Linfield Fans Says...

Recently I grabbed a couple of fixtures of Linfield football to ask them what they enjoyed most about Linfield football.

Lute Week!!

VS.

KEY POSITIONS TO DEFEND

Running Back

Quarterback

Wide Receiver

Head Coach

Linfield Wins Slugfest

It was a tale of two halves in Ashland, Oregon on Saturday night but our Linfield Wildcats prevailed with a ball hawking defense and an offense made the plays when it counted to overcome the host Southern Oregon Raiders 30-22. It was a roller coaster of emotions in witnessing the Wildcats storm out to a commanding 24-3 half time lead and then watch SOU climb right back into the game and get with 2 points midway in the 4th. However, when it all looked to be going SOU’s way Linfield made the big plays down the stretch to seal the victory.

It felt like “that” game. You know the game that exposes what a team is really made of and where their season might go from that point. We made some errors that allowed SOU to get back in the game but this ‘Cat team seemed to find the way to reach deep and make the plays to put the Raiders away. It was gritty hard-fought win. So let’s review The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Saturday’s victory.

The Good:

Defensive Pressure:
The ‘Cats were living in the SOU backfield the whole 1st half and were able to put heat on during the critical 4th quarter stands. The defensive line and linebackers were very physical and I think they found their calling card in terms of their style of play. That pressure set up two takeaways that put the offense on the front door of the end zone. It was an outstanding performance up front.

Defensive Coverage:
SOU quarterback, Bryan Lee-Lauduski did throw for 3 TD’s on the night but was only 16-36 and threw 4 interceptions. The Wildcat secondary did a very solid job in breaking up plays when it mattered and in the playmaking department with the interceptions. SOU was only 4 for 16 in 3rd down conversions and the defensive backfield had a large hand in that.

Red-Zone Offense:
4 for 4 in the Red Zone. It was an outstanding job on a night where the Linfield offense could have had a better performance in some areas. But the point is when the ‘Cats had the ball in the RZ they got the job done and I’d rather have that then a team that races between the 20’s and can’t punch it in.

Clutch offense:
The SOU defense was very physical and did a nice job vs the ‘Cats. However, when the game was on the line our offense made the plays it needed to extend the lead and then ice the game. Nice play calling and great execution.

Special Teams Coverage:
I though the coverage teams did a great job on Saturday. SOU had a very fast weapon that shook loose for one decent return but the rest of the night the Purple Pain crew had a great night.

The Bad:

Turnovers:
4 turnovers were not an ideal number. I don’t need to keep hammering this but we know this will be a very key component next week.

3rd Quarter:
I knew that SOU was going to come out with guns blazing but we really helped them out in the 3rd quarter. In fact, I don’t think we’ve played a very good 3rd quarter this season.

Getting home at about 4 AM:
All that leads to was a very unproductive Sunday.

The Ugly:

SOU’s pre-game Chant/Stare Down:
Right before kickoff Linfield has the tradition of gathering on the sideline at the 50 and reciting the Lord ’s Prayer on bended knee. I’m not a very religious person but out of respect to the players on the team and my Linfield family I always took part and would look forward to that moment. Saturday was no exception but right before the team gathered the SOU players were gathered on their sideline at the 50 yard line and started jumping up and down while chanting “WILDCATS”. That wouldn’t be super tacky but half of their team turned towards our sideline and proceed to mean mug the ‘Cats while hooting and hollering.

Look Linfield has been around numerous big games and have played many excellent teams. That kind of junk isn’t scaring or intimidating anybody or winning you a game. All it did was make Linfield fans watching this go down chuckle and say “Looks like they won pre-game again.”

Linfield over SOU: One Highlight

Now since there were many 'Cat fans that couldn't make it down to Ashland for the 'Cats 30-22 victory over Southern Oregon I thought I'd offer up one highlight clip from last night. The clip below is of Soph. Linebacker Paul Partlow's sack and strip that set up the 'Cats second TD of the night.

I'll break down my thoughts of the trip to Ashland and of the 'Cats gutty victory that sets up this weekend's huge NWC tilt.

Showdown! Linfield @ Southern Oregon

A gigantic game for both the Wildcats (2-2) and Raiders (3-2) will kickoff this Saturday night (6pm) at the beautiful setting of Raider Stadium in Ashland. Linfield is coming off a bounce back pasting of Puget Sound 37-0 and Southern Oregon just wrapped up a 3 game roadie with a very impressive 14-13 victory over NAIA Independent rival Azusa Pacific. Both Linfield and SOU are fighting for their playoff lives and this game has greater implications than just this season. SOU is slowing bouncing back as a program and there’s nothing more the SOU staff would like to do than go into recruits home and hold up a victory over Linfield as a reason why the Raiders are up and coming.

