Quote from: voice on May 29, 2013, 07:30:09 PM
We all know that D3football.com is the "bible" for Division 3 football fans around the country.  With that said, the first of the Division 3 national preseason polls is out.
The Sporting News has tabbed Linfield as its preseason No. 1 team in a poll released this week.  #2 Mount Union; #3 UW-Whitewater; #4 St. Thomas; #5 Mary Hardin-Baylor.

For the Sporting News Story and preseason poll you may click on the following link:
http://www.uwwsports.com/documents/2013/5/29/Sporting_News_Preseason_Poll.pdf?id=1667

Great to see the Sporting News bringing back their college football preview issue after a one year hiatus, they cover all levels of the game, including NAIA and JUCO. I'm old school, and prefer the texture of a book and magazine to the kindle device. Ironic to see Notre Dame's QB on the cover, grades cost him the 2013 season. 

Quote from: wildcat11 on May 28, 2013, 07:25:56 PM
HUGE congrats to Linfield College Baseball for winning the D3 title today.  Wow, what a great team and season.  So proud to be a Wildcat!

http://www.d3baseball.com/playoffs/2013/world-series-day-five

Another National Title for the Linfield College athletic program. Since 2004, football, softball, and now baseball. That's very impressive for any level of college athletics. All three National Champs were also coached by Linfield Alumni. Congratulations to all.   

Quote from: Bombers798891 on April 11, 2013, 05:14:47 PM
I've always thought the nature of football is what makes the Mount dominance seem more dominant. It's not just the titles, it's the winning streaks—currently over 100 against non-Whitewater teams—, or the margins of victory, or going half a dozen games without allowing a single point. I mean, what's the swimming equivalent to scoring 356 straight points in football? Or the field hockey equivalent going an entire regular season without allowing a single point by your first-string defense?

But, maybe Mount's no more dominant than Kenyon swimming, and we just think they are because we follow football more closely than swimming, or wrestling, or field hockey. Maybe we care more because it is, if we're being honest, a more high-profile sport. I don't know.

No, I think streaks in sports like football are more impressive than sports like swimming and wrestling for one clear reason. Scoring. In football, you either score offensively or defensively, or you don't. No staggered scoring system for second place and other places in swimming, or types of decisions in wrestling which factors in team results. The absolute nature of scoring for me is the more difficult aspect of football. You'll never see points awarded on the scoreboard for more offensive yards, for example.     

Quote from: OldCatProf on March 16, 2013, 11:04:57 PM
Mr. Ypsi,

Having lived through McMinnville, Oregon winters for many years, I now highly recommend Arizona for snowbirds.

On the other hand I also lived in Michigan (East Lansing) for several years. I found the primary benefit to Oregon over Michigan is that, during inclement weather, the stuff that falls from the sky runs down the drain right away. Not so in Michigan. 

There are also other benefits living in Oregon versus Michigan. Lower crime rate, better roads, lower car insurance rates, fewer schools closing, and Portland's past mayor isn't in jail right now. People are leaving Michigan in droves, and there are areas in Michigan which look like ghost towns. I would also rank the people of Oregon above those of Michigan. I recently escaped Michigan, and leaving that depressing place was a happy occasion.   

Here is the 2013 Linfield schedule:

9-14 at Hardin Simmons
9-21 vs. Cal Lu
9-28 at Case Western(Cleveland)
10-5 vs. PLU
10-19 at Whitworth
10-26 vs. Lewis & Clark
11-2 at Willamette
11-9 vs. Puget Sound
11-16 at Pacific

Linfield 21
Jacksonville Jaguars 20

Quote from: RedandPurple on November 27, 2012, 12:20:05 PM

Quote from: 02 Warhawk on November 27, 2012, 12:07:12 PM
Linfield fans...Where can I go to find all of Linfield's past playoff results (like how far they've managed to get)?

I'm creating a story in my blog about the Linfield/UWO game, and I'm doing a little research.

Much appreciated!

You can begin here:   http://www.linfield.edu/sports/records/fb/records.html

For anyone researching Linfield football, the NAIA history is much longer, the Cats only joined the NCAA in the mid 90s. Overall NAIA/NCAA postseason mark of 31-19, with seven national title game appearances, and four national titles. 

