Plot hole: Though there's supposed to be a championship football game taking place near the end of the movie, the stadium is strangely devoid of fans. A meager effort was made to fill some seats, but most of the shots show empty ones. It also looks as if the production crew tried to save money by using only half the stadium lights.
Factual error: According to the novel on which the movie was based, the "40" in the title refers to the number of players on a football team. But by the time the movie was made, football teams had 45 players. The coach even says Nick Nolte was just one of 45 players. So the title of the movie really makes no sense.