Some D3 followers might say “Wildcat11 a win or loss vs a non-DIII doesn’t matter in regards to playoffs” but let’s be real. An overall record of 7-2 looks much more qualified than a 6-3 record. Linfield fans from 2001 know what I’m talking about.

I can’t stress this enough…SOU is probably the 2nd most talented team we’ve face this season behind WOU. This is a very winnable game for Linfield but our ‘Cats must bring their “A” game to get it done. If we show up with our “Willamette” game then our ‘Cats are in for a long night. No "Know your Foe" this week because I'm slammed with other work and all you need to know is that a Raider is also known as Pirate scum.

Wildcat11’s key to victory:

Time of Possession:
SOU has a very strong passing game but they also have a physical offensive front that can run the ball. We need to find that balance in our offense that will allow the ‘Cats to obtain scoring chances while we eat up on the clock. The longer we can keep the Raider offense off the field the more effective our defense will be.

Defensive 3rd and long:
As a defense we have to deny SOU in 3rd and long situations. It’s back breaking when you play great the first two downs and then give up a chain’s route 1st down. This is an area our defense must keep improving on and will be key this Saturday.

Turnovers:
I’ve been hammering this every week and I’ll keep on hammering it. We hang onto the ball and we’re going to win this game.

Little Things:
When I mean little things I’m talking about the little things that add up over the course of a game. That is missing a PAT in the 1st quarter or a converted 1st down gets called back because of a penalty. The more we clean these issues up the tougher it will be for SOU to overcome us.

Overall:
Big challenge in a hostile environment. This will really tell if our team has bounced back from Willamette. SOU has to be feeling great about this week. They were able to fend off Willamette in Salem and they know that Linfield wasn’t able to. If we play quality Linfield football then we’re coming home with a win and I like our chances in doing that. ‘Cats by 7.

‘Cats brought the doughnuts

Our Linfield Wildcats were able to put together a solid effort this past Saturday as the ‘Cats shut out NWC opponent Puget Sound 37-0. Linfield found the run game for a day and the benefits were great as it allow a rested defense to shut down the Loggers during the afternoon. One week doesn’t make a season as the ‘Cats have a huge challenge this Saturday in Ashland but let’s take a look back at this weeks “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”

The Good:

The Running Game
Linfield made a big move and shifted Jr. slot receiver Travis Masters to the starting tailback spot. For the first week the moved paid off big as Travis racked up 149 rushing yards on the day. It was the largest rushing total by a player since 2003 when Thomas Ford piled up 237 yards in a first round playoff win over Redlands. Linfield used a nice mix of Jr. Dan Lever in short yardage and vet Pete Cruickshank to round out the rushing attack. Really enjoyed the way the Oline was physical and the WR corp did a great job in working their blocks downfield.

Brian Mehl
The Senior safety had a standout day in recording 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interception as Brian spearheaded the defense in their first shutout of the year. Mehl has played very well all year long and was rewarded with his play as being named the NWC defensive player of the week.

Scott Birkhofer
53-yard field goal and that broke a record he set 3 weeks prior of 52-yards. The junior kicker is damn good.

The overall sense of urgency
There was such a distinct difference in the emotional level of the team this week. They had a sense of urgency and level of readiness. They were not so wound up where they were emotionally exhausted after the first snap but they were just ready to roll. That attitude is what this team needs every day. Blue collar, hard work at practice and then it will carry over on Saturday.

The Bad:

PAT Crew.

Can we please go one game without having a stinking PAT blocked? Please?

Two Turnovers:

They didn’t really hurt but in a close game those turnovers could have. We still need to clean up our ball security. Our ability to hang on the ball is going to be very large the next two weeks.

Attendance:

2,500 people is just ok but I have greater expectations than just 2,500. The crowd that was there did a great job in backing the ‘Cats but when you are used to seeing 3,500-4,000 people at the ‘Catdome the drop off is noticeable.

The Ugly:

Willamette had the bye week and they play UPS next Saturday so it was ugly that their team was there sporting their Bearcat gear. The funny thing is that for the past 7 years I’m sure there were bearcat players that showed up at Linfield games during their bye week but you wouldn’t know because they would never wear anything that tied them to Willamette for fear of people smirking at them for being a Willamette football player. Enjoy it this year because that’s as far as it will go.

