Seven Game Maxims in Action – Penn State vs Minnesota

Many years ago, General Robert Neyland introduced the Seven Game Maxims, a set of guidelines for winning football games, to his University of Tennessee Volunteers.

Many colleges and high schools still use these rules 75 years later.

1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way, score.
3.  If at first the breaks or the game go against you, don’t let up. Put on more steam.
4. Protect your kicker, your quarterback, and your lead.
5.  “Oskie” Aggressively pursue the ball and yell “Oskie” when you intercept it. Block and gang tackle for this is the winning edge.
6.  Press the kicking game for it is here that the breaks are made.
7. Carry the fight to your opponent and leave it there for the whole game.

Below is an example of how the Maxims held up in a college game between Minnesota and Penn State played last Saturday..

Mistakes: Penn State had two costly miscues when Minnesota interceptions stalled Penn State touchdown drives.

Breaks: Minnesota picked off a Penn State pass seconds before the end of the first half when the Nittany Lions were in position to kick a field goal and go in tied at the half. Of 25 random college games reviewed Saturday, the team leading at the half won 22 of the 25.

Don’t let up: Minnesota got off to a good start, scoring the first two times it had the ball. Penn State fought back and but for that ill-advised throw late in the first half, would have tied the score. The Gophers stayed firm and kept Penn State out of the end zone the rest of the game. Visibly tiring on defense (Penn State ran 78 plays to the Gophers’ 67) Minnesota had enough gas left in its tank to thwart a last second Nittany Lion drive that ended up on the Gopher 13 yard line.

Protect your kicker, your QB, and your lead: Neither the Gophers nor Penn State had a punt blocked but Minnesota gave its quarterback more time to throw and Penn State threw for those two interceptions. Once the Gophers got the lead, they never gave it up.

Oskie: When Penn State mounted a scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter which reached the Gopher 36, it was a Gopher interception that stopped the drive and led to a late field goal and a six-point lead for the Gophers. There was also that late first-half pick that denied Penn State a field goal which would have allowed them to subsequently tie the game at the end with a chip-shot three pointer.

Press the kicking game: Minnesota recovered a game opening on-side kick and, when stopped on downs, punted the ball dead on the Nittany Lion’s six yard line. Rhys Lloyd, the Gopher kicker from England, kicked two field goals, two extra points, and punted five times for a 45 yard average. Penn State could only average 7 yards per return in the game.

Carry the fight for the whole game: Playing on the road in front of 106,000 fans (the Gophers had averaged 22,000 for their first four games) Minnesota carried the fight for the full 60 minutes. Tiring at the end as Penn State was driving for the winning score, the Gopher secondary responded with excellent coverage and the defensive line applied enough pressure to hurry those last two incompletions, assuring the win for Minnesota, now 5-0.
Jim Reese was a quarterback and assistant coach at the University of Minnesota. He is now retired and lives in Tampa, Florida, where he reports on sports for a local newspaper. Jim writes for the CompuSports Network search sites periodically, sharing the wisdom he has gained during his career in coaching.

Learn about and download Jim’s eBook, How to Win at Flag Football