All signs point to Collins leaving after this year. The coaches, of course, are trying to convince him otherwise, but it looks like Andy is ready to move on. He is 35 and has been in college for almost 10 years now....jk AC. He will be missed dearly by all Oxy fans, not just for his great play and leadership on the field, but for is humble and all around great personality off the field as well.

But don't count the Tigers out for next season quite yet. With Anderson returning along with a solid veteran O-line and good looking freshman receiving core, Justin Goltz will have some help on offense. Oxy did have its largest recruiting class ever last year and this year will probably be another big one. Sometimes you don't know what the future holds until the first day of camp.

-LT

P.S.
Thanks for the good times this fall guys! You were all a fantastic procrastination tool and help keep me sane during my first year of grad school. Have a great holiday season!

I've been looking around SCIAC websites, and as far as I can tell, Redlands is the only school to release info about the all conference selections. Technically they aren't suppose to do that until the SCIAC has officially posted the results, oh well. That's probably why more school don't have the info up as of right now, including Oxy.

Hopefully someone at least notified the powers that be which guys made the all league selections to help with all region and such. However, the past has shown that all region and all american selections do not necesarrily follow the all conference picks. Stats are stats and there are usually fewer politics involved at the regional and national levels.

Congrats to all the players who know they made all conference! And BOOOO to the SCIAC for keeping all the fans in the dark!

-LT

Quote from: KennethK on November 21, 2006, 04:18:44 PM
Wondering what Oxy players or fans thought of Whitworth's pass defense..looks like Collins was able to complete a lot of short throws. 

They did defend the long pass very well. Oxy's receivers aren't the tallest guys on the planet and Whitowrth managed to bat down most of the long passes before our guys could get their hands on them. Screen passes and short routes seemed readily available and seemed to get a solid 4-5 yards with each completion. One odd thing that I noticed was Whitworth's blitzing philosophy. They didn't really seem to compensate for blitzing LB's etc. but rather just left one or two guys open and hoped to get to the QB before he could make the pass. Unfortunately for Oxy, they were able to over power our O-line a few times. Against a bigger and/or more experienced O-line, this approach could really backfire on them.

Good luck to Whitworth this weekend! Keep the West Coast alive!

-LT

If Collins doesn't come back, I think that CLU is going to be the SCIAC favorite next year. Although, coaching might kill them again. If Oxy can get some good freshman talent in, especially on defense, they should still challenge for the title. Not many people realize how talented Justin Goltz is because Andy got so much attention. Learning from Collins the last two years has allowed Goltz to grow without pressure of immediate production, and finally getting to play with a first string supporting cast should let the youngster shine. His stats haven't been super impressive over the past two years because when Oxy puts the second or third string guys in, they typically do it in mass, meaning O-line, receivers, RB and QB. With Anderson, the majority of the O-line, and at least 3 starting receivers come back next season, scoring shouldn't be a problem for the Tigers.

-LT


(sabertooth, I can't reply to your email beause I'm still a JV member. Send me your email address and I'll answer your questions best I can)

So Oxy Collins is leaving......or is he??? Can the coaches convince him to stay for one more season? Tune in next fall and find out.....

Quote from: ClassicCat on November 19, 2006, 12:51:25 AM
Lady Tiger,

As a CAT watching the Pirates-Tigers playoff game in Spokane, I was impessed with both programs. You should be proud of your team. It's a shame someone had to lose today. However, I disagree with your assessment of the wet turf and the officiating. The Pine Bowl has one of the finest football fields in D3`football. The turf was not at all wet and really had no bearing on the outcome of the game. Insofar as the officating, the crew from Minnesota did an outstanding job. I felt they let the game be decided by the players; missed calls were at a minimum. Remember had the one long pass play at the end been intercepted or incomplete, Occidental probably would have won the game.

I agree with you on the field being in good shape and really beautiful, however, it was rather damp down there. Yes, for a northwest team, that was bone dry, but coming from So-cal where real grass is more like cement with green stuff on it, that was rather slippery for our guys. They aren't used to playing with muddy cleats and it caused some slips and slides. Not a dis on the Whitworth field at all....that's part of what homefield advantage is all about.