Go 'Cats!!!! BTW...

Catdomealumni.com's fan of the week! I hope his girl doesn't watch this.

Timber! Puget Sound at Linfield

Week 5 is here and the playoffs have already started for our Linfield Wildcats. Yes, we are coming off a loss at Willamette that had a suck factor of 10. I guess we lost our lease on “Catdome South” until we get another chance to rent out McCullough Stadium in 2009.

With that debacle in rearview mirror our boys need to turn their full attention to a Puget Sound Logger team that took one on this chin last Saturday to the revived Lutes 37-8. With Linfield sitting on an uncomfortable 1-2 record I don’t think there is a reason to dive deep in the reasons why victory this weekend is a huge must. What I think we’ll find out on Saturday is if Linfield is going to have a huge say about the NWC title or if Linfield Nation will be smashing the panic button at about 4:30 PM (PST).

Here are the schools official game previews: Opportunity for Redemption/Taking on the 'Cats

Know Your Foe

Loggers: Everyone knows what a Logger is but our friends over at Wikipedia provided some golden nuggets about our wood chopping opponents that my have you saying “Who Knew?”

-The difference between a Lumberjack and a Logger is that the term Lumberjack is typically referring to a Logger from an earlier time. So a Logger is basically a modern day Paul Bunyan. However, another slightly used term for a Logger back on east coast is a woodhick. I like it! Say it with me…”Puget Sound Woodhicks” Has a good ring to it.

-American Loggers were first centered in the northeastern states and moved along the upper Midwest until they hit the PacNW where the area glommed on the identity of the tough, hard working woodhick culture and we’ve been wearing flannel shirts every since.

---The term “skid row” can trace its origins to Loggers. Fallen trees were “skidded” down hill sides or on a corduroy road. One such street was in Seattle and held the name of “Skid Road”. As time moved along Skid Road was occupied by folks that were down on their luck and that morphed into the term “skid row”.

---The Wall Street Journal named being a logger as the worst job in America in 2004 due to the instability of the work, the pure danger, and low income from the job. I still contend the head football coach of Lewis and Clark is the worse job in America but I’m not the WSJ.

---The last fun fact I’ll provide is that Loggers like to have beards and wear suspenders. Maybe UPS should incorporate the suspender look onto their uniforms?

Wildcat11’s key to victory:

TURNOVERS:

The Turnovers this season and last year have been 100% killer to this team. It happened again last week with the fumble at the one-inch line at the start of the 3rd quarter and when we had a blown assignment in pass protection that lead to Trevor getting stripped when he was steamed rolled. It has to stop if we are going to beat teams. You can look at Linfield’s last three losses (Willamette, WOU and Whitworth) and our turnovers all had a major, major say in the outcome.

Limit Kavin Williams:

The UPS quarterback (Kavin Williams) will be sharper this week than last after sitting out the beginning of the season with a bum right shoulder and was finally inserted back into the lineup vs PLU. Williams hurt Linfield last year with his legs but missed some golden chances to make some big strikes in the air. This year I suspect he’s probably matured as a passer and will be looking for the big air strike vs the ‘Cats. Before the season I felt he was one of the conference’s most dangerous players but was hampered by the tweaked wing. No Doubt, he will be looking to pull the ball down and run this weekend if he doesn’t see his primary target open. If we can control/limit Williams then we will control/limit UPS.

Overall: I could keep going and going about each little aspect that I believe will impact Saturday’s game but I truly think the above will be two highlighted keys of the game. If we don’t turn the stinking thing over and kill ourselves with stupid penalties then I love our offense. Teams cannot cover all of our weapons. Our Defense played great for 90% of the game last week but that 10% of being out of possession and players trying to do too much just murder us. If the defense plays on the same page and just focus on their jobs the full 60 minutes then we should be in good shape.

I don’t care how much we win by but I want to see an improved effort to play smart, limit the turnovers, and try to play a complete game. I like Linfield by 14 or more. Now let’s go out and win the damn thing!

Alumni/JV game was a great success!

It hurts to type this but I figure I should pound out this blog about the alumni/jv game last night at the ‘Catdome. We had about 30 alumni players that were able to make it last night but the old guys gave it their all last night and played a heck of a game versus the young ‘Cats and ran away with the 54-16 win. For me, the hours leading up to the game were pretty stressful. I was very worried about the weather (we already played one alumni game in a monsoon) and players not being able to make it during the final hours.

