FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[xfactor82]

New guy to the board.... My two cents.  If Oxy is not 8-1 last year they do not get a home game.  In 1999, Redlands goes 7-2 and does not make the playoffs.  They are just unbelievable and, if they are invited to the playoffs, they would have opened some eyes.  If they would have had last years Oxy schedule they would have made the playoffs.  What kind of message does that send to the players.  Lets play bad teams so that we can make the playoffs or we can do like Coach Maynard and schedule tough opponents to show the boys what it takes to be good.  Oxy, at least have some balls and schedule Azuza.

Are you saying Coach Widolff hasn't shown the boys what it takes to be good?  The two playoff wins last season speak for something.  Given the option, I'd rather play  tough opponents in Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the playoffs than weeks 1 and 2 of the regular season.

With 2 SCIAC championships in 4 years, and a good chance to add a 3rd this year, Coach Widolff is doing something right.

[rockcat]

It would be great if a SCIAC team would actually agree to play a tough non-conference team.  A few years ago Redlands was playing Linfield early in the season but was being blown out every year.  From what I have heard Redlands and other SCIAC teams won't agree to schedule Linfield in the regular season, probably because they are afraid of losing by 40.

However, scheduling with Linfield and other NWC schools would help all parties.  It would fill schedules with other teams within the region which of course look much better than filling holes with NAIA teams.  And even if they games aren't against Linfield most SCIAC teams would have to play a great game to beat Willamette, Whitworth or PLU most years.  I actually think most NWC fans think the second or third place NWC team would win the SCIAC most years.

The reputation of the SCIAC outside of Southern California is that it may be the weakest conference in the west region.  Until SCIAC teams step up and prove themselves against good regional competition they will never get to host the multiple playoff games that all of you want or get two teams in the playoffs.  So, quit padding your schedules against Lewis and Clark and show everyone if you are as good as you think you are.

[scandihoovian]

Rockcat-

I agree, I'd like to see SCIAC teams play more games against NWC teams other than L & C and UPS (although I know there's constantly talk about how UPS is rebuilding) - and I think that's something we'll see more of in the years to come.

Linfield, however, is in a unique position.  Sometimes you are just so flat out good that no one wants to play you.  It just happens.  In the early 1980's Cal Lu started giving scholarships and joined a football only conference that included the likes of Sacramento State, Portland State, and Cal Poly SLO, in large part because many of the other small colleges in Southern California were tired of playing them and there was no conference affiliation to tie teams into games.  The Division II experiment lasted until the late 1980's, at which point CLU was fortunate to be able to join the SCIAC.  My point is not that Linfield will have to follow a similar path, it's just that as long as they are dominant they're going to find themselves searching farther afield for non-conference competition - a situation I know is made even more frustrating by the loss of a conference game with L & C.

[wildcat11]

Scandihoovian,

Good points but I think that all things go in cycles.  Next year the Linfield team that comes out on the field is going to be very different than the past two seasons.  I know Linfield will still be a very strong team and program but when you lose four All-Americans on offense there is going to have to be a growth period for the players taking the place of some dynamic playmakers.

If you're going to take down Linfield as a Oxy, Redlands, or LeVerne....early in the season next year is going to be as good as shot as any.

[OxyFan21]

Pat,
Very good point.  Sorry for not thinking it all the way through. 

Chi-Town,
I think it would be great for Oxy to play...say, Wash U...ha...b/c I'm here in STL...but also b/c I think they would be a good match, institutionally. 

[OxyFan21]

I don't know if Oxy would schedule Azusa b/c of their NAIA status.   

[rockcat]

WC11 and Hoovian,

I agree with both of you.  Right now the success of one program is going to more firmly establish the SCIAC on the DIII map.  I can think back to the late 90's when the NWC was new to DIII.  Despite the history some of the programs had it took a few years before the conference had the respect of their new peers.  It probably wasn't until PLU won the Stagg Bowl in '99 that anybody outside of Washington and Oregon even thought about the NWC.  WC11 probably can even speak to his more than I can.