I also agree that there weren't many missed calls, but there were a couple big ones that were a little disappointing (including the last long pass play where the Oxy d-line would have gotten to Clark if they weren't being held). I was also very surprised that at one point a Whitworth guy was screaming and swearing in an officials face and he did nothing about it, didn't ever warn the guy. I'm definitely not blaming the refs for anything, I'm used to it by now, the Oxy guys seem to get the short end of the ref's stick a lot. It was just an observation.

Meh, crap happens. It was a great season and a great game.

-LT

What a heartbreaker.
The Tigers fought hard and I really believed they were going to take the game away from the Pirates. The defense did a great job, forcing four turnovers: three interceptions by Tim Tanous, Jeremy Gruber and Anthony Ostland and one fumble recovery by Tanous. The offense made solid drives down the field several times, but had a little trouble finishing. Definitely some home field disadvantage was felt with the wet grass field and some iffy calls by the refs.

The boys played their hearts out and it was a GREAT game all around. Congrats to the Pirates.

My Tigers,
Thank you for the last five years. You have all been such a huge part of my life and I will miss you all. I was really proud of all of you today, hold your heads up high; you have been part of Oxy and SCIAC history. No playoff game can ever take that away from you.

-LT

Quote from: (509)Rat on November 14, 2006, 10:58:59 PM
It wasn't that Oxy didn't come out pumped up, playing like their usual selves...the score was 14-3 Oxy at one point, Whittier just outplayed them for two quarters.  Of course they are gonna be amped for a playoff game, but that didn't seem to be what caused the problem last saturday.  It was turnovers (4) that killed 'em (and I shouldn't say killed 'em because they did end up winning the game), not a lack of adreniline.  If they let Whitworth get on top by more than a touchdown late in the game, Oxy will be in trouble.

Were you at the game? Cause if you were you would have realized how flat the offense was. Collins' passes were late and didn't have much zip. He wasn't cruising the field like he usually does and receivers were not being their usual aggressive selves. Lack of motivation indirectly caused those turnovers. Whittier had a couple big plays that broke for TD's due to field position (deep in Oxy territory due to the TO's). The Whittier guys just wanted it more and Oxy didn't start really playing hard until they realized their perfect season was in jeopardy.

I don't want to put down Whittier's effort, I was very impressed and they are a good team. But heck, if Whitworth wants to underestimate Oxy....go for it.

See you in Spokompton.

-LT

I don't think being pumped up for the game this weekend will be a problem. The last two games meant nothing. The guys had sealed a league title and home field advantage was a long shot no matter what happened with Chapman and Whittier. This is the playoffs, if you're not excited you're not human.

-LT

Quote from: OxyFan21 on November 14, 2006, 06:09:26 AM
LT,

Do you know if Jesus still works for facilities?  For one summer, I worked with him on the grounds crew while attending summer school...The campus was especially beautiful at 5:00am.  I'm responsible for the irrigation system at the main entrance at Alumni Ave.  (We had to irrigate and re-sod the two islands after the temporary dining facility was removed once the Johnson re-model was done)

BTW, since it's field turf, what do they (or more specifically Hector) have to do to keep it nice? 

It's 5:05 am...sorry.

I'm not sure if Jesus stills works at Oxy, but they do like to keep employees around, so there is a good chance. The turf is actually super easy to take care of. The only real maintenance is a little spray down if it gets too hot and dry outside (this prevents too many cuts and scrapes) and also every year or so the installation company comes back and kinda rakes the field to smooth out any bumps from the rubber and adds more rubber pellets if needed.

Eye of da Tiger,
I'm gonna miss you in Spokane    Tailgate isn't the same without you. Thanks for the shout out big guy!

-LT

>>I heard that some jokers from Whittier tried to vandalize Oxy's very expensive turf field by painting a big "W" on it. Hmmm, I wonder where that rates on the sportsmanship scale of Bucs06 and his parents.>>

Yep, it's true. When the guys showed up in the morning for walk throughs it was still fresh. Luckily it hadn't dried, so maintenance was able to clean it up easily. Pretty rediculous if you ask me....this isn't high school. It would have cost thousands of dollars to fix the prank if it had managed to stick. Seems like after that stunt, some key rattling was in order. For future reference.....don't mess with Hector's field....he gets pissed.