I arrived at the Catdome around 3pm and open up the visitor’s locker room. About 4 pm guys slowly started to trickle in. One of the fun parts of the event is over in the equipment room where guys search out their old number and find out if they can still even get the jersey to fit. You could see the memories wash over the alumni players as they start searching out for a certain style of shoulder pads and debate to try to fit in the large pants or move up the XL. My old numbers 11 fit very snugly around my mid-section but screw it; there was no jersey that was going to turn the clock back 10 years so I just went for it.

Another funny thing about the alumni game that I’ve noticed over the past few years is that it seems that the defensive players are typically the first ones to show up. I don’t know why and don’t know if it’s just a coincidence but it always seem that D-Line and LBs make up the bulk of the first arrivals. You could probably guess the last guys to typically show up….the O-Line guys.

As for the game itself, the weather turned out to be absolutely perfect and there was a decent turnout to support the new and old ‘Cats. The young kids took the early lead on an offensive turnover but after that the offense rolled up and down the field turf at the ‘Catdome. The defense guys were a little disappointed we gave up a TD but we felt pretty good about our old guy effort.

As much as I would like to write a paragraph about every player there I’ll just give a shout to all the boys: Drew Kehoe, Peter Gerber, Dwight Donaldson, Jeff York, Bryan Swanson, James Holan, Luke Buchheit, Brett Elliott, Carl Haberberger, Morty Kotler, Thomas Ford, Andy Jamison, Joe O’Neil, Brad McKechnie, George Carter, Brandon Hazenberg, Casey Allen, Mitch Chadwick, Mark Culbertson, Mike Ketler, Robert Acevedo, Nik Soo, Brandon Olson, Ryan Boatsman, Phil Rombach, Chris Boock, Phil Marr, JP Kloninger, and Ray Lions.

Allen Moody from the News-Register was very gracious to give the game pre and post coverage. Here is the link to the game article: Linfield alumni impressive one more time. Thanks Allen for the ink!

OK that is about all for me because I’m hurting more and more by the minute and I need to put my feet up and relax. I'll be getting my hands on some pictures in the near future and I'll be linking those up soon.

Good Luck Old Guys!

Show the pups how it's done tonight...and keep the flaxseed oil handy!

The Day After...

It's the day after the shocking loss at Willamette and the sharpness of defeat is still twisting inside. I've talked to a few Linfield'ers on the phone and my wife talked me off the edge last night on the way home. Mrs. 11 was great...she had a hot meal and cold beer waiting for me when I walk through the door with my lower lip dragging across our kitchen tile.

I started pulling clips a few hours ago for the highlight DVD and still can't believe how we went from total domination to a dog flight in a very short time period. It was just a wild situation to witness.

So here I am feeling like garbage and I get a random email from a Linfield fan I've never met but he's been checking out the blog and felt the need to drop me a line. His email really snapped me back to life and made everything all clear. Let me share you the excerpt that made it come together for me:

I remember a statement made by Terry Bradshaw years ago ( and I paraphrase) how easy it is to be a happy, reasonably stable and well adjusted person when everything is going well.

It's when the stuff hits the fan and performance and results are lost that the real metal of a man can be found.

Right when I read that I felt 10x worse and then 10x better at the same time. I felt worse because of the way I reacted right after the game. I was cursing in my mind and on the phone with my anger of the loss and questioning if I'm somehow contributing to this by glorifying the program with all the videos of the 'Cats cutting up team after team during the incredible run of the past years. I just reacted as poorly as a fan and as a supporter could get. Looking back I'm just as disappointed in my reaction to the loss as much as the loss itself.

The reason why I felt better is that my anonymous emailer was spot on. At Linfield we always talk about handling adversity and when the clips and odds are against us we find a way to rise above the panic and chaos and perform like winners.

So instead of crying in my milk and contributing to the crush of worriers of the jeopardy of the streak I'm going to turn all of my support towards helping my 'Cats just go out the next game and do the best they can. As players I hope they are finding that same mindset that on Monday they're just going to hit the practice field and work each snap on improving and competing. If the kids get caught up in worrying about two or three games down the road they won't see the hurdle and the opportunity right in front of them.

