The film touches on the season of the fictional Division I FBS (then IA) college football team, the Eastern State University (ESU) Timberwolves as they deal with the pressure to make a bowl game, alcohol and anabolic steroid abuse, receipt of improper benefits, and overall college life. It follows the trials of Coach Sam Winters (Caan), the Heisman Trophy candidate Joe Kane (Sheffer), the freshman running back Darnell Jefferson (Epps), their love interests (Berry and Swanson), and other team members.

The film was released by Touchstone Pictures in September 1993. The movie went on to gross over $20 million at the box office. While the college that is the main setting of the film is fictional, the team's opponents are real programs.

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 43% of 21 reviewers gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.1/10.[3] James Berardinelli said, "prepare to be inundated by a load of feeble, unimaginative material that's almost impossible to take seriously."[4] Norman Chad of The Washington Post referred to the film as "one big cliche"