FB: Northwest Conference

[MonroviaCat]

Indeed.

Even though UPS is just horrible on defense, it's not easy to score TDs on your first 10 possessions and 11 of 13 (the final one could have been another score but 'Cats took a knee to end the game at the UPS 10).  Got to see a lot of the future talent and it was nice to see the back-up QBs have a chance to throw it a little.  Good effort by the 'Cats on nearly every front (expect those darn penalties that reversed 2 pick-6's).

[wildcat11]

NWC Week 7 Power Rankings

1. Whitworth - Will get to win the NWC crown in style vs UPS.
2. Linfield - Have spots to improve in offseason but I'm bullish on the 'Cats in 2026
3. Fox - Has a chance to finish 2025 with a lot of momentum.
4. PLU - Played much better since getting smack by Linfield
5. L&C - Has to be a disappointing stretch but good year for L&C
6. Pacific - Showed some fight against Fox but feels like a program without direction.
7. Puget Sound - If we could combine the Logger offense with Willamette's defense, we might have an ok club.
8. Willamette - 0-6 in NWC play but only losing by an avg 16.6 ppg. 

[catjumper]

Linfield's 110th football season will end Saturday; going into the regular season finale there's no tension over a playoff berth or potential playoff seeding. The saving grace is that 2025's last game is the annual 'Cat Fight between Linfield and Willamette.

The football series between Linfield and Willamette dates back to 1902 with Linfield leading the all-time series 57-36-3. With 96 previous meetings, the series is Linfield's most-played, edging the 90 games against Lewis & Clark through 2025.

In the spirit of century-old college football rivalries, keep in mind that if you're taken aback by the aggregate score of the last five meetings being 361-21 in the Wildcats' favor, it's just payback for the Bearcats' actions in 1934.
 
Without further ado, some highlights from the 96 previous meetings:
 
November 1, 1902: McMinnville College and Willamette University meet for the first time, a 6-6 tie in McMinnville.

October 17, 1903: Willamette wins 27-0 in the first game of the series played in Salem.

November 24, 1922: Willamette wins 36-0 in McMinnville in Linfield's first season of football since 1905. It's also the Wildcats' first-ever Homecoming game.

November 7, 1925: Linfield gets its first win in the series, a 3-0 victory in Salem.

1928-1932: Linfield scores just six points in five games against Willamette; among scores of the losses were 36-0, 47-0 and 48-0.

October 20, 1934: Willamette again spoils Linfield's Homecoming with a 32-7 win. In the aftermath of the game, a Willamette student or students paint "WU" on the doors of Melrose Hall and saw off the goalposts at Maxwell Field.

Linfield President Elam Anderson suspends participation in all athletics with Willamette until the culprit or culprits of the vandalism confess. It takes over a year of negotiation before the Wildcats and Bearcats compete again.

1935: Without Willamette on the schedule, Linfield wins a share of its first Northwest Conference football championship.

November 5, 1949: Linfield beats Willamette 20-0 in McMinnville, ending a 17-game losing streak against the Bearcats dating back to 1927. Earlier in the fall, Linfield President Harry Dillin – responding to claims by his football team that it would beat WU that year – said if the Wildcats ever beat the Bearcats in football while he was still around the College, he'd stand on his head on the 50-yard line. After the game, Dillin keeps his promise.
 
1967: Willamette turns in Linfield for a financial aid discrepancy involving athlete healthcare, leading to the Northwest Conference sanctioning the Wildcats with a ban on team and individual conference championships for a year. Linfield had won four of the last six NWC football titles, four of the last seven men's basketball titles and eight of the last nine baseball titles.

November 8, 1968: Willamette beats Linfield 6-0 in Salem, earning a spot in the NAIA national playoffs and knocking Linfield out of the postseason.
 
1969 – 1982: Linfield runs off a winning streak of its own in the series, beating Willamette 14 straight times, including five shutouts.

November 5, 1983: Linfield, having already won at Pacific Lutheran and seemingly headed to the NAIA Division II playoffs to defend its national title, is upset 26-21 in Salem by a Willamette team that had lost 15 straight games over two seasons.

November 10, 1984: In the regular season finale in McMinnville, Linfield beats Willamette 55-0; late in the first half, the Wildcats call a timeout to be sure they can punch in one more touchdown to make it 49-0 at the break.

The day before, Linfield's student newspaper, The Linews, had published a prank version of the Willamette Collegian - dubbed The Cullegian - and distributed it on the WU campus.

October 12, 1985: Trailing 33-7 late in the third quarter, Linfield rallies for a 36-33 Homecoming win over Willamette.

October 18, 1997: Willamette's Liz Heaston kicks a pair of extra points, becoming the first woman to play and score in a college football game as the Bearcats beat Linfield 27-0 in Salem.

October 17, 1998: Linfield scores in the final minute to beat Willamette 20-19 in McMinnville, clinching the Wildcats' 43rd consecutive winning season. That gives Linfield the record for most consecutive winning seasons in college football at any level, surpassing the 42 of Harvard and Notre Dame in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Linfield students tear down the south goalpost in celebration.

November 1, 2014: Willamette knocks off highly favored Linfield 31-28 in McMinnville, ending the Wildcats' 36-game Northwest Conference win streak.
 
October 17, 2015: Linfield beats Willamette 49-7 in Salem, assuring that the Wildcats will have a winning season for the 60th straight autumn.
 
October 19, 2019: On Homecoming in McMinnville, Linfield beats Willamette 77-0. It is the highest score ever rung up by a team in the series and the largest margin of victory in the series.

[wildcat11]

Feel 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.