If you are a fan that is reading this I hope you take this to heart also. Instead of feeling dread and trying to dissect everything and coming up with a list of "what ifs" about last Saturday, just show up at the Catdome and put everything into feeding the 'Cats that Catdome energy that has propelled so many teams of the past to that higher level of play.

What's done is done and it's time to find out if this team is made of steel or tin foil. As a fan I'm putting my Reynolds Wrap away.

Willamette-33 Linfield-32

I don't really know what to say right now but I'll let Coach Mora sum it up for me.

Week 4: Cat Fight!!!!! (Linfield at Willamette)

I’m still not used to Willamette and Linfield playing this early in the year but I always look forward to the annual showdown. Typically, Linfield and Willamette played the last game of the year for about 7 straight years (1999-2005) but this year we get to open NWC play with our stone's throw rival.

Linfield has owned Willamette in recent years but this is always a hotly contested battle (sans 2004/20005). In 2006 Willamette was in right in the game until the end when Linfield was able to pull away. This year Willamette is an improved ball club that plays extremely hard. Don’t let the 1-3 record fool you…they’ve been in every game so far this year. I have a very high respect for Coach Speckman. His kids play the game the right way and he runs a first class program. I feel he's been hampered by Willamette's admissions policy the past few years and it has shown on the scoreboard. In fact, if the right job came up I could see Coach Speckman leaving Willamette in short order but that is just my thoughts.

You can read Linfield Sports preview here: Backyard Brawl or watch Coach Speckman give a preview of Linfield/Willamette here: Linfield Pre-Game Interview

Know Your Foe (Thanks M-Zone.com!)

Just what is a Bearcat? According the Wikipedia a Bearcat is actually a Binturong. A Bearcat is not actually a bear or a cat and the original meaning is lost so people don’t really know where it came from. Who knew?

Other fun facts are that Bearcats are nocturnal and sleeps on branches. They like fruit but will eat eggs, leaves, and other small animals (rodents/birds). Deforestation has greatly thinned out their numbers (no wonder they dislike UPS so much), and can be vicious when corned.

Typically a Bearcat is the size of a smallish dog (20-30 lbs) and its bushy tail can act as a fifth hand which comes in handy when running the fly offense.

Wildcat11's key to victory: (Granted more goes to winning a game than just below but these are some of my highlighted areas)

Linfield Linebackers vs The Fly

No doubt our sophomore trio of LBs has shown some great flashes in the early season but no game this year will be as big of mental challenge as defending The Fly for the first time. No team will give you more false reads and ball faking deception than Willamette. They might not be as physical or athletic as WOU/HSU but if Willamette gets you out of your lane it can spell big trouble.

Turnovers

A thorn in Linfield’s side for the last part of 2006 and early 2007 is putting the ball on the ground. Again, I understand that turnovers will happen but we do need to protect the rock in a better manner and if we do turn it over it has to be “3 and out”. Willamette was able to get in their game with SOU last week on a turnover returned for a ‘Tug and we can’t afford to give WU free points.

Willamette Linebackers vs Linfield Slots

Willamette’s biggest asset on defense is their hard playing LBs. In watching the WOU/Willamette game they are athletic and fly to the ball. A big key to our offensive attack (in my humble opinion) is our slot receiver’s ability to make plays vs the Willamette Linebackers. If our slots will continue to make the tough catches to move the chains then Willamette is going to have a hard time defending the ‘Cats.

Linfield Running Game – Keep Them Honest

The best way to slow down a pass rush is to run the ball. We’re not going to be mistaken with a wishbone team but if we can prove to be effective running the ball in spots then it will allow the passing attack to be even more effective. But come on…that’s just football 101.

Overall, if we don’t put ourselves in bad spots with turnovers then I think we just have too much offense for Willamette. I like the ‘Cats by 2 TD’s if not more.

Alumni Game is Monday Night

Holy crap….I’m not ready for this. The past few years for the alumni vs JV game I’ve managed to get out to a football field and get the legs moving to make sure that I wouldn’t keel over with total exhaustion during the alumni game. This year the only time I’ve stepped on a football field is to watch Linfield’s first two games of the year. So if I don’t blog after Monday you will know why.

The game is on Monday (Oct 1st) at 7:15 pm. The alumni team will be wearing white on white Linfield uniforms and just about each alumni player will be wearing anywhere from 5-30 extra pounds from their former playing days. As the organizer of the game this is when I start getting really nervous. We have an excellent roster of former ‘Cats that will be back at the ‘Catdome but sometimes life comes up and guys can’t make it. It drives me bonkers because I want to make sure we have the spots filled up enough where have enough bodies on the turf.

