FB: Northwest Conference

[CamCat]

It was great to watch the Linfield Western game on internet video from the WOU. site. I only wish the score was different.  Western is a big strong and good team. Though we got beat Trevor Sharer looked pretty darn good and Linfield played pretty well for a first game despite their early game turnovers.

That should be good prep for our next tough game vs. Hardin Simmons next week at the Cat Dome.

[cawcdad]

It's final Chapman 24 - Menlo 7.

[criswyly]

Sounds like a much better start than last year....bring on HS.

[Toivo70]

What happened to the WOU Linfield score?

[speedybigboy]

linfield 20
wou 32

[Toivo70]

Does anyone who was at the game have a synopsis?  I was at the Whit Redlands game and it looked like first time QB jitters and trying to establish the running game because of that.

[OregonCityCat99]

The crowd was great tonight......I was proud of the effort from the Cats...especially on the Defensive side. WOU is the fastest team that we will see all year. They showed what scholarships can do for a program.

I was disappointed with the play call on 1st and goal from the 1 with 5 min left, down by 12. Anyone else???

Great effort...revenge game next week against HSU and we roll to 8-1.

[Toivo70]

Did Linfield try to air it out or what? They certainly didn't have much on the ground.  All but 6 yards were earned through the air.

[Kelly Boggs]

Does the NWC have an automatic bid now? If so, while the Linfileld v. HSU is big for both teams (no one wants to start 0-2), I think it is bigger for the Cowboys.

If HSU loses, it is likely their hopes for the playoffs are over. In order to make the post season they would have to win the ASC, which looks very unlikely the way UMHB came out of the blocks agains CNU. The CRU looks to be as good as, if not better than, the 2004 team that went to the Stagg and right now it seems that HSU is a little down from previous years. So, the Linfield game is definite must win for the Cowboys.

It goes without saying that Linfield will want to hammer HSU. However, if the NWC  has the auto bid, then a loss will not be devastating. Win or lose, I think the Cats take the NWC and return to the playoffs.

Even without the auto bid, the game is still a bit bigger for HSU. Again, I think a loss means they stay at home come playoff time. I will be shocked if Linfield does not win the NWC.

Afte listening to the HSU/W-LAX game and watching (via video feed) the 2nd half of the Linfield/WOU game, I predict a shoot-out at the Cat Dome. Expect the Cowboys to welcome the cool temps but to  also be in awe of the tall poles with green furry stuff on 'em. They will be shocked to learn  they are trees  .

The Cat Dome gives the Cats a definite edge. Should be a fun one to watch. I will be listening in.

[Pat Coleman]

One more year for the NWC in Pool B.

[MonroviaCat]

Did Linfield try to air it out or what? They certainly didn't have much on the ground.  All but 6 yards were earned through the air.

Tovio-- Cat's haven't had much of a running game in the past few years but they really had to rely on the passing game last night because WOU was just too big on the line and while our O-Line blocked great for passing they had trouble driving off the line and opening up holes for running.  As for a synopis:  Cat's gave the ball up twice early on which directly or indirectly led to them being behind 16-0 before they had any true offensive possessions.  After that the game was pretty evenly matched with both Defenses playing pretty well.  Linfield's downfall on defense was not being able to penetrate the line which gave the WOU QB/WRs plenty of time to connect.  This killed us on several 3rd and longs which allowed WOU to control the clock.  On offense, the passing game was clicking well---Shaer completed his first 9 passes and looked really sharp.  His one big mistake was throwing the INT on the first and goal.  Our WR's ran good routes and for the most part caught anything near them.  Our RB's looked good in their few chances.  Our O-Line really looked good on the pass and had occassional openings on the run but were outsized by the WOU D.  As always, WOU had a bunch of penalites while the Cats had few, several of which were formation penalties where somebody didn't line up on the line....

HMHB-Alumn---No autobid this year.  Next year is when it begins (I'm 99% sure of this).  

Oregon City-I agree that the first and goal play call was a bad one;  it looked to me like the WOU defense left a gap open on the right side (between guard and center I think)---I think we should have tried a sneak or a dive right at that hole at least once.  But---then again, we had little success running most of the game.  

[OregonCityCat99]

PC-
Can you clarify why the NWC gets an auto bid starting next year?

In hindsight, without the early mistakes, the Cats are right in the game, and maybe even ahead into the 2nd half.  I'm sure the players had one eye on the HSU game next weekend.

Surprised about Whitworth....may be a down year for the NWC.

[RFB]

PC-
Can you clarify why the NWC gets an auto bid starting next year?

In hindsight, without the early mistakes, the Cats are right in the game, and maybe even ahead into the 2nd half.  I'm sure the players had one eye on the HSU game next weekend.

Surprised about Whitworth....may be a down year for the NWC.

It shouldn't be a down year for the NWC. Whitworth returns 15 starters from an 11-1 team and Linfield is always good if not great. Also, Pacific Lutheran should be pretty good. It's only the first week in a long season.

[OregonCityCat99]

RFB-Yes, but losing a 3-year starter at QB and a WR/TE that's good enough to make an NFL roster is huge regardless of how many starters are back.  I do agree that PLU will be more competitive this year.

[wyd]

Good story on the PLU win if anyone is interested.   Not sure how good CLU is expected to be, but for awhile it felt like the Lutes could do whatever they wanted.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/colleges/plu/story/151554.html