Oswald is right (by the way it was good to see you this weekend  ) Matt is extremely talented and deserves to be recognized as such. Part of what makes him so dangerous is his ability to get yardage after the initial hit. Ask any defender who has had to tackle him and they will probably tell you that he hits harder than almost anyone out there. Jason Haller is also a very nice backup for Anderson and is a great lead blocker.

Nobody is doubting Andy's ability to scramble.....I love "the real deal" as much as any Oxy fan.

Sounds like Oxy's LB's could have some fun this weekend if Whitworth's QB is a little slow. Hope he's ready to get up close and personal with  Ostland.

Can't wait for Saturday!

-LT

The Whittier game was an exciting one. The offense came out extremely flat and had some turnovers deep in Oxy territory. Didn't give the defense much of a chance to stop Whittier. I think lack of motivation played a big role in the slow start. I actually felt bad for the Whittier guys, they really played a great game.

I'm with Bob on the sportsmanship thing. I didn't hear any inappropriate teasing from the Oxy fans. Maybe because the away team is close to the stands there is a little more jabbing than usual and the parents just aren't used to that. I think that most offensive line I heard was "Hey, # so and so.....you're socks don't match!" Ouch...burn....those Oxy fans sure are rough The Whittier fans were great, really made some noise during the first three quarters. Fan participation is general was some of the best I've seen in years.

So, what do we think about this match-up? I know that Whitworth has a HUGE tight-end. Seems to me that if Oxy doesn't win it will most likely be because of the size differences across the board. Concur? Disagree? Let's start the analysis!!

GO TIGERS!
-LT

Quote from: wildcat11 on November 07, 2006, 01:38:23 AM

LT,

Tell somebody in the SCIAC to set up a regular season game vs. Linfield and maybe we can convince you.  All I know Linfield has yet to lose to anybody in the SCIAC:

1998 vs Redlands: 24-23
1999 vs Redlands(SCIAC champ): 49-0
2000 vs Whittier: 43 - 7
2001 vs Whittier: 36-13
2002 vs Redlands (SCIAC champ): 59-21
2003 vs Redlands(SCIAC champ): 49-10
2003 vs Redlands(SCIAC champ): 31-23
2004 vs Oxy (SCIAC champ): 56-27
2005 vs Oxy(SCIAC champ): 63-21

That works up to an avg score of 45-16.  Please do spare me the "this year" conversation because I don't know what a Linfield vs. SCIAC team score would wind up being because nobody in the SCIAC will play Linfield this year or in the upcoming season(s).

I hate to keep playing the "won't play us card".  I would love the NWC and SCIAC to have an active relationship to help make sure the conferences are getting in-region DIII games but it's just not happening.

Have you noticed that most, if not all, of the other NWC schools play SCIAC teams during the season? Maybe Linfield should be the ones to pick up the phone. Although, I'm sure that you are too busy playing teams that won't hurt your QWI to consider inviting a SCIAC school up to play in the Cat-IT'S NOT A DOME.

And if you really want to talk about history maybe I should start ranting and raving about how Oxy has a winning record against USC. Or maybe you should just actually read my post next time and realize that I was refering to NWC vs. SCIAC outside of Oxy, Whitworth and Linfield.

Hugs and kisses,
LT

Quote from: pineconefan on November 07, 2006, 01:17:29 AM
Hmm, lady tiger - they must teach interesting logic and math courses at Oxy if you really believe Whitworth barely beat La Verne. 

We look forward to seeing Oxy in the first round.

Haha, that's actually pretty funny. I had received that bit of information from a source that will remain un-named. Further research has concluded that you are correct, not that close. My bad, everyone gets rotten info every once in a while

Still interesting to look at overall records NWC vs. SCIAC this year which is pretty darn even. I was never really questioning Whitworth being good. And yes, definitely look forward to a trip up North.....this Oregonian can't quite handle 93 degrees in November!