On our offense I think Cat fans that attend are going to have some major flashbacks to the 2004-2005 seasons. On Defense we have a cool mix of young and old vets so I hope we hold up our end of the deal.

I think that is going to be the last Alumni Game for Wildcat11. This will be my 4th game and I think that is plenty. Last year when I was in open space with a ball carrier my mind knew what it wanted to do but the flesh wasn’t willing. As I age that aspect of playing isn’t going to improve.

So here’s to the guys that are coming out on a Monday night. It’s a tough deal for the players to pull off and I hope the current kids in the program will get a little better understanding of the tradition of former ‘Cat players and how proud we are of them.

Go ‘Cats!

Weekend AD-genda: Bye-Week

I think this is the perfect time of the yearly Bye-Week for our ‘Cats. After two up and down weekends vs quality opponents the timing is probably right to heal some dings and work on the scheme before we enter conference play next weekend at Willamette (9/29, 3 pm game time).

My first instinct is to head down to Salem on Saturday night to check out a much improved Southern Oregon Raider team play the Bearcats but I have some projects to work on during Saturday and I think it might be best to take Mrs. 11 out for a nice dinner since she’s been so great in supporting my Wildcat craze this season (as usual).

Good reads about HSU/Linfield

Mrs. 11 and I had the pleasure of playing guest host to D3football.com’s Keith McMillian and Pat Coleman last weekend. You can read Keith’s thoughts about their trip out to the PacNW here on his fantastic weekly Around The Nation series on D3football.com. I highly recommend that you read this article.

In his article Keith wrote about a “D3 geek moment of the trip” and that moment was Keith and Pat’s impromptu stop at Lewis and Clark. In reading this Mrs. 11 laughed and said that was incorrect and the geek moment of the trip should have been when Keith, Pat, and myself were all at our dinning room table each on our laptops reading the d3football posting board at 1 am in the morning. I might have to agree.

Also, The SID for Hardin Simmons runs a blog and he posted up on his trip out to Portland/McMinnville. He has a classic story about his friends wanting some seafood for lunch and the “establishment” they pull up to in thinking they found the right spot. Classic.

Highlights, Highlights, Highlights

Well, I just about wrapped up the WOU segment for the player highlight DVD for this season. Not to put myself over but it’s looking pretty darn sharp. I’m excited to start on the HSU game this weekend. We had four cameras working that game. We have the two stadium cameras that work the video board to pull clips from, my shots, and senior running back Drew Ragan’s uncle (Jerry) was there shooting. I love it when Jerry is there. He’s been shooting video for years and his clips are top shelf. Needless to say, we should have that game well covered from just about every angle.

Housework

I’ll be pretty much useless for the next few months during weekends so I’m gunning on wrapping up a few projects around the house. We’ll see if I can knock them out. Along with that I plan on opening a couple of Longhammer IPA's and enjoying whatever college games are on.

Mug Shots of the NWC

I feel a little robbed by Adam Johnson of D3football.com who wrote about the porn ‘staches the seniors at PLU busted out for their profile pictures this season. He’s stealing a little bit of my thunder because a few weeks ago I thought of running this post about the various mug shot pictures in the NWC this year. DAMN YOU ADAM JOHNSON!

Anyways, the football mug shot is a phenomenon that goes back to the beginning of the games. There are so many different variations of how players present themselves in the mug shot. Honestly, most are pretty comical. Most players probably don’t even think their mug shot until they sit down in front of the camera. Then they immortalized their image as a player for the rest of their days in some ridiculous manner.

I was always the 'clean cut and smile guy” for my mugs. I smile because I was playing college football and enjoyed every minute of playing, so why not smile? I’m not a mean guy so why try to put on a front and look tough? A mug shot never won a game so I didn’t see why I needed to looked pissed.

So let’s dive into a few categories of mug shots around the NWC this season.

The “I’m wearing my dad’s shirt” mug:

This classic happens all the time in the college football world. What happens is that at the beginning of the year a team doesn’t have all of their team gear ready (polo’s, jackets) so the SID has one or two community shirts/jackets that he puts on every player for their mug shot. The result is that a number of guys look like they’re 10 years old and they stole their big brother’s clothes. This year’s winner is Menlo. They have a number of examples of this gaff and the most egregious examples are here, here, and here. Brutal.

