Obviously the SCIAC is in way over their heads vs the WIAC. This has been true for decades. Too big and too talented.

Objectively great year for Chapman though. Unbeaten in conference play, a conference title, and a road playoff win!

Panthers will have some big holes to fill in the offseason. The biggest will be in the HC office but also replacing Pacheco and Zimmerman on offense is no easy task. Hopefully the University Admin has been working and can get the coaching hire done quickly so they can hit the recruiting trail running.

Been a fun year! Looking forward to recruiting updates from all you insiders!

Great win for Chapman and an exciting finish!! Whitworth ran a slick reverse pass for the score but their jump pass on the 2pt was covered. They were up against the play clock on the 2pt and barely got it snapped so it wasn't as clean as it maybe would have otherwise been.

Credit to Chapman for sticking with it in a sloppy game for the SCIAC's first playoff win since 2019!!

Quote from: (509)Rat on November 19, 2025, 06:10:39 PM

Quote from: wildcat11 on November 16, 2025, 02:43:46 PMFeel like the 'Cats are playing the best ball in the NWC to end the year but have ton of areas to address in the offseason.  That said, the 2026 Linfield squad has a chance to be pretty good if they can make those improvements.

Congrats to the Rats. Well earned NWC title and good luck in the playoffs.

If Chapman can't beat this Whitworth team (when was the last time a SCIAC team beat an NWC program in the playoffs?), then honestly the whole league should just be banned from post-season play. This is probably as "down" of a year in the NWC as they are going to see...

Not sure if this was rhetorical but Chapman beat Linfield 68-65 in the 1st round in 2019. 2019 was a boon year for the SCIAC as both Chapman and Redlands had some of their best teams. They didn't play at all the next year, Whittier and Oxy dropped football, the conference went to a silly divisional structure in order to keep football going with just 6 isolated teams, and the conference has suffered mightily. Not that they were ever beating the NWC in the playoffs before that anyway.

As far as this year is concenerd, the SCIAC is about as down as it has ever been. Chapman has clearly been the class of the conference but they have had some tight games and scares against teams that, frankly, are not very good

Hoping for a competitive game. Pine Bowl is one of my favorite facilities!!

Sounds like it was a nightmare out there today. Redlands and CMS both have natural fields so I'm sure it was total mud. This happened years ago in the SCIAC and there were mud bowls at Pomona and Whittier. The turf field at Chapman sounds like it held up better and at least allowed the offenses to function a little.

That being said, all the teams had to play in the same conditions. Sometimes you have to have the mental toughness to overcome all adversity. Props to CMS and Pomona for getting it done today, ugly as it may have been.

Huge congrats to the undisputed 2025 Champion Chapman Panthers. Clearly the class of the conference this year. I imagine that is going to be a pretty heavily coveted job with nationwide interest. It will be very interesting to see who they hire. This feels like a chance for Chapman to make a splash hire and seperate themselves from the pack in the SCIAC.

Disappointing record for the Stags but there should be reason for optimism in Claremont. They were extremely senior heavy in 2024 and had to rebuild the offense basically from scratch. All five of their losses (with one game left to play) were by one score. Their offense returns most of their key pieces for 2026 and the defense will lose some production but returns key guys like George Kruger and Grady Johnson as well as some key pieces in the secondary. I am a big believer in the CMS defensive staff and feel like they will put a competitive group on the field (assuming they can keep the staff around, which is always a concern for me at this level.)

The quarterback position was a struggle for the Stags in 2025, and part of the issue was that they were constantly changing QBs. From what I heard inside the program this led to some bad feelings and factions forming. Hopefully in the offseason they can settle on a starter and allow him to get the lion's share of the reps and get better. Cooper Nixon seems to have taken the reings of the RB position and they need to build strength on the OL in the offseason and get back to moving guys off the line.

Sounds like the Redlands folks are happy with the progress. Have to be proud of a convincing win over the NWC Champ on the road! No doubt the offense showed more signs than 2024 and the defense maintained their quality play. Would be a shock if Redlands is anything but solid to very good on D as long as Mariani and co are in town.

Hopefully Cal Lu can stay with Chapman and make a game out of it for the conference title! If Chapman wins the league is it a done deal that they will go up to the Pine Bowl or is there a chance they get sent east?

