It’s the game that we’ve been
looking forward to all summer and season:
The game that will decide the Northwest conference champion. Linfield has lived up to their role as the three-time
defending conference champs; adding a unique twist to the game is Linfield’s
challenger: The Willamette Bearcats, who
are rebounding impressively from a 4-6 season in 2011.
Third-ranked
Linfield comes into the game with a 6-0 record, 3-0 in conference play, and
having just thrashed Lewis & Clark 63-0.
Willamette is 6-1, 2-1 in conference play, and was ranked 22nd in the
nation before being upset by Pacific Lutheran 41-27 last week. Willamette is currently unranked.
Linfield’s
offense is among the most explosive in the nation, and in their last two games,
they’ve been letting opposing defenses suffer their wrath. The ‘Cat Attack is averaging 43.3 points and
468.2 yards of offense, ranking first and second in the conference respectively. Leading the attack is Quarterback Mickey Inns,
who has really turned it on of late.
Inns is completing 58.3 percent of his passes for 1,513 yards and 17
touchdowns with five interceptions on the season, giving him a passer rating of
143.09. Charlie Poppen leads the
receiving core with 371 yards and three touchdowns on 24 receptions. Lucas Jepson has 315 yards and three
touchdowns on 23 receptions. Deidre
Weirsma has 243 yards and three touchdowns on 26 receptions. Along with their balanced receiving core,
Linfield leads the conference in rushing at 176.2 yards per game, led by Josh
Hill in the first three games and John Shaffer in the last three.
Willamette’s
defense comes into the game as a solid unit.
The Bearcats are giving up 26.3 points and 372 yards of offense per
game, both ranking third in the NWC.
Willamette’s defense is second in the NWC in turnovers forced wit 21 on
the season, but they have slowed down in that department, forcing only three in
the past three games. The last
impression left by the bearcat defense, however, was their inability to get
Pacific Lutheran’s offense off the field on the legendary 18 play, 99 yard
touchdown drive that took 9:47 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Willamette’s
offense, an inconsistent bunch in 2011, has exploded onto the national scene
this season as one of the nation’s best.
The Bearcats average 42.3 points and 544 yards of offense, ranking
second and first in the northwest conference respectively. Quarterback Josh Dean, a fixture on
Willamette’s bench in 2011, has taken the nation by storm; Dean has completed
68.2 percent of his passes for 2,569 yards with 29 touchdowns and nine
interceptions on the season, giving him a passer rating of 166.4 on the
season. Much like Linfield, the Bearcats
feature a balanced receiving core. Jake
Knecht has 567 yards and 10 touchdowns on 43 receptions. Jake Turner has 567 yards and five touchdowns
on 36 receptions. Tight end Benny
Weischedel has 561 yards and five touchdowns on 34 receptions. Not to be forgotten, Willamette averages 160
yards per game on the ground, second in the conference. Leading the rushing attack is running back
Dylan Jones, who has 644 yards and four touchdowns on the season and is
averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Linfield’s
defense, a unit many people expected to take a step down this season with the
graduation of their entire secondary, has turned out once again to be an
outstanding unit. On the season, the
Wildcat defense gives up 18.7 points and 326.8 yards of offense per game, both
first in the NWC. The Wildcat defense
also continues to lead the conference in tackles for loss and quarterback
sacks. Linfield has been especially
dominant on defense in their last two games against Whitworth and Lewis &
Clark, two teams not lacking in offensive firepower.
Keys to the game for Linfield:
-Force turnovers: Turnovers
turned out to be most of Willamette’s undoing against Pacific Lutheran,
especially with the way that the Lutes offense was rolling. If Pacific Lutheran did create a blueprint
for beating Willamette, it's something that Linfield’s been extremely good at the past three seasons,
but not so much in 2012.
-Establish a running game:
Linfield, the top rushing team in the conference, really needs to continue
to establish themselves on the ground first like they have in their past two
games. Doing so allows Linfield’s
passing attack to get going, which means absolute destruction for whatever gets
in their way.
-Capitalize on scoring chances:
In past games against really tough teams, Linfield has had trouble with
finishing good drives off with scores.
PLU did a perfect job of finishing off drives against Willamette last
week, and Linfield will probably need to do the same considering how explosive
Willamette’s offense is.
Keys to the game for Willamette:
-Cut down on turnovers:
Turnovers turned into the Willamette Offense’s undoing last week at PLU,
and now they face the best defense in the conference in Linfield. By not beating themselves with turnovers, the
Bearcats offense, the nation’s best passing attack, might have the firepower to
crack Linfield’s defense.
-Establish running game:
Another key for PLU’s victory over Willamette last week was their
inability to get Dylan Jones established on the ground; the all-conference back
was held to a season-low 20 yards on 11 carries. If Willamette is able to run the ball on Linfield,
they have a real chance of winning the game.
-Get off to a fast start: In
their past two games, Linfield has gotten off to faster starts, and their
opponents have been blown away as the games wore on. Willamette got off to a slow start against
PLU last week, and paid the price for it.
Willamette needs to get off to a fast start if they want to dethrone
Linfield on Saturday.
Link to Linfield Press Conference on 10/23: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbh1xEY-vLg&feature=youtu.be
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