FB: Northwest Conference

[desertcat1]

Blue:  
It will be all about the $$$  this year in West and South.. So you should plan on another Rat killing  first round  this year..  I think after the Bearcats messed up last year and lost in the first round to Qxy. It cost them  another flight.  IMHO..

Go Cats

[desertcat1]

Foss ,, I hope you are right i would just love to see the corn boys again  with the new turf.. 

"The one that got away" 

Go Cats..

[oldpa]

Thought you guys may enjoy this. It is a picture of our county fairgrounds grandstand. You have to admit there is a resemblance. http://groups.msn.com/OldPasStuff/newcrap.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=188

[coocooforcoekohawk]

I doubt Monmouth will be  the #8 seed.   Most likely Whitworth will be the #8 seed.  Central would have to leap frog Whitworth in the regional rankings to make the playoffs.  If Central does make it in most likely you would see a team shipped out of the West to the North still leaving Whitworth the #8 seed.  It looks like they will make the Cat's play a conference foe in the first round.  The argument will be that the NWC doesnt' have an AQ nor enough teams to make up an official conference thus it does not matter that Whitworth would play Linfield in the first round.  They will have to fly someone to Occidental, most likely Coe College.

[retagent]

repete, thanks for making the clarification, and looking out for my back, with your post. That's the EXACT point I was trying to make. Looking at oldpa's last post here maybe we are finally getting him to LIGHTEN UP! 

[desertcat1]

coocoo. 
I think you are right , "They" will save $$ by matching The rats and cats in round 1..

[bluenote]

...well I can see the rational to play Whitworth in the 1st round, but i would hope they would maybe let the flies out of their wallets and spice it up with an opponent other than Whitworth/NWC. After all this is the national playoffs, we've already beat Whitworth, and I'm sure they'ed rather play someone else also. They could probably do some damage in the playoffs if they didn't play us first. But first they have to beat Willamette and If Willamette beats Whitworth and Linfield beats Willamette, it could mean only 1 team from the NWC in the dance...so I guess if they are going to be tight and not bring in a team from out of conference, I guess I like the last scenerio best.   

[D O.C.]

Where we're at...think this season is a tad bit disjointed like bluenote and myself? Hopefully posting with bluster? A WIAC poster put up these links. Have a look and thank Gordon, OAS and Pat for knowing the most about Division III football.

At least it is a football fan's labor of love whether computer, dice or a fraternity pledge project does it:
http://prwolfe.bol.ucla.edu/cfootball/ratings.htm#second


Rank Team                     Div        W  L    PF   PA   Rating  Chg
287 Linfield                      III          6  0     294   80    0.480   11

lower than:

283 St Olaf
277 Johns Hopkins
269 Union NY
265 Delaware Valley 
261 Trinity TX
258 Wabash
255 Monmouth IL
253 Thiel
247 Rowan
242 North Central
223 St John's MN
219 UW-Whitewater 

http://www.lazindex.com/cfbdd3.htm

We cannot be responsible for Lewis and Clark's mentality but everyone else in the NWC would appear to be struggling (despite LINFIELD'S success). Does Joel Clark have enough around him to wrest a title away next year? It MIGHT be healthy for the NWC, actually.

http://www.donhansen.com/polls/ncaaiii.php

Steady for LINFIELD the last 5 years. Must have some insight into the program.

http://www.mratings.com/rate.php?lg=cf&sub=III&mid=6

NOW available for as of 10/31/05 4PM PST

Perhaps it is trite but it would appear the season (despite all the hard work for months and the mental strain on staff and players) starts with Willamette on the 12th.




         

[CamCat]

Thought you guys may enjoy this. It is a picture of our county fairgrounds grandstand. You have to admit there is a resemblance. http://groups.msn.com/OldPasStuff/newcrap.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=188

You have a point. I am sending you a private message to brighten up your day.  You're welcome on our board any time.

"Being happy is the cornerstone of all that you are! Nothing is more important than that you feel good! And you have absolute and utter control about that because you can choose the thought that makes you worry or the thought that makes you happy; the things that thrill you, or the things that worry you. You have the choice in every moment.
Expressed by Abraham-Hicks" http://www.abraham-hicks.com


[attachment deleted by admin]

[downtown48]

Nice holiday look on the front page Pat!