Well the Stags took a lot of the steam out of the Cal Lu vs Pomona game tonight. Cooper Nixon rushed for 144 on 31 carries against the Bulldog D. That's a man's statline against a tough Bulldog D that is notoriously stingy against the run. Nixon is also a Harvey-Mudd student and it's very cool to see the Stags get that kind of a contribution from a "Mudder."

Bulldog O went back into its shell as Schmidt had just 135 passing yards on 31 attempts and was sacked 3 times. Bulldogs were able to run it a little but got behind and abandoned the run game.

It's a nice win for the Stags who have a chance to get back to .500 with a win in their crossover game next week (which I think will be against LaVerne after the Leos lost to Chapman this afternoon). Lots of underclassmen contributers for the Stags so maybe something to build on there.

A disappointing step backward for the Bulldogs who looked like they turned a corner in the 2nd half of the season. Shocking, quite frankly, to see the defense give up that kind of rushing performance against a team that has struggled mightily on the ground this year. Bulldogs can still make a seven win season out of it with a win in their crossover next week.

Cal Lu D was able to get the stop they needed at the end. CMS had all the momentum and the ball back with time to go but the Stags offense just doesn't have the juice this year. Only 245 total yards for the Lutherans but a win is a win. They're one away from the title game.

Bummer for Redlands as they almost got the help they needed after coming to life in the 2nd half at LaVerne. Bulldogs will need help from Pomona now and will have to hope the Sagehens are getting some of their injured guys back. We'll see who suits up tonight vs Chapman.

Kind of a bummer since I think Redlands is playing maybe the best football in the SCIAC right now and would give Chapman all they could handle in the conference title game. Too bad it took the Bulldogs a few weeks to get themselves squared away. Looks like it might cost them a title opportunity.

Quote from: wally_wabash on October 28, 2025, 01:11:43 PM

Quote from: that guy 31 on October 27, 2025, 05:07:05 PMI think playing so many repeat games is bad for the conference. It's been quite a while since I was a player but if I was being recruited and some schools were playing regular schedules and the others were playing 3 repeat games I feel like that would impact my decision. Just makes it seem small time. Just my opinion

I don't think anybody loves it, but the SCIAC has probably made the best of a terrible situation.  Divisions go away next year, so hopefully that's the end of that. 

I agree with this take. I think at the time the SCIAC went to this system they were trying to keep SCIAC football alive while programs were bailing. In that way it accomplished its mission but I think harm was done and it will take time to build back.

Azusa and Whittier coming back is huge and hopefully in a few years we'll all look back and laugh at the division system once we're on the other side of the rebuild.

I think playing so many repeat games is bad for the conference. It's been quite a while since I was a player but if I was being recruited and some schools were playing regular schedules and the others were playing 3 repeat games I feel like that would impact my decision. Just makes it seem small time. Just my opinion

Good for ULV! They've been close and finally broke the door down.

I'm shocked that Claremont was able to run the ball that effectively vs Chapman.

Assuming the tie-breaker is quarters lead in head-to-head, CLU controls their destiny and their game with CMS becomes a big deal. If they can get by the Stags you have to like their chances against a Pomona team that has been decimated by injuries in the 2nd part of the season. Stags also get Redlands the next week so a couple shots at playing spoiler. Bulldogs can't overlook what now seems to be an ascending ULV squad in what has the makings of a trap game.

Chapman has a few weeks to try to get their footing back after not looking particularly impressive in some close victories. Currently not feeling too optimistic about the SCIAC being anything other than a sacrificial lamb in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Quote from: PickSixNick on October 24, 2025, 11:30:38 AMThis is my understanding of the tie breaker. If it is based off the same rules when the sun and surf started, first it is overall SCIAC record. Second, it is head to head. Third, it is quarters led head to head. Fourth, I believe it is quarters led within your pod (I am not 100% sure about this one).

That being said, Cal Lu led all 4 quarters against UR this year. In theory, they would either need to tie or lead at least 1 quarter in their upcoming game against UR.

Below are my SCIAC predictions this week.

UR: 17, CLU: 30
I don't think the tie breakers will matter. I see CLU winning this game comfortably.

CMS: 13, CU: 28
CMS has a good DL, and will need a big game from #44 to stay competitive. I believe CU's OL will be able to move CMS off the ball and have too many weapons at the skill positions for CMS to hang around.

