Bobby Bowden's Six Commandments To Victory

As "The King of the Road" approaches his 33rd Season, it's time to review Bobby Bowden's Six Commandments to Victory.

Every Friday Night before games he talks to his teams about not violating these six commandments:

First Commandment- Thou shall not have any breakdowns on the kicking game. Kicking game breakdowns are where the greatest upsets occur.

Second Commandment- Thou shall have NO missed assignments. Show it, tell it, NO missed assignments on the field.This means everyone has to know where they are supposed to be on EVERY play.

Third Commandment- Thou MUST have a great Goal Line Offense and Defense.This is not hard to develop if you emphasize it in practice. Make it competitive, Offense versus Defense, it creates enthusism.You must practice throwing the ball on the goal line. Don't just practice from the 50 yard line all week.

Fourth Commandment- Thou shall have NO foolish penalties.Make sure your teams line up correctly. Also, use officials in practice so the team can get used to it just like in a real game.

Fifth Commandment- Thou shall NOT give up any long touchdowns. If you have slow Defensive Backs, make sure they back up. Tell your the Defensive Backs "When the ball is up in the air, if you don't know where the ball is then BACK UP!"

Commandment Six- Thou shall keep fumbles and Interceptions to a minimum. You've got to talk to your players about fumbles alot. Be careful not to get on your quarterback too much about not throwing interceptions, because then your quarterback will be scared to throw the ball!

After reviewing these Six Commandments, it's obvious that his teams in the past have violated many of these commandments. Coach Bowden will be the first to tell you that if a team can keep from breaking these commandments their chances of victory will be MUCH greater.