[Foss]

Yeh, I hope $$$ doesn't make the decision this year, but we've seen how it does sometimes. If so you guys are probably right and we'll play one of the west coast schools in the first or maybe second round. I know last year I thought for sure the 'Cats would play the Willamette/Oxy winner after their bye and the committee surprised us by putting them on the other side of the bracket. I hope they do the same this year, but we'll see. If Whitworth gets in that would be three west coast teams. They would have to fly someone from the midwest out regardless to play one of the west coast schools (or fly Whitworth out there, but that would mean Oxy vs. Linfield which isn't going to happen). I just see them sending Whitworth down to Oxy since they haven't played each other. Along w/ Whitworth, the two lowest regional teams would probably be Monmouth and a potential IIAC runner up (maybe Central). I don't believe they seed strictly on the regional rankings (Pat can correct me if I'm wrong) and since it would seem weird sending an undefeated conference champ (Monmouth) to the #1 seed in the first round, that's why I thought potential IIAC runner up Central.

Pat will be listing his playoff projections later this week, so I am looking forward to that.

[beancounter]

With all these playoff projections going on, it is important to remember that there may not be exactly eight teams from the West Region to make the playoffs.  The committee takes the most worthy teams from Pool B and Pool C and then adjusts the brackets accordingly.  The West could have nine teams...meaning one team would be moved (likely to the North)..or even six or seven teams...meaning teams would be imported into the "Linfield bracket".

[d-train]

I think this game will be very close. I give the Pirates a slight edge this week because they've had two weeks to prepare for the Fly and they are playing in Spokane where they put up lots of points. But overall, Willamette was better than I thought they'd be. They ran the Fly well and passed effectively. Their defense and special teams were aggressive and quick, bringing lots of pressure. The difference vs. the Lutes was turnovers (just as #11 predicted). The Bearcats put the ball on the rug twice but retained possession both times. The Lutes QB forced several throws into coverage and the Bearcats snagged two pics. The game was ultimately decided late in the fourth with the Lutes failing to convert a 4th and 1 from inside the Bearcat 10 yard line. Down seven, they could have tied or gone for the win on that drive.

Re: Nov. 12th - I don't think the Lutes will challenge the Pirates nearly as much because their secondary is just not very good and the turf will play to the Rats advantage. Linfield should rout Willamette after the first quarter or so. UPS at WOU could be interesting. I'd expect the Wolves to show some pride and win at home.

[Gig Harbor Cat]

Re: the playoffs

   It doesnt matter who we get, after all we want to beat the best on our way to win it all. 
  Bring em on boys!!

   Cats all the way in 05

[pennstlbu]

Not much to report on out on the north side of Tacoma. This past weekend's games went as I thought. I was a little surprised at the score of the Linfield-Menlo game, but I guess a 31 point victory is still a good win, just as UPS' win over Colorado College was a good win, although I was expecting 50+ points for the Loggers against the Tigers. A good win for the Bearcats, setting up the game for second place in the NWC this Saturday in Spokane. I expect the Pirates to pull out a 2 TD win, though. Whitowrth is almost as tough of an offense to prepare for as Willamette. They can start out with a 2TE, 2 wingback formation and go to a empty backfield, 5 WR shotgun formation the next play, where the defense still has to respect Clark's ability to run the QB draw. Lots of substitutions and different defensive packages that defenses have to prepare for.

Bye week for the Loggers, before heading down to Western Oregon for the 2005 finale. Should be an interesting game. The Loggers are gunning for back-to-back winning seasons, which would be a first since 1986-87. I'm not sure what WOU mindset will be, since this weekend was to be their last game, as I know that it can be tough to go back to work (practice) for another week when they thought the season would be over, when there are no playoffs involved.

Well, Lee was able to go over the 1,000 yard barrier for the season on Saturday. He needs 121 against a tough WOU defense for the single season UPS rushing record, which was set by Daryl Wright in 1995, I believe.  He'll also be in good condition to break the career rushing record next season. I think he's about 1,300 yards from Gray McCurty's UPS record, so a similar season like this year will break the record. That's pretty impressive considering the great RBs the Loggers have had over the years (Wright, McCurty, Mike Oliphant).