ULV: 21, PP: 24
ULV has looked much better the past couple games and PP's offense has been struggling, but I believe PP has better players and will win a close one.

Thanks for the info PickSix. Bulldogs are going to have to get off to a fast start and keep it going!

On the subject of the stadiums, The Runner in the evening is a great venue. Zinda Field at CMS is super nice in the afternoon. The view from the home stands with the mountains in the background is stunning. It is a great place to see games, especially when the weather starts to cool off.

The Chapman facility is outstanding. I have not been to Cal Lu since they moved into the current facility but have heard really good things about it. Best part about Pomona is the tree behind the goal posts that is very close to being in play. ULV is a pretty little campus and they've done a lot of work since I've been there. I love the brick building behind the north end zone. Are the tents still there?

Not to beat a dead horse here but does anyone know the SCIAC divisional tiebreaker? It has never been used before since they went to this silly intramural system but it is very much on the table this year. If Redlands beats CLU this weekend and they both win their final 2 games (none of that is certain but very possible) they would be tied at 5-2 in the conference. Both would have lost to Chapman and split with each other. How do they break that tie?

I tried to search the SCIAC website for answers but I couldn't find anything. If anyone has contact with a staff or something can they try to get this information. It is a huge difference between playing Chapman for the conference title/playoff berth and playing a throw-away game against Pomona in the cross-over week.

I guess aggregate score in their two games would be the best way but that tends to be more of a soccer thing. Maybe total points against? Score difference against Chapman? Sure would be nice to know. Do they talk about it on flo sports?

Quote from: Dr. Doolittle on October 19, 2025, 11:20:04 AMThree games yesterday in SCIAC and three close games that should have been blow outs.  La Verne made it a game with a week CMS.  Redlands let PP come back and almost pull off a comeback and Chapman should have won by 21.  SCIAC will likely send Chapman to playoff to get smashed in the first round. 

Yeah, it looks like the conference has fallen back to Laverne. They are now able to compete.

Does anyone know the division tie-breaker if Redlands and CLU end up with the same record and split their head-to-head games? Seems like a big deal since one of them will get to play for a playoff spot and the other would be wasting its last week preparing for a meaningless game. CLU could handle business and win it themselves but Redlands is playing much better since the QB switch and I have a feeling they're going to get it done.

Quote from: Kuiper on October 12, 2025, 01:32:40 PMTalk about an early reveal of a team's football schedule!

Whittier is officially on the clock

Thank goodness the conference is done with the Surf and Turf divisional silliness and back to a proper schedule. Glad it helped SCIAC football survive but I feel like that is one of the main reasons the conference is so far down in terms of overall talent.

If I was a player looking at D3's and my choices were schools playing a real schedule and schools crossing over and playing the same teams 3 times I would leave SoCal too.

Just back from Claremont where the Bulldogs were clearly the better team today and the score was closer than the action on the field. Redlands offense looked just fine to me. They have a couple WRs who can play and the QB they played today, Schmidt, was very efficient. He's not a great athlete but he can move around in the pocket. He had a couple really nicely placed corner/slot-fade throws. Their run game needs to improve but they stuck with it and it allowed them to run some clock and opened up some play action.

If anything I would say Redlands was too conservative offensively at times, especially in the 3rd quarter. It was pretty clear that CMS couldn't do much on offense. Every run play CMS called seemed to go backwards. They'd run zone or stretch on 1st down and be in 2nd and 11. Rinse and repeat. Redlands is very solid in the defensive front. I was especially impressed with the OLB Thorn and the FS Ybanez.

CMS can't run the ball. Their WRs are ok but don't create a ton of separation. Their OL got handled pretty well by the Redlands defensive front. The only real chance they had was to hit a deep pass, which is what they did to score their TD. They will need to improve their overall talent level on offense through recruiting. They just don't have enough. I was surprised that Redlands was as effective as they were against the CMS defense. The Stag D kept them in the game but they don't have enough to compensate for their offense right now.

Redlands hosts Pomona and then travels to CLU in the next two weeks. They need to win both to get right back in the mix for a shot at Chapman in the conference title game. Still a lot of football to play but Chapman has to feel pretty good about their chances to win the SCIAC this year.