FB: Northwest Conference

[NWCprops]

If your prognosis for the Wildcat season is correct....then your going with WSP and Willamette as the possible "land mine" games on the LC schedule.....and you may be right.
It took 60 Cat pass attempts and a 4th quarter ralley to salvage a victory last year in cheesse country.  And while Linfield was never in any real danger in their 48-14 victory over the Bearcats...the B-cats marched it down the field in the first half only to be turned away with nothing inside the 20 yard line 3 times (credit to Wildcat defense).  So I'm going with you on your picks.  WSP cause they believe they can.....and damn near did.  And WU if they can grind it out and close the deal in the red zone.... on a cold rainey November night.

[onearmedscot]

Let me be the first to link to the New York Times Article on Elliott.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/28/sports/ncaafootball/28elliott.html

OneArmedScot

[d-train]

As I review GHC's predictions, all I could think about was that old SNL skit with the Chicago SuperFans. Da Bearz!!

The smallest point spread is 31, GHC? Are you for real? I'm going to predict that someone will stay within 30 of the 'Cats during the reg. season. What are you willing to put on it, Salty?

[beancounter]

My favorite line from the Chicago "superfans" skit was during the NBA finals one year when they were going on about "da bullz"....

One of the guys would ask another on how they thought game 1 of the finals was going to go and he said "well, the Suns will keep it close for a while and then the Bullz will take over; final score, Bullz 212, Phoenix 4"......

Thanks for the reminder d-train.............

[Gig Harbor Cat]

D-Train,
  You know me, just trying to keep it real.  As for a wager I'm all over that, Would love to see you in purple my man

[Jbuck64]

Looked on the roster and saw former Conk Matt "Gordo" Garland, on the roster.... Good for him his dad coached at Willamette, Linfield, and UPS before coming to the conks glad Matt made the right decision.

[K-Mack]

I'm very impressed with Linfield's title run and I admire the streak, I just think a lot of it is suspect. Of late, all it's taken is to step it up for two league games and you get to 5-4.

I'm sayin, it would still be cool if you stepped up two times a year for 49 straight years.

I hang with a bunch of Patriots fans, so I know how annoying the "we're so great" stuff can get sometimes. But looks like some you are straight up hating.

[K-Mack]

So is this West pride, or not being able to name anyone from the East?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! 

Keeping it real in the West!!
Below is my fantasy team for 2005!

The One Armed Scots
Pos.  Player (Pos.Rk)  School

QB  Brett Elliott (1) Linfield
QB  Brian Schumacher (19) Concordia Moorhead
RB  Ryan Gonzales (8) Oxy
RB  Tyler Sherden (13) Luther
RB  Corey Weber (21) SJU
RB  Dan Hammes (67) Wartburg
WR  Jesse Schmidt (12) BVU
WR  Kyle Gearman (19) SJU
WR  Jared Thomas (66) Linfield
WR  Horace Grant (NR) St. Olaf
K  Cameron Collings (5) Whitworth
D  St. John's Def. (3) SJU

[K-Mack]

Problem is,
since most D3 players aren't sitting on an extra year of eligibility because they usually don't redshirt, we never know what kind of weak courseloads they could come up with for Year 5.

I went to a 4-1-4 school, so if I hadn't added a minor or had an interest in multicultural studies or African-American history, I could have been done in 3 1/2 years easy.

I would have liked to stretch it out to a 5th year though.

I often wonder how long one could remain in the lineup if colleges were like pros, without automatic roster turnover after 4 years. Maybe, at age 28, I would just be winding down my 10-year career, having lost a step and been beaten out by someone younger ... after that blockbuster trade to Rowan in 2001.

Not exactly D3 news but a good comparison to the D3 academic standards:

Matt Leinart would like to dance away from USC with another national championship.

The fifth-year senior will have plenty of time to focus on football in his final season. Leinart is enrolled in one class: Ballroom dancing will fulfill the final elective for his sociology degree, The Los Angeles Times reported.
--ESPN.com

Do D3 guys get to take it this easy if they are a fifth year?  Doesn't seem like it.

Look for the Week 1 West Region Recap to feature a story on a Linfield player not named Elliott or Allen.

OneArmedScot

[K-Mack]

Brett Elliott mentioned in a nice article on the former Ute O Lineman who passed away this week.

http://sltrib.com/sports/ci_2964891

That's actually a really good column.

Here's some crappy analysis from 2003:
http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Mountain_West/2003_Previews/Utah_offense.htm
Quarterbacks
Projected Starter- Lance Rice, Sr. - Rice had the starting job over the first five games and ended up throwing for 758 yards and six touchdowns. It wasn't that he was bad, but there was little overall pop to the offense when he was in. In Utah's three losses when he was in, the Utes lost to Arizona, Michigan and Air Force by a total of 13 points. He's a great running quarterback and has a nice short to mid-range arm.

Top Backups
- Brett Elliott, Jr. - Elliott stepped into the starting role last year and had some nice performances leading the Utes to wins over UNLV, Wyoming and BYU in the final three games. He has a better arm than Rice and is a fine scrambler. By the opener, he might be the starter after seeing many first team reps in practice.
- Alex Smith, Soph. - Smith has talent, but he might not be right for this offense. He has the best arm of the three, but lacks the rushing element that Rice and Elliott provides.

The Skinny: The Utes have three starting options at quarterback and needs one to become a star. This won't be a problem area by any means, but the overall play has to step up with a shaky receiving corps. Rice might be the best option in the spread operating out of the shotgun, but Elliott will get every shot at the job.
Quarterback Rating: 6

[wildcat11]

If anybody wants to a copy of the Elliott article that was in the NY Times this Sunday, drop me an e-mail or PM.  I have it scanned into a .pdf

[onearmedscot]

WC11-

Fire it to me.  You have my email.

OneArmedScot

[Tuxguy]

That would be great WC11, thanks!

[onearmedscot]

WC11-

Regarding how he's gripping the ball in the main photo, is that how Elliott will grip the ball come regular season just so other teams have a glimmer of hope against them?

OneArmedScot

[Tuxguy]

River..... Have you guys found another girl Kicker yet? Sure was fun to talk about. The media yuked it up toooo!   OAS, most teams don't worry about the grip.........It's the CATCH!