Quote from: footballfan413 on November 26, 2012, 09:21:35 AM

Quote from: Wildcat'64 on November 25, 2012, 11:45:09 PM
I suspect the rest of the nation probably doesn't think the Cats have much of a defense either......they just 'get lucky' when the ball drops on the turf or in the Cats hands 12 times in two playoff games!

I think that if one believes that the Cats, "just get lucky," at times, they haven't been paying attention.  Congrats to the Cats and their wonderful fans. Great win but I fully expected it.  The top of the CCIW is not the top of the WIAC, IMHO.  This weekend against the Titans will be much more of a challenge.  They will look a little more like we did in 05 with a balanced offense, with the exception of a QB, "WIAC Player of the Year," who is both a great passer and a running threat.  They have followed the WARHAWK school of thought on their way to breaking into the 3rd round.  Several years ago, they hired a great coach who scheduled a game with UMU in 2010, "to see what an elite team looks like," then they hired our Strength and Conditioning Coach from the early period when our run began back in 05, after he went to the private sector for a few years.  I also learned from a UW-O fan at our game that they also added a new AD, who has worked to increase athletic/football success at UW-O and they find themselves in the 3rd round this season. I walked away from the game with us thinking, "wow, they are really, really good."   My only question will be if they can handle the mental aspect of the journey, travel, pressure, expectations, etc.  If they can play like they belong, it may prove to be one hell of a game.  I will be happily supporting whichever team comes out of the Catdome with a win this Saturday to run the table. Wish I could be at GHC's tailgate..................

The Titans are enjoying their best season since UWO began playing football back in 1893, I checked the archive.     

Quote from: newcardfan on November 21, 2012, 09:26:33 PM

Quote from: criswyly on November 21, 2012, 09:14:33 PM
I am sure this is going to be a tough game and NCC will bring their A game...but I wouldn't bet against the Cats

The majority of people in the pick-em's aren't. I am hoping for a great game from both teams. Where is the best place to eat after  the game?

For either before or after the game, I recommend Geraldi's on Third Street. It's not exactly a large Italian restaurant, but the food is outstanding. My personal favorite is the spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread.   

Quote from: USee on November 18, 2012, 04:58:51 PM
A great weekend this weekend as both CCIW teams make the round of 16. This week is a huge week for North Central as well as the conference.\

North Central really doesn't have a program defining win. In some ways, their 2010 run and close finish to UWW gave them national respect. Linfield isn't Mt Union or UWW but they are the next best. They are right there on the next tier of teams and have been for over a decade. Beat them and NCC will have a program defining win on the road. This is the type of game John Thorne built his team to compete in. Linfield is fast and strong. They will be better than any team NCC has faced since 2010 UWW. It is a great opportunity against an elite program.

Elmhurst is competing on behalf of the conference against another team that has played themselves into that Linfield tier nationally. While most won't give Elmhurst a chance to win this game, if they can compete and give themselves a chance in the 4th quarter, the Bluejays will make a statement as to the strength of the CCIW. Forget about the non-conference slate and the teams that were and were not on the schedule, Elmhurst is a different team now than they were vs Millikin, Wheaton and NCC.

This is a huge week for the CCIW. Will we be known as a second tier conference that wins in the first round but can't compete with the elite, or will NCC and Elmhurst help the CCIW take the next step. The MIAC was ranked 3rd and NWC ranked 5th by Keith in his early season ATN column. The CCIW was ranked 7th.

The game Saturday should be a good one, as NCC was very impressive versus Cal Lu, and have an outstanding team. It's natural most people think Linfield has been strong for a decade, since that roughly coincides with the 2004 National title team. However, Linfield's rise actually began in 1956, with a conference title. In 1961 and 1965 the Cats were playing for national titles, and the 70s were also loaded with playoff clubs. The 80s brought three national titles, and the 90s had a national title appearance among four playoff clubs. The long term success at a high level has just been amazing.   