The “Mean Mug”

This is the #1 most brutal football mug shot. I’ve never understood the mean mug head shot. Are you in jail? Did you just find out you’re girl is cheating on you? What’s your problem buddy? Like I said a mug shot has never intimidated a sole on the football field or won a game. Buddy…you’re playing college football so smile a little! Here are some classic examples of this mug here, here, here, here, and here.

The “Pez Head”

This is a very rare mug shot and has a very close relation to the “mean mug”. The Pez Head is a move that some players will use in their mug shot when they really want to amp up the intimidation. The move is to tilt the head back while wearing the mean mug. The effect is to try to make yourself look even more intimidating but all it does is make you look like you’re trying to squeeze out a fart. We only had two Pez Heads in the NWC this year that are here and here. Congrats!

The “Holy Hair” mug

We do live in the Pacific Northwest so I shouldn't be surprised that many of the NWC rosters are littered with players “expressing” themselves through their hair. I guess I’m just old fashioned when it comes to the hair cut during football but there are a ton of filthy looking guys in the NWC this season. Whitworth was leading the conference last year in guys with hair like girls but as you can see the NWC has diversified in this category for the 2007 season. You can find some examples of these long hairs here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The “Just Woke Up” mug

Come on bro….your parents are spending 20K plus a year to send you to college. At least you can get yourself in order.

The “‘Stache”

PLU has already been lauded for their “Class of ‘Stache” this year but here are a few more sweet mustaches in the NWC. Here are two ‘Cats with some not-so sweet lip love: here and here. Coaches still have the old rule of that you can grow the lip fuzz if it's "neatly trimed and groomed". Unless your name is Ron Jermey I think it's time to revisit this rule.

The "Crazy Eyes"

Now we already visted the mean mug but the "crazy eyes" is a different cat. Sometimes when you look into someone's eyes you can see they're a little offbase. I haven't see a crazy eyes in a while so enjoy it while you can.

The "Look At Me" mug

Like the PLU guys the lip hair is partly a gag and you'll see the attention seeker mug shot on every team or so. Now, it's probably more a rib than anything but some guys just try really hard to be different and it comes off forced.

That pretty much covers it. If you see any more classics feel free to post links up in the comments section.

Wild West Shootout at the ‘Catdome

OK, I did say ‘Cats by 10 in my Linfield/HSU preview. I didn’t think it would be 52-42 but it’s still 10 points. It was a picture perfect late summer day at the ‘Catdome and nothing like breaking out a home opener with two offenses that looked like they belong on a basketball court more than a football field. So let’s talk about the Good, the not-so good, and the ugly in Linfield's first win (a big one) of the 2007 season.

The Good

Trevor Sharer – One of the best passing/offensive performances in Linfield history. Trevor’s 511 passing yards incredibly only puts him 3rd in a single game performance behind The Butcher’s 525 (Oxy 2005) and 528 yards (Whitewater 2005) but now holds the single game record for total yardage in one game at 555 total yards. After the WOU game we all thought Trevor was going to have a huge year but that is just ridiculous. Five alright’s for Trevor.

Pass Protection- In order for the QB to get all the love the boys up front have to get their job done and again they were great in the pass-pro department. The O-Line did not give up one sack on the day and there were only a few times were Trevor was really rushed. Along with the offensive line, the running backs did a fantastic job in picking up blitzing Cowboys.

Receivers- Again just a fantastic day with 10 different Wildcats catching passes. The number of ‘Cats that can make plays catching the ball seems to be endless. I love the makeup of their character.

Kicking Game- Stan Fisher didn’t get to punt very much on Saturday but was fantastic again. The Punt coverage team cashed in on Stan’s perfect placement that pinned the ‘boys on the 1-yard line in one of Stan’s two punts. Also, what can you say about our place kicker Scott Birkhofer? The Junior was phenomenal with two huge field goals of 46 and 51 yards (a school record). I’m pretty sure that will garner him some All-American attention.

The Not-So Good

Turnovers- While there were zero interceptions the offense did put the ball on the carpet 5 times while losing 3 of the fumbles. HSU converted two of those turnovers into TD. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing at this point but we to clean this up or it will bite us down the road.

