FB: Northwest Conference

[Bearcat Press]

How good do you guys think Southern Oregon is this year?

I only watch some of the game so I couldn't get a real good idea of how they look overall. Plus it's hard to tell if EOU is any good or not. EOU usually puts together a pretty decent club. SOU had a running back that went for about 200 yards so he must be a hard runner/workhorse.

I had some time to kill this Saturday, so I watched the entire game.  First impression of SOU: much, much improved.  As usual, they're very physical, but it seemed that mentally they were a lot tougher this year.  They actually trailed almost the entire game - down 28-16 going into the fourth quarter, but they stuck with their game plan, kept plugging away, and finally pulled ahead with about four minutes left.  When you factor in that their starting quarterback was declared academically ineligible the day before the game, that's pretty impressive.

And yeah - Baldwin was a beast at running back.  IIRC, he had 37 carries for 195 yards.  SOU was very balanced from a run/pass standpoint.  Oh, and their pass protection was outstanding.  Their QB had all day to throw, and a couple of touchdown passes were flat out dropped by his receivers.

So in conclusion, Linfield and Willamette are going to have their hands full with SOU this year.

[Linfield61]

One week to go and only 3 people have made their initial predictions on the NWC Pick 'ems. It isn't much fun with only three. Come on folks, click on NWC Pick 'ems and join the fun.

It says an error had occurred and says area is off limits to me.

[Gray Fox]

One week to go and only 3 people have made their initial predictions on the NWC Pick 'ems. It isn't much fun with only three. Come on folks, click on NWC Pick 'ems and join the fun.

It says an error had occurred and says area is off limits to me.

Try going directly to that board by going to General Football - Pick'ems

[cawcdad]

Apparently Pat has cleaned up some space. Try this now NWC Pick 'ems

[Linfield61]

Apparently Pat has cleaned up some space. Try this now NWC Pick 'ems

Thank you!

[d-train]

Very, very sad news out of PLU this weekend.

http://www.golutes.com/sports/fball/2009-10/releases/083009nellie

John Nelson ('Nellie') passed away on Sunday.  Nellie was the mentor/administrative coach cruising the PLU sidelines in a wheelchair.  He was a fixture in the Lute program for 20 years - giving him a great deal of identity and purpose.  In turn, he served as a huge source of inspiration for hundreds of student-athletes and played a big role in the program.

EDIT: Here's a short video as well:
http://www.nwcn.com/video/sports-index.html?nvid=393850

[wildcat11]

Very, very sad news out of PLU this weekend.

http://www.golutes.com/sports/fball/2009-10/releases/083009nellie

John Nelson ('Nellie') passed away on Sunday.  Nellie was the mentor/administrative coach cruising the PLU sidelines in a wheelchair.  He was a fixture in the Lute program for 20 years - giving him a great deal of identity and purpose.  In turn, he served as a huge source of inspiration for hundreds of student-athletes and played a big role in the program.

My condolences to the PLU family.  I've seen Nellie at Linfield/PLU games for years and I always thought it was great the way PLU embraced Nellie and took him in as one of PLU's own.  Nellie' was a PLU/NWC fixture for years and I feel for the Lute family.  Way too much loss over the recent years for this fine program.

[cawcdad]

My condolences to the PLU family. I chatted with Nellie a couple of times as we patrolled the sidelines when PLU played at Menlo. A very nice gentleman.

[coco]

I extend my sympathies to the PLU community as well. I know Nellie was a valued person in the program and you will feel his loss.
The team won't look the same without Nellie.

[bluenote]

...That's sad news. I remember seeing Nellie roaming the sidelines at every game I went to up at PLU. He will be missed.

[RedandPurple]

My only real question is in regards to hsu fans traveling to the Mac town. Are any of them going to go shirtless and bang on steel drums throughout the entire game, a la abilene?

I wish we could return the favor. So much for the ncaa rule concerning artificial noise makers. My son said they could not hear the calls even in the huddle.

Nellie was a class act and kudos to the PLU football program for what they did for that young man. He will be missed.

[wildcat11]

The ADvantage has just posted up our NWC week 1 picks.  The Catdomealumni.com team has recruited two guest pickers this year that will try to match wits with the D3boards.com posters. 

ADvantage Catdome: NWC Pick 'em Week 1

[Linfield61]

Why does Linfield always start games the second week?

[Bearcat Press]

Why does Linfield always start games the second week?

[just kidding] So that they only have to play a nine game schedule and therefore only need five wins to preserve the streak.[/just kidding]

Also, my condolences to the entire PLU family.  I remember seeing a story about Nellie on one of Portland's news channels a while ago.  What a truly inspiring story.

[wildcat11]

Why does Linfield always start games the second week?

[just kidding] So that they only have to play a nine game schedule and therefore only need five wins to preserve the streak.[/just kidding]

So says the guy covering the program that has been unable to pull off 5 wins or more 4 out of 9 times this decade alone.    It's way harder than Linfield has made it seem.