Linfield vs Cal Lutheran Preview...

     Last weekend, the eyes of the nation were on the state of Oregon as the defending Pac-12 Champion Oregon Ducks took on perennial SEC powerhouse Louisiana State University Tigers in the new Cowboys Stadium at Arlington, Texas, with the winner having an inside track to the national title game.

     Although it won’t be nationally televised and an inside track to the national title game is not a guarantee, Saturday’s battle between seventh-ranked Linfield and 16th ranked Cal Lutheran is just as big for shaping the national picture for Division-III as the Oregon-LSU game was for Division-I.

     “They’re good, make no mistake about it,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “Ben (McEnroe) has done a real good job with that program.  They aren’t a fluke; they aren’t a here today and gone tomorrow program.  They’re there to stay, and I fully expect them to rule the SCIAC for quite a while.”

     “Since I’ve been here, we haven’t had the luxury of a tune-up game; we really don’t know what that’s like,” Cal Lutheran coach Ben McEnroe said.  “Teams like Linfield and Willamette, they help you to find out where you’re at and where you need to improve, and we enjoy competing at a high level.”

     In last season’s opener, Linfield traveled to Cal Lutheran as the fourth-ranked team in the nation, and five turnovers combined with Daniel Moser’s 202 yard, 3 touchdown performance led to a 47-42 upset for Cal Lutheran.  In the first round of the NCAA Playoffs, Linfield exacted their revenge 42-26, powered by graduated senior Simon Lamson’s 99 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 21 carries.      

     For Linfield, Saturday is the chance to show off a roster that will look a little different from the last two seasons, as well as keeping their 12 game win streak at Maxwell Field (both playoffs and regular season) alive.  Even though Linfield has won their last two games at home against Cal Lutheran, motivation will not be an issue for the Wildcats.

     “Game one last year was as bad a taste (in our mouth) as we’ve had for quite some time; we did everything wrong,” Smith said.  “We had a chance in my opinion to put that game away before halftime, and we ended up falling apart in the fourth quarter, just completely unraveling.  We still remember that game, and it’s still a source of bother for me, the whole staff, and the players who were in that game.”

     Linfield quarterback Mickey Inns will be making his first career start on Saturday.  Inns spent the last two season playing as the third-string quarterback behind Aaron Boehme and Cole Bixenman, leaving him with very minimal game experience going into the 2011 season.

     “Mickey has a very firm grasp of the offense,” Smith said.  “He gives us the best chance to move the chains consistently.”  

     Running back Aaron Williams returns for his senior season, while Buddy Saxon (32 receptions, 471 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Diedre Wiersma (42 receptions, 549 yards, 5 touchdowns) return at wide receiver.  Throw in four returning starters on the offensive line, and Linfield looks to have the makings of another great offensive unit like the last two seasons.

    

     "Anytime you got a veteran offensive line coming back, talented tailbacks, good recievers, they're going to be able to the same things that they've done offensively," McEnroe said.  "I don't predict they're going to make a lot of wholesale changes because of the depth they have and all the returners the have."

    
     “We’ve been there in the clutch situations against playoff teams and having all that clutch experience will help keep the quarterback (Inns) on an even keel and calm in those kind of situations,” Williams said.

     Linfield returns seven starters on a defense that has defined what playmaking is over the last two seasons, forcing a staggering 81 turnovers and 91 sacks in the two seasons combined.  The defense, led by All-American safety Drew Fisher and all-conference cornerback Nate Dixon, shouldn’t deviate much from that this season.

     “The defense’s mentality is that they need to be ready to win the game 7-6.  That has to be their mentality; they can’t be hoping that the offense puts up 50,” Smith said.  “It’s not that we don’t believe in the other side of the ball, but it’s a situation where you prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”       

     For Cal Lutheran, it’s a chance to avenge their playoff losses at Maxwell Field in each of the last two years, as well as a chance to prove that they have what it takes to make it out of the first round of the NCAA playoffs this season.

     “They’ll be gunning for us pretty hard since we’ve ended their season the last couple seasons,” Williams said.  “They beat us last season in the first game, so they definitely think they can beat us.”  

     Helping Cal Lutheran’s cause is the return of 18 starters from last season’s Southern California Inter. Athletic Conference champions, including quarterback Jake Laudenslayer (61.9 percent, 1964 yards, 18 touchdowns, 8 interceptions), running back Deme’trek Chambers (775 yds, 14 touchdowns), and wide receiver Eric Rodgers (62 receptions, 817 yards, 9 touchdowns). 

     Moser returns for his senior season after he dropped out of the program three games into last season due to financial aid falling through.  The return of Moser makes Cal Lutheran’s already formidable backfield even more dangerous.

     “Last year going into the playoff game against Linfield, our tailback (Chambers) was really beat up; he saw limited action in the two games prior to that and was physically wore down from all the carries he had,” McEnroe said.  “It gives us another solid option so that one guy doesn’t have to shoulder the burden with all the carries.”

     As intimidating as an offense like Cal Lutheran’s can be, Linfield’s defense doesn’t plan on backing down.

     “We just gotta bring pressure,” Fisher said.  “We gotta bring more than they can block, and then it comes down to us and the secondary to cover guys one on one.”    

      Rather than toss out any predictions for the outcome of the game, here are some keys to the game for both Linfield and Cal Lutheran that may help their chances of winning.

Keys To The Game For Linfield:

-Establish the run: Linfield will be breaking in a new starting quarterback on Saturday to replace the 2009 and 2010 NWC Offensive Player of the year Aaron Boehme; getting the running game established would help take the pressure off Inns on Saturday afternoon. 

 -Stop Cal Lutheran’s running game: In their season-opening win against Linfield last season, Cal Lutheran ran for 252 yards.  When Linfield won the playoff match-up, they were held to 73 yards.  A repeat of the latter performance will greatly increase Linfield’s chances of winning.     

-Limit turnovers:  Despite moving the ball and scoring almost at will, Linfield’s 5 turnovers cost them a victory in the loss at Cal Lutheran last season.  In their playoff win, they had but one turnover.  Ball Security will play a big role in Saturday’s game. 

Keys To The Game For Cal Lutheran:

-Establish their running game:  While Linfield would like to have a repeat of their run performance from last season’s playoff win, Cal Lutheran would much rather have a repeat of last season’s opener when they ran for 252 yards on Linfield.   

-Stop Linfield’s run:  The elite teams that have ended Linfield’s season in the last two seasons helped their cause by stopping Linfield’s running game (106 yards vs UW-Whitewater, 57 yards vs Saint Thomas).  Following in their footsteps can only help Cal Lutheran as they try to steal one on the road.