
punt_return_player_id	integer
fg_block_player_id	integer
punt_block_player_id	integer
fg_return_player_id	integer
punt_block_return_player_id	character
go_wp	double
first_down_prob	double
wp_succeed	double
wp_fail	double
make_fg_wp	double
miss_fg_wp	double
fg_wp	double
punt_wp	double
go_boost	double
go_wp_diff	double
fg_wp_diff	double
punt_wp_diff	double
fourth_down_recommendation	character
two_pt_wp	double
xp_wp	double
prob_2pt	double
two_pt_recommendation	character
two_pt_wp_diff	double

Author

Saiem Gilani

Examples

# \donttest{
  try(load_espn_cfb_pbp(2004))
#> ── ESPN college football play-by-play from the SportsDataverse data repo ───────
#> ℹ Data updated: 2026-08-27 04:22:50 UTC
#> # A tibble: 83,210 × 469
#>    season   game_id game_play_number pos_team_id pos_team        def_pos_team_id
#>     <int>     <int>            <int>       <int> <chr>                     <int>
#>  1   2004 242410259                1         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  2   2004 242410259                2         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  3   2004 242410259                3         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  4   2004 242410259                4         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  5   2004 242410259                5         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  6   2004 242410259                6         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  7   2004 242410259                7         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  8   2004 242410259                8         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#>  9   2004 242410259                9         259 Virginia Tech …              30
#> 10   2004 242410259               10          30 USC Trojans                 259
#> # ℹ 83,200 more rows
#> # ℹ 463 more variables: def_pos_team <chr>, pos_team_score <int>,
#> #   def_pos_team_score <int>, half <int>, period <int>, down <int>,
#> #   distance <int>, EPA <dbl>, wpa <dbl>, wp_before <dbl>, wp_after <dbl>,
#> #   def_wp_before <dbl>, def_wp_after <dbl>, penalty_detail <chr>,
#> #   yds_penalty <chr>, penalty_1st_conv <lgl>, def_EPA <dbl>, rz_play <lgl>,
#> #   scoring_opp <lgl>, middle_8 <lgl>, stuffed_run <lgl>, …
# }