FB: Northwest Conference

[d-train]

Is anybody else shocked that Pacific had to win in overtime against Lewis and Clark?

yeah, that one doesn't make much sense.

[swede]

No spark at all on the cats part first half very poor play calling in the final minutes congrats to the kitties. If we keep playing like that we wont win our last game.

Didn't see a playoff team today

[bluenote]

Is anybody else shocked that Pacific had to win in overtime against Lewis and Clark?

That's shocking. And then Linfield loosing at the CatDome. Must be something in the air.....

[catjumper]

I'm more of a lurker than a poster, but this evening I'll share a few thoughts. In the interest of full disclosure, I have degrees from both Linfield and Willamette but will always consider myself a Wildcat first and foremost. That said, a Bearcat win may be exactly what Linfield needed Saturday.

Consider that no player in the Linfield program had ever lost a Northwest Conference game prior to today; the last Wildcats to have gone through a conference loss would have (assuming they were fifth-year seniors) finished their eligibility in 2012. The only players on the current Linfield roster to have lost any regular season game would be the fifth-year seniors, and that loss would have been the first game of their careers.

Going through an unpleasant situation is much greater incentive to avoid going through that situation again than merely having a vague idea of how disagreeable it might be. And, despite the lesson, the 'Cats are still in position where if they win out, they have at least a share of the conference title and a postseason berth.

From a fan's perspective, much as I want Linfield to win – and win big – every week, it also gets kind of boring sitting through a series of foregone conclusions year after year. A little uncertainty, at this point, is a welcome thing.

Congratulations, Willamette. And ... Go Linfield!

[wildcat11]

No spark at all on the cats part first half very poor play calling in the final minutes congrats to the kitties. If we keep playing like that we wont win our last game.

Didn't see a playoff team today

Today, yes.  But Linfield has two more opportunities to earn it.

+1 catjumper

[D O.C.]

Welcome catjumper.
You DO realize if you joined before today we would have pulled it out, right?
Now we all understand the grain of sand that brought the pyramid down.

You lurked long enough to know my humor?

I'll take that 100 yard back any day.

[catjumper]

Humor? There's humor on this board?

I kid, I kid ...

Actually, I joined a few years ago but have posted rarely - and not in quite a while. I have more fun reading you guys.

Tonight, trying to create a smiley spin on things and putting it into words just seemed better than jumping off a bridge somewhere along 99W.

[Tuxguy]

WC11,
Was able to say Hey to GHC today. I love that man.

catjumper,

Welcome back, +k to you,  one loss does not make for a bridge jump.. .. Ill take boring over a loss any day......The worst part is the  WildCats last Conference loss was to the bearcats in Salem 2008. I think this one stung  more because of how the Cats played. That said, I think we were out played in just about everyway today for 3 quarters and got it together almost in time to pull out a win.
A wake up call for sure.
I was proud of how they dug in and kept after it. Never gave up and fought back and gave themselves  a chance to win.to the end.
Learn from it and move ahead.

One game at a time!
Leave no doubt!!
Go Cats!

[catjumper]

True - now that the 'Cats have suffered a loss, it's back to boring looking pretty good.

As for the 2008 game, that was in Mac. I remember it well, because Willamette flat-out dominated Linfield that afternoon. The last-second loss in 2007 felt like a fluke, but by the time the teams met the next year it seemed Willamette was putting some distance between its program and Linfield's.

Then, the next year, Linfield outdueled them in Salem in a great ballgame ... and just kept getting better than everyone else in the conference.

The comeback today showed a never-quit attitude that it's good to know the 'Cats have. The best teacher I ever had said one of the most valuable things you can learn is how to struggle, and that's a lesson Linfield generally hasn't had until a few rounds into the playoffs lately. Facing at least a little adversity earlier in the season will serve the 'Cats well down the road.

[desertcat1]

The SCIAC is shocked......SCIAC winner goes to Texas ?

not so fast my man ...cats could still get one home game if they win out.

[purplecat]

My thought is make the play-offs first and hope for all road games, no distractions, and the Quite Cat Dome is not really any thing but a even site. For having all those fans and not a peep all season.....They have been all season worse than the play of the Cats Saturday?

[Gig Harbor Cat]

IMO, yesterday is no big deal.  Flush it !!  Its gone.  I will never second guess, play calls, performance etc.  it happened.  Anyone out there that has ever played sport one knows that there are days like this.  Take care of our own business the next two weeks and we will host the winner of the So Cal boys at the Catdome.  From there, who knows.  All we all want is to win the last game of our 2014 run.

That's all I got.

GHC  out !!

[FightBearcats]

I don't post on here all the time but do watch and listen.  These are some thoughts about the NWC this year.

One thing that is interesting is the mobility, up and down, in the NWC this year.  Pacific beat PLU which should not be too surprising as they gave Willamette a very tough game toward the end of the season last year.  I felt then that they are a true up-and-comer and have to be taken seriously.  Whitworth, with a new coaching regime, beat Willamette this year.  We have to see what progress they make over the next few years.  PLU seems to be in a holding pattern but they played a very strong game against Willamette.  Willamette played a bad game against PLU (but refer to the previous sentence) but beat Linfield.  Linfield has cruised through its season but came out on the short end against an inspired Willamette.  Willamette, with a fairly young team, has been up and down this year but [I have to say it again ] won at Linfield.  UPS has won three games but two were against Lewis and Clark and George Fox.  L&C has made no progress in wins although they took Pacific to overtime and scored 42 points against them.  George Fox is in the first year of a new program and we'll see if, over the next few years, they can match the progress Pacific has made.  I wouldn't count them out.

Here are my points:  No team in the NWC is immortal and most teams in the conference can play strongly against any other.  We know that the new teams will contend.  (GF is still a few years out but Pacific is there now).  It would be great if L&C and UPS could get their programs going well.  Why?  League members are still going to finish seasons ranked 1-8.  Somebody will be first and somebody will be last.  But if NWC teams schedule intersectional games against uniformly strong opponents and consistently win those games it will raise the profile of the conference and make it possible to get more than one team in the playoffs.  The best result, though IMO, will be that games between league members will be more competitive and more entertaining.  That's good for everybody.

[bluenote]

I see that Willamette is now ranked 25. I'm wondering if both Willamette and Linfield win out....Linfield would have the auto bid, but does anyone think Willamette may get a Pool C bid? If so I'm wondering if Linfield would be hosting or traveling to Willamette in Round 1...... in that case?

[George Thompson]

New year, new regional rankings?

To start the comments from anyone, and everyone, here goes.   Strange year, with only two unbeatens left in the West.    Based on what I have seen so far, here are my picks for the West Region playoffs:

1.  UW-Whitewater
2.  Wartburg
3.  Bethel
4.  Linfield
5.  Chapman
6.  St. John's
7.  UW - Platteville
8.  St. Scholastica

Of course this can change depending on the next two games.


George