United States

• Nice Guys Finish Last

What Do You Think This is, a Game? This is War!
Winning at Any odds is the ultimate goal of hired coach Paddy O'Connor (Richard Crenna) in this tough, grimly realistic look at American college football. In a desperate attempt to re-establish himself in the celebrated world of big time sport, ex pro O'Connor will stop an nothing to build a winning team. He incites hatred and encourages the use of dirty tactics within the team, endangers the career of a brilliant black linebacker J J Black (Bill Overton), and exploits the chief coach Jonas Jane (Clu Gulager) and Kane's girl Sarah (Joanna Pettet). Come the big important game, O'Connor is confronted by the team's backer/gambler Bradford Emmons (Forest Tucker) who wishes to ensure that the team not only wins, but wins in a certain way. O'Connor is faced with a decision which could either ruin his own career or fatally injure the talented J J. Based on the novel "Paddy" by Hamilton Maule, this film brings alive the hard competitive world of college football - it was shot mainly on location at the campus of Citrus Community College in Azusa, California whose team pulled no punches in providing the real-life action for the game and practice field sequences.