Roger Ebert gave the film three stars.
Ebert's review says that by the end he was simultaneously hoping ESU would win its big game and that the school would pull the plug on its football program; it is called a perfect review that sums it up.

Casting What-Ifs

Johnny Depp as Joe Kane

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:25:47Read transcript

According to an oral history, the director wanted Johnny Depp for the Joe Kane role after 21 Jump Street, but Depp, not a sports fan, turned it down.
Sheffer's quote that he was cast after throwing three or four bombs of about 65 yards on the Disney lot is met with disbelief.
How many NFL quarterbacks can throw 65 yards is debated, with Mahomes, Cam Newton, Rivers and Brees discussed, and a spin-off segment proposed.

Recasting Couch

Young Ben Affleck as Joe Kane; Robert Duvall as the coach

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:31:46Read transcript

Quick joke options include Will Smith and Latimer as the coach.
The two choices are Robert Duvall in James Kahn's coach role, coming off Days of Thunder, or a young Ben Affleck, big and the right age after Dazed and Confused, as Joe Kane.
Affleck is the choice for his athletic size and connective tissue to the story.
Duvall is the choice because Khan mails in too many scenes; Kane's age matters less since people age differently. — Ryen Russillo

Necessary Roughness and Higher Learning reunions; South Carolina-Tennessee game filming; Duane Davis's injury claims; Mike Hold as Kane's double; unscripted final-play fumble; real-life inspirations; Sheffer's hit claims

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:33:28Read transcript

Latimer and Alvin Mack were teammates in Necessary Roughness; Mack's actor also played football players in Beetlejuice; Epps, Swanson and Latimer's actor were all in Higher Learning.
Fans in orange are visible in the crowd shots from the South Carolina game even though nobody in the game wears orange, perhaps because the opponent was Tennessee.
Mack's actor claimed he blew out his knee at Mizzou and that two stuntmen blew out their knees on the injury play, which is doubted after slow-motion review.
Today there would be a week of coverage on the making of the movie.
Joe Kane's football double was South Carolina quarterback Mike Hold, whose ISO passes are gorgeous; a star label is admitted to be thrown in.
Action for three games was filmed in 16 minutes during South Carolina's October 31 game against Tennessee; Hold's unscripted fumble and sidearm pass to Epps made the film, though his hand was moving forward and it should have been incomplete.
Latimer was based on the 1988 Sports Illustrated steroid story, a Penn State quarterback inspired the rehab plot, and the coach's-daughter plot came from another story.
Sheffer's claim of taking big hits and doing a full 360 is mocked, along with a made-up quote.

Picking Nits

Impossible urine-swap procedure; Ray letting Darnell cut in; Ray changing the play for Darnell; bowl eligibility

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:42:52Read transcript

The urine injection is an impossible medical procedure, and the twisting cylinder in the toilet-paper dispenser is like James Bond gear.
Ray would never let Darnell cut in on the dance, and nobody cuts in anyway.
Ray changing the play for Darnell right after their drink-throwing fight is less believable still.
ESU's bowl eligibility at 7-4 versus 8-3 is questioned; there were only 19 bowls then versus about 45 now.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Did Brett Favre model his career on Joe Kane?; most depressing sports-movie injury; ESU's conference; Joe Kane's draft slot

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:47:41Read transcript

Did Brett Farv model his career on Joe Kane? The Mississippi link, painkillers, alcohol and recklessness fit, and he might have hung out with a freshman.
The counter is that Farv had plenty of friends as a rookie, such as Edgar Bennett.
Most depressing sports-movie injury among Alvin Mack, Jerry Birdier, Boobie Miles and Lance Harbor: Harbor has a coaching future, and the scene between Mack and his coach is heartbreaking.
Alvin Mack is the pick as well: a projected top-five pick with a long Ray Lewis-like career.
The reply quotes lines from the movie Concussion rather than naming an injury. — Ryen Russillo
ESU's conference could never be figured out.
Joe Kane would not be a first-round pick after rehab with that throwing motion; Jake Plummer is the comp, with second, third and fifth rounds suggested.