The novel "Big Game" by Francis Wallace was first published as a serial entitled "Odds Against Honor" in Collier's magazine from 26 October to 14 December 1935.. The idea for the riot scene came from an actual riot at a New York University-Fordham University football game. RKO bought 1000 feet of the 1935 Rose Bowl game footage for use in the film. In that game, Alabama beat Stanford 29-13.
During production, Andy Devine and a football extra were injured resulting in several days delay in the shooting schedule.
One of the first films to be released on new 2,000 foot reels, which would become the industry standard going forward.
RKO borrowed Andy Devine from Universal, June Travis from Warner Bros., and Bruce Cabot from MGM for this film.