Quote from: Pat Coleman on November 11, 2012, 08:42:55 PM

Quote from: Steel Curtain on November 11, 2012, 08:37:44 PM

Quote from: MonroviaCat on November 11, 2012, 06:36:34 PM

Quote from: Steel Curtain on November 11, 2012, 06:23:55 PM
Question for all, including Pat. Concerning the left side of the bracket, if Linfield advances, would the Cats have home field until they reach Salem?

i think till the semis then there is some issue regarding facilities for the semis that may or may not affect home field...needs to be suitable for a possible espn broadcast (I think)

Thanks, MonroviaCat. If the Cats do advance to the semis, it would be unfortunate if a home game was taken away for this reason. Maybe Pat could chime in with his take in the matter. Portland's football stadium will have a high school state title game at night on December 8th, hopefully there would be another Oregon stadium available in such a case.

I don't know enough about what the ESPN requirements would be or how they would play into the site selection process, sorry. This is still relatively new.

That game is not automatically at noon local time. If an alternate site were needed, it would not be boxed into a noon kickoff. Last year the committee was fortunate that both hosts had plenty of space to accommodate a camera crew and broadcasters. It will be interesting to see how this continues to play out.

Agreed, and anything can happen in the playoffs. I would hope in this hypothetical situation, Linfield could play at another site, perhaps Corvallis or Eugene. It would seem like a workable solution to this issue.   

Quote from: MonroviaCat on November 11, 2012, 06:36:34 PM

Quote from: Steel Curtain on November 11, 2012, 06:23:55 PM
Question for all, including Pat. Concerning the left side of the bracket, if Linfield advances, would the Cats have home field until they reach Salem?

i think till the semis then there is some issue regarding facilities for the semis that may or may not affect home field...needs to be suitable for a possible espn broadcast (I think)

Thanks, MonroviaCat. If the Cats do advance to the semis, it would be unfortunate if a home game was taken away for this reason. Maybe Pat could chime in with his take in the matter. Portland's football stadium will have a high school state title game at night on December 8th, hopefully there would be another Oregon stadium available in such a case.

Question for all, including Pat. Concerning the left side of the bracket, if Linfield advances, would the Cats have home field until they reach Salem?

Quote from: OldCatProf on November 08, 2012, 08:27:26 PM

RE: Wildcatville blog

Mike Riley is quoted in a way that seems to imply the that the Cats played Cal Lutheran in the NAIA semi-finals in 1982. In fact the only time the Cats played CLU prior to the recent string of "before and after" games was in 1977 or 1978...in Thousand Oaks. Both D.OC and I were there. Unfortunately, we lost that game after QB Pat Silva got his bell rung late in the game and no one on the Linfield bench noticed. Later offensive players noted that for several series thereafter Pat called several non-existent plays/formations which stopped the offense. CLU staged a great comeback and won the game when our last second field goal attempt (52 yards) fell short.

Also, if I read the end of the blog correctly, the blogger appears to be correcting the story to say that Rutschman played in 1950 and 1951. The story, however, is correct as written.

Strange to see how The Streak doesn't garner the recognition one would think, even including the fact Linfield isn't a D1 university. Not sure how many D3 football fans outside the northwest realize how far ahead Linfield is of any other school for consecutive winning seasons. Also, not even the New York Yankees or LA Lakers have been able to approach this ongoing record.

The lineage and history of Linfield College football is reflected in the current head coach, Joseph Smith.
Smith played for Ad Rutschman(and Ed Langsdorf), Rutschman played for Paul Durham, and Durham played for Henry Lever in the mid 1930s. I'm struggling to think of another program at any level with that type of connection over such a long time span, including Notre Dame.

Quote from: D O.C. on November 04, 2012, 07:42:30 PM
I would venture the University of Mount Union would be willing to take on Wesley, University of Mary Hardin Baylor, and LINFIELD  (in that order  ) to take away their next trophy.
How can the NCAA set that up? That's the good question.

The playoffs are often unpredictable, MHB took down Mount at their place back in 2004, before losing to Linfield. If the Wildcats and Raiders do eventually meet, it will be more than a great matchup of strong teams. Since joining the NCAA in the mid 90s, Linfield has never played Mount, and that makes a potential matchup even more compelling. D3 just doesn't have the amount of intersectional regular season games we see at the D1 level.