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146 A PRIMER OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
opening of the game. They cannot be
played continuously, as the contingencies
of the game cannot easily be foreseen.
(e) Generalship.—The subject of offen¬
sive Generalship is one that is difficult to
treat in a satisfactory way. Every one
knows what it is, but to express it is an¬
other thing.
It is not the petty politics or jockeying
before a game, but it is the conduct of
the game in actual progress upon the
field. Good generalship consists simply
in doing the right thing at the right time
and place. But every act must be upon
some special line or plan of offence. The
one object of the side on the offensive to
which it bends its every energy is to score,
to carry the ball across the opponents'
goal line. Good generalship consists in
taking it there, and its only criterion is
success, notwithstanding the fact that the
defeated team may show as good general¬
ship as the successful one.