Defense- I’m a defensive guy so I just hated seeing a talented Cowboy offense hang a 42 spot on my ‘Cats. There are definite areas where we can get much better at and I truly believe as we move along we’re going to get there. We have three sophomore linebackers (who are going to be stars) but it takes time to get a handle on our defense in terms of adjustments. However, that still doesn’t excuse the tackling at times, needing to pressure the QB more, and being out of control when we have shots for big tackles for losses. However, I’m an optimist and know that we’ll keep ratcheting up the defense but it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

On another note….I’m I crazy to complain that the offense was scoring too quickly and this could be part of the problem this past Saturday? Look at the time of possession for Linfield. We didn’t have one drive that lasted over 3 ½ minutes. That just a crazy pace and leads to our defense to be out there for a long time. Maybe I’m looking a gift horse in the mouth but a few drives over 6 minutes wouldn’t kill us.

The Ugly

Total Attendance: 2154. The last time I remember any empty seats in the main grandstands was the 2003 Redlands playoff games. The upper south corner of the grandstands was empty and it was disappointing. The fans that were there were GREAT as always. However, I think the fact that OSU, Oregon, and PSU having all home games today hurt our attendance. Linfield only has 3 more home games this season and if we do go 8-1 then we might get a home playoff game. Linfield fans are calling for our defense to step up but I’m calling on our fans to step up.

Don't Tick Off Former Wildcat Tight Ends

Reaction from a former Wildcat Tight End after a Wildcat interception return was not ruled a TD. (The 'Cats punched it in the next play). However, if you wear stripes at the 'Catdome be aware who you piss off.

Linfield Gets Big Win and Signs Up Latest Corporate Sponsor!

Great win for Linfield yesterday!! Great news after the game as well. Linfield signed up a brand new national sponsor that should help keep the ball off of the ground in the coming games. Select members of the team are scheduled for a tour and photo op with CEO Jimmy Stickyfingers at the Elmer's Factory later in the bye week.

Week 2: Hardin-Simmons at Linfield

"You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. *That's* the *Chicago* way! And that's how you get Capone. Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?" -Jim Malone, The Untouchables

That quote above pretty much sums up my feeling for this week for the Linfield/Hardin-Simmons game. Our ‘Cats have to be willing to put it all on the line and do whatever it takes to win this ball game. Both nationally ranked teams come into this game at a 0-1 mark and both are in big need of this win.

The Cowboys come in ranked 19th in the D3football.com poll and our ‘Cats sit at the 15 slot. Both are traditional powers in their respective regions (HSU-South & Linfield-West) and both are looking for a few answers coming into Saturday’s contest. You can read Linfield Sports game preview here: Return Engagement and Hardin-Simmons preview here: Week 2

Here are some areas that I believe are vital for the ‘Cats to come out victorious.

Limiting Turnovers:

In Linfield’s last two losses (Whitworth & WOU) there have been a fumble in each game that was returned for TD by the Wolves and Rats. That just can’t happen this week. I’m not so stupid to think turnovers will not happen but we have to take care of the rock and not give up free points to the Cowboys. It’s a pretty simple tenant of football; the more you turn it over the less chance you have to win.

Offensive Balance:

Linfield does not need to turn into Air Force and become a ground team but I would love to see our ‘Cats be more effective running the ball. We’ll control more clock and just open up the passing game even more. No knock on HSU but WOU’s front seven was flat out good. So if we have similar struggles this week then my level of concern about the run game is going to rise.

Pass Rush:

HSU spent the first game trying to figure out who was going to replace long time starter Jordan Neal and according to HSU’s press release it looks like they’ve settled on sophomore, Justin Feaster, who went 12-20 for 157 yards and 2 TD’s in their opening week loss to LaCrosse. I feel good about our DB’s ability to handle the deep ball but we need a better rush this week to keep the young signal caller off balance and not allow the ‘Cats to get chewed up in the short game.

Limit HSU big plays/tackling:

It seemed last year that the Cowboys moved down the field with multiple 20-30 yard strikes and we all know that HSU WR, Mychal Carrillo turned a 5 yard loss on a WR screen into a dazzling 66 yard TD to open up the 2nd half. I don’t think I need to elaborate anymore in why tackling is important.

Overall:

It obvious that our offense is in a much better place this season headed into HSU than 2006. The Cowboys have had two weeks to prepare and will be much sharper this week than their season opener. I expect the game to be hotly contested but I believe our experience and playmakers in the passing game will be too much for their younger DB’s. This is beyond a must win for Linfield in terms of playoffs and moving our season forward and I think our ‘Cats will rise to the occasion. ‘Cats by 10.

BTW….for peat’s sake I hope they let this girl get into HSU or she just might have had to go to McMurry.