FB: Northwest Conference

[rockcat]

Remember the year before the first play of the game they brought EVERYBODY but the corners...that didn't turn out to well either!

Yeah, wasn't that a bomb to George Carter, the fastest guy on the field.  I remember seeing George isolated with the corner up on the line and wondering what they were thinking.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

OK, so here's the question that I posted as part of a larger piece on the SCIAC board . . . any competition for Linfield in the NWC this year?  Any programs you think could slip into a Pool C bid (working on the assumption that the 'Cats take conference)?

tooth

[downtown48]

Whitworth could/should be undefeated heading into their game with Linfield at the end of the year.  They should be strong.  They have a big time QB, not as big as OxyCollins but every bit as elusive...

[Cut City]

The bomb to Carter was the 1st play of the game. Allen got the same thing a series or two later.  There was also a play two years ago where they dropped 10 in coverage, rushed only one d-end, and still hit kaluza on about a 15 yard out right in front of their bench.

[cawcdad]

The bomb to Carter was the 1st play of the game. . .

Seems someone said that play was also an audible. The Cats came to the line, Elliott saw what was up, changed the play and boom a quick 6!!

Doesn't Willamette have quite a few kids returning? How will playing them earlier in the season affect the game which has usually been the last game of the season?

[Foss]

I agree Whitworth should be tough this year. They need to find a way to beat Willamette (they've lost 3 straight) and not have their playoff hopes dashed by losing a game to the Bearcats again. Despite Willamette being pretty young last year and Whitworth supposedly on the upswing, the Pirates still found a way to lose to them.

Whitworth has an interesting and difficult non-conference schedule this year before PLU, Willamette, and Linfield even come into play. They have road games against Redlands and UW-Stout. UW-Stout stuck it to UW-La Crosse 24-6 last year on the road. Then, they have to play an always dangerous Azusa Pacific team. Although non-D3, a loss to Azusa could be viewed negatively during selection time and come back to haunt them, especially if they were to drop two in region D3 games.

[rockcat]

Any Rats, Bearkitties or Lutes out there to fill us in?

[Sabretooth Tiger]

Last year Azusa Pacific was a pretty well ranked NAIA team . . . in fact, I think that they ranked 9th in NAIA at the end of last year, making it to the NAIA playoffs (16 teams) losing in the opening round.  So while you never want to take a loss, I'm not sure that losing to APU would be as harmful as losing to UW Stout, which is not ranked in any top 25 DIII pre-season polls that I've seen.

[Foss]

Losing to UW-Stout would be worse (per the playoff selection criteria) than Azusa because it's an in-region D3 game. Last year Whitworth lost two in region D3 games (Linfield and Willamette). That really hurt them, but it was likely compounded by an additional loss to NAIA Eastern Oregon.

[rockcat]

Losing to UW-Stout would be worse (per the playoff selection criteria) than Azusa because it's an in-region D3 game. Last year Whitworth lost two in region D3 games (Linfield and Willamette). That really hurt them, but it was likely compounded by an additional loss to NAIA Eastern Oregon.

Azusa has an interesting schedule that includes Whitworth, a home game against UW LaCrosse and a game at UW-Whitewater.  Last year Willamette traveled to Azusa.  Why would a DIII team pay to fly the team to a game that theoretically can only hurt them since NAIA wins aren't supposed to mean anything for playoffs?  Why wouldn't they spend the travel money to play another DIII team, especially in Wisconsin where there are so many DIII's with football within driving distance? 

[Foss]

In order to find enough opponents to fill out their schedule, sometimes DIII teams seem to have to play scholarship (NAIA, D2) schools. Proximity to other D3 schools can play a part, and this is partly why we often see the NWC teams have one, two, or sometimes even three non-D3 opponents on the schedule. The last couple of years have seen more NWC vs. WIAC games (PLU vs. UW-River Falls, Linfield vs. UW-Stevens Point, Whitworth vs. UW-Stout). Perhaps Willamette playing Azusa last year was slightly less expensive than a trip to Wisconsin and/or had something to do with Coach Speckman having graduated from there.

By the way, I just realized Willamette plays Gustavus Adolphus from the MIAC on Sept. 9th.   

[Cut City]

Cawcdad- I can't remember for sure but that wouldn't suprise me if it was an audible. That was basically the whole game plan against that defense. 1-3 step and go to the one on one. It got to the point where Elliot and Allen were just playing games with that corner: throw the bomb, come back with a fade-stop, throw the bomb, 10 yard hitch. It was hilarious to see. 

[rockcat]

In order to find enough opponents to fill out their schedule, sometimes DIII teams seem to have to play scholarship (NAIA, D2) schools. Proximity to other D3 schools can play a part, and this is partly why we often see the NWC teams have one, two, or sometimes even three non-D3 opponents on the schedule. The last couple of years have seen more NWC vs. WIAC games (PLU vs. UW-River Falls, Linfield vs. UW-Stevens Point, Whitworth vs. UW-Stout). Perhaps Willamette playing Azusa last year was slightly less expensive than a trip to Wisconsin and/or had something to do with Coach Speckman having graduated from there.

By the way, I just realized Willamette plays Gustavus Adolphus from the MIAC on Sept. 9th.   

I understand that teams have to fill their schedule but if you have to pay to fly for a game why not play a DIII instead of NAIA?

[d-train]

Rockcat -

It takes two to tango. Just because a NWC (or WIAC) team is willing to fly somewhere doesn't mean a D-3 team is willing to play them. That other team might not need another game, they might not be willing to fly to the PacNW the next year when they could play someone more local, or they simply might not feel ready (as a program) to challenge a 'tougher team' before their conference race (you'll notice that Linfield has more trouble scheduling D-3 games than UPS). I don't think any WIAC or NWC coach would pass up a chance to play a D-3 game in favor of Azusa...but it's a matter of getting two sides together, not just one.

[rbaikie]

This year, Azusa is trying to upgrade their schedule with more NAIA schools - Willamette, instead of playing APU, is scheduled to play Cal Lu of the SCIAC instead.