GAME DAY SPECIAL:
#17 Willamette Bearcats vs. #6 Linfield Wildcats
WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: McCulloch Stadium
RECORDS: #17 Willamette 6-1, 3-0 NWC; #6 Linfield 6-0, 3-0 NWC
ON THE AIR: Webcast at
www.willamette.edu/athleticsBRIEFLY: Andrew Ross does not need to be told about the importance of the 81st annual Willamette/Linfield game. “This is the biggest game of my life,” Ross said. “This is everything you play for, lift for, get up at 6:00 a.m. for.”
Both the Bearcats and Wildcats are nationally ranked, and since the teams are 1-2 in 15 NWC statistical categories, the winner will most likely capture the conference title and a playoff bid. “This is the start of our playoffs,” senior cornerback Bubba Lemon said. “We can’t afford to lose.”
Of course, it is also a rivalry. Despite being just 27 miles apart, the football gap between the two schools has traditionally been large. Linfield has 54 consecutive winning seasons, 32 NWC titles and four national championships. “They take football very seriously,” Speckman said.
But surging Willamette has won the last two meetings, including the 2007 “McCulloch Miracle” and a 52-28 romp in McMinnville last season, and the memories of past clashes are still vivid for many players. “Everybody has a Linfield story,” Ross said.
Bubba and Mikey Lemon, transfers from Linfield who joined the Bearcats this year, both downplayed any personal significance in this game. “My family does have a history in the Linfield community,” flanker Mikey Lemon said. “But this weekend ... all Bubba and I can do is help Willamette. I have an awesome coaching staff that I enjoy playing for and teammates that I would run through a wall for.”
Given the schools’ geographic proximity, Linfield/Willamette crowds usually split down the middle. But this year, the Office of Campus Life is attempting to boost Bearcat numbers. The first 500 Willamette students to arrive will receive a free gold Bearcats t-shirt, and all students who attend the game are encouraged to wear gold. Faculty, staff and alumni are urged to wear cardinal red. Getting a large pro-Willamette turnout would be “huge,” according to Speckman.
“We love playing for our fans, and we want to outnumber them,” Speckman said. “We want McCulloch rocking.”
Editor's Note: GO BEARCATS! BEAT LINFIELD!
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