Keith,
I have admired your work for a long time. But, I would love to see a matchup of this year's NWC against any other conference. For the last 10 years, my Linfield has dominated the conference. But this year, after four games, four of our seven teams are 4-0. And, PLU's two losses came against Top 10 teams!
Also, the NWC has had two national champions since we joined D-3 in 1998, more than any other conference, except for Mt. Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater. And, we did it with two different teams! No other conference can claim that. During PLU's championship run in 1999, their toughest playoff game was in conference vs. Willamette, 28-24. Plus, they won all five playoff games on the road. Mt. Union nor Wisconsin-Whitewater have done that.
The NWC was dominate in the NAIA in the 1980s and 1990s, but, as a whole, tailed off in the 2000s. Now, it appears our whole conference strength is back.
GO CATS! GO!
A great place to discuss this would be on the ATN thread, since there are already similar discussions going on there. Appreciate the reply.