FB: Northwest Conference

[jamtod]

Anybody know the official details for when/how the location of next week's game is announced?

[wildcat11]

Anybody know the official details for when/how the location of next week's game is announced?

It's at UST...today is just a formality.

[jamtod]

Anybody know the official details for when/how the location of next week's game is announced?

It's at UST...today is just a formality.

What is the driving force behind that certainty?

[jamtod]

I have not been able to find any clear directive as to how homefield is determined, aside from by the NCAA.

[CalCat]

Anybody know the official details for when/how the location of next week's game is announced?

It's at UST...today is just a formality.

What is the driving force behind that certainty?

JT the driving force is the last regional rankings which The Tommies own with the #1 ranking. I think the only thing to influence that would be the cost of flying. There could be an outside chance if that the case for the game in Oregon. Sun Country airlines does a lot of chartering and is based out of Minnesota so has access to 737 equipment they could use possibly saving the NCAA flying an empty aircraft into (and possibly out of) Portland. Sun Country would probably save NCAA substantial dollars flying the Tommies. Don't know how hard or if at all NCAA would look at that so 11 is probably correct in the announcement of game in St. Paul is just a formality .

[jamtod]

Anybody know the official details for when/how the location of next week's game is announced?

It's at UST...today is just a formality.

What is the driving force behind that certainty?

JT the driving force is the last regional rankings which The Tommies own with the #1 ranking. I think the only thing to influence that would be the cost of flying. There could be an outside chance if that the case for the game in Oregon. Sun Country airlines does a lot of chartering and is based out of Minnesota so has access to 737 equipment they could use possibly saving the NCAA flying an empty aircraft into (and possibly out of) Portland. Sun Country would probably save NCAA substantial dollars flying the Tommies. Don't know how hard or if at all NCAA would look at that so 11 is probably correct in the announcement of game in St. Paul is just a formality .

It's official now:
http://tommiesports.com/sports/fball/2015-16/releases/20151206g12b73
I knew that the regional rankings were the driving force, but I hadn't been able to find the final regional rankings and it seemed odd to me that we would be ahead, relative to the overall rankings.

[retagent]

The "Overall Rankings" on either d2football, or the AFCA have nothing to do with the Regional Rankings per se.

[MonroviaCat]

The "Overall Rankings" on either d2football, or the AFCA have nothing to do with the Regional Rankings per se.

not to mention d3football.com

[Andy Jamison - Walla Walla Wildcat]

The speed and athleticism of MHB was very impressive and damn near blew the game apart in the first quarter.  We simply don't see that caliber of athlete in the NWC. It is simply impossible for our scout team replicate that quickness in practice and it took time to adjust. Their D-line was enormous and seemed to be schemed up really well to stop our stretch zone runs. It seemed that their was a Dlineman in the backfield on each run and our RB had to make a play just to get back to the LOS.

I can't imagine either of the remaining three teams have anywhere near MHB's speed. Speed scares me way more than size and we get the opportunity to see the difference firsthand against the Tommies as I doubt that they have the elite level of team speed showed by the Cru.

Great resilience shown by the Cats! What a great way to get ready for the semis against a team that has yet to be tested in the playoffs as we now know we can handle extreme on field adversity.

[D O.C.]

I'd like to give a special shout out to Kevin  Wilkerson and the broadcast crew as well.  I don't know if radio/media has any sort of student awards but that guy is really impressive to listen to.  I freaking stutter and repeat when I just try to give a toast to 5 of my drinking buddies during happy hour.  The sky is the limit for that kid, and he is representing the Linfield broadcasters and their storied history and all-star cast well.  The video staff did a wonderful job yesterday and really made the game easy and fun to watch, I'm not sure if ESPN's video crew will be able to cover it any better next week.  So a big thanks to Kevin and Dean Hanson and the memory of Bill and all the others behind the scenes and whose names I don't know and surely don't get enough credit.  Those guys make the experiences for us alumni viewing from afar so much more real.  Thank you!

And I'd like to give an embarrassed shout out (I heard her name maybe 4 times and can't remember it  - begin with A?) to the woman who stepped in to do the sideline announcing on Saturday at the UMHB game. That's where Kevin's been all year. He kept her involved but you could tell she had a hard time hearing anything being in that south forty end zone with the students. She'll never forget her time there. 

[USTBench]

The speed and athleticism of MHB was very impressive and damn near blew the game apart in the first quarter.  We simply don't see that caliber of athlete in the NWC. It is simply impossible for our scout team replicate that quickness in practice and it took time to adjust. Their D-line was enormous and seemed to be schemed up really well to stop our stretch zone runs. It seemed that their was a Dlineman in the backfield on each run and our RB had to make a play just to get back to the LOS.

I can't imagine either of the remaining three teams have anywhere near MHB's speed. Speed scares me way more than size and we get the opportunity to see the difference firsthand against the Tommies as I doubt that they have the elite level of team speed showed by the Cru.

Great resilience shown by the Cats! What a great way to get ready for the semis against a team that has yet to be tested in the playoffs as we now know we can handle extreme on field adversity.

UST isa combo platter. Their offense is big and methodical. They do have some quick receivers but they've been faster on O in the past. Their D on the other hand is an entirely different story. This is the fastest and most athletic D I think UST has ever had. Their secondary had Wabash on lockdown yesterday (not saying the Little Giants are of MHB's caliber) and held Rice to only 93 yards passing. They also shut down two of the best RB's in DIII in Sura and Zurek the last two weeks. Concession: they did struggle a bit with Sparks-Jackson.

They do take big risks, (especially on 3rd down), and are susceptible to the occasional big play, but they've been pretty stalwart all season.   

The one thing no one really talks about though is special teams. UST has basically turned their special teams into another facet of their offense. Whacky behind the back passes aside, whether it's on punt return (TD yesterday), kickoff (onside recovered yesterday), or FG (ran a fake for a TD yesterday) I think you'll be hard pressed to find a team better on special teams than UST.

[D O.C.]

Without Tim Marsh's permission I post his 17:00 summation of UMHB - LINFIELD game.
If he objects I'll just post his blogspot. 

https://youtu.be/IiCXzCS7odk

[gren]

So is it 10am kickoff PST on ESPN 3?

[Westside]

Nope. It is at 12:30 PST. The game is at 2:30 in Minnesota.

[Pat Coleman]

That's the nice thing about this round -- the games are staggered so one person can watch both. Love it.