In following years other NWC schools started playing other quality teams outside the conference.  I can think back to Whitworth playing Bethel a couple of times and as much as I can't stomach Willamette you got to give them credit for playing a brutal schedule almost every year.

Oxy's success last year wasn't quite as dramatic as PLU's but there are some similarities.  I understand that most teams wouldn't want to schedule Linfield right now but a Whitworth, Willamette, Bethel, Stevens-Point, pick a Texas team, would all make perfect sense.

[scandihoovian]

One consistent NWC-SCIAC matchup over the last 8-9 years has been PLU-CLU.  I bring it up because of the connection to that '99 PLU team.  That year's game was one of the best I've ever seen in person.  PLU got up big early and the Kingsmen came storming back, scoring with about 1:30 left to pull within two.  The wideout who caught the touchdown pass got hit with an excessive celebration flag for pointing at his buddies standing behind the end zone and the 2 point conversion from the 18 yard line failed.  On the following series, true to form, Frosty went for it on 4th and 1 on his own 28 - well within field goal range for CLU should they get the ball back.  The Lutes gained their one yard (the measurement was one of those where the ref gets the card out to see if slides between the stick and the nose of the ball) and that was the ball game.  That Lute team showed a lot of character hanging on to the win, and it was fun to watch them go on to the national title.  I think these are the kind of contests we'd see more of if the two conferences developed these kinds of series.  Sorry for the rambling post, as you can tell I still get fired up thinking about that game.

WC11-
I think we are all interested to see what will happen to Linfield next year.  Will they rebuild or reload?  Oxy (w/ Collins) vs. Linfield (without Elliot) next September would be a compelling matchup for sure.

[wildcat11]

Scand,

49 winning season....it's usualy reloading at Linfield.  But Elliott is a big loss but even more than that might be the WR corp of Allen, Hazenberg, and McKecknie.

[RFB]

Great conversation going on here. I am all for the SCIAC/NWC to sign an exclusive contract to schedule non-conference games. A good way to do it would be on a rotating basis. For two years you might get Linfield/PLU, then you rotate to someone else. It would be really good for both conferences to take care of scheduling problems and would help develop a potential future rivalry between the two.

[scandihoovian]

I like the idea, RFB - I assume you're thinking one road & one home each year?  I know for some SCIAC schools two trips up north in one year is too much for their travel budget, but it seems like one trip is reasonable.  I think the key would be how you pair the schools.

WC11-  The same may apply to Oxy.  I was impressed with their receiving corps - but I haven't checked to see who's gone after this year.

[RFB]

Yeah it would be one home and one away. You would play the the same teams for two years and then rotate. It would be perfect, the third game for the SCIAC conference teams could be Chapman and the NWC could schedule Eastern or Southern Oregon.

[Gray Fox]

I'm not sure whether Lewis & Clark will play next year, but it looks like Oxy would be on their current schedule for 2006. The other three teams L&C plays this year may complete their home and home series this year.

This will be the fifth year in a row for Oxy to play L&C.
It will be the second  year for CMS.
It will be the fourth year for Chapman and the sixth for Colorado College.

Oxy has played Colorado College every year since 1999.  So it looks like they would at least be scheduled for 2006 at Oxy.

It appears that Oxy prefers long term relations with similar schools  rather than schedule for strictly football reasons. 

[Tom Brady]

Here is a fun fact about the history of SCIAC Football...

During the 1920 and 1921 seasons, UCLA was 0-10 against SCIAC schools.  I am sure there was no SCIAC back then, but wishfull thinking isn't all that bad.  UCLA was out-scored 438-35 over those 10 games.  In 1922, UCLA won only one game, a 34-9 game against Redlands. Take that Northwest Conference .

I have to find a better way to fill up my days.

[Gray Fox]

The SCIAC was founded in 1915.

UCLA was a member from 1920 to 1927.  Go Bruins! Beat OXY USC!