Game 4 Preview: Linfield (3-0) vs Puget Sound (0-4)

After an emotional and hard fought victory the 'Cats turn their attention to The Puget Sound Loggers. This is going to be a great test of the 'Cats emotional maturity as a team. Being highly ranked and undefeated it can be easy for a team to start feeling pretty content with themselves especially when the next game is against a team that has struggled over the past decade. This game is a true test of finding out where the Wildcats' heads are at. Are they solely focused on the team in front of them or are the 'Cats putting their feet on the proverbial desk and being content?

UPS is still in the middle of a rebuilding job under 2nd year Head Coach Jeff Thomas and have stumbled out to an 0-4 record in 2011. The Loggers have build their reputation as a high flying passing team that racks up the offensive yardage. The Loggers defense was shredded in their 1st three contests but showed signs of life in holding PLU to only 21 in a defeat on the road. They seems to play a bit of a high risk/reward system as the Loggers have piled up some decent sack, forced fumble, and tackle for yards stats. Clearly this is a team that is still in the middle of a culture change but clearly think they can play with anyone in the NWC as many players have publicly stated they will not be satisfied by anything less than the NWC championship.

Get To Know A Wildcat

 #5 Taylor Skore, Sr., Corner

Favorite Place in Mac to Eat: Muchas

Favorite Movie: The Departed

Favorite Music: Rock

Favorite TV Show: Dexter

Favorite Pro Football team: THE Dallas Cowboys!!

Class I Most Look Forward to: Exercise Physiology

Mac or Pc: Mac

Cpu Homepage: ESPN

Dog or Cat: Dog

Car or Truck: Truck

Xbox, PS3, or WII: XBOX

Favorite Coach Fendall Saying: "Play fast and smile"

Big Hit or Interception: Pick Six

Who has the best hands out of the 'Cats DBs: I'll challenge Fish

Your Favorite Part About Playing at Linfield is: The family atmosphere that you feel with the players and coaches. There is a lot of selflessness on the team and everyone is playing for one another. I also love the tradition and class the program has held onto over the years.

Post Linfield aspirations: Physical Therapy grad school and possibly coaching high school football prior to school.

Wildcat11's Keys To Victory:

Put Puget Sound away early and keep the hammer down: La Verne came to town a few weeks ago and while Linfield took care of business in a 52-3 victory it was sloppy and it wasn't till the 3rd quarter until Linfield ended it. Saturday, I want to see our 'Cats come out and dominate from the opening kickoff and play crisp Linfield Football. The 'Cats need to put the foot on the gas from the jump and not let up until Coach Smith decides to.

Gobble up the Loggers' Short Passing Game: The Loggers cannot run the ball very well. In fact, they're so terrible in the run game they don't even bother. Instead, they use a very short passing game as their De facto run game. Linfield's under coverage has to be on their game in limiting the yards after catch and being sound tacklers. This can be a frustrating game as a defensive lineman because UPS often gets rid of the ball quickly but the pass side D-Line needs to be getting their hands up while the backside of the line needs to keep working up the field.

Maintain Offensive Balance: Linfield's offense needs to continue to strike that balance in their offense between a punishing rushing attack and the passing game. The offense has proven they can move the ball on stingy defenses and I want to see the offensive unit dominate with a balanced approach.

Limit Kniffin: He's the Loggers poster boy for their passing offense. The Junior WR leads the NWC in receptions (46), Yards (519), Yards receiving per game (128.9), and is 2nd with 5 TD receptions. The Linfield corner that draws Kniffin's number is going to get the opportunity to show what they have and I'm betting on whatever Wildcat that may be (Skore, Dixon, Hanna).

Lock 'Em Down on 4th Down: In 4 games the Loggers offense has gone for it on 4th down a whopping 19 times. (8 for 19) 4th down is going to be huge for the 'Cats defense this upcoming Saturday.

WR's dominate: The Linfield WR corp has shown flashes of brilliance but they have also had some poor drops/inconsistency along the way. This group is very talented but they've yet to flat dominate a defense so far this early season. The 'Cats WR corp needs to own UPS this weekend. There is no excuse for them not to make plays and be a force in the run game. Let's see what you've got.

Keep Mickey/QB's on their feet and out Loggers out of the backfield: The Loggers appear to be a high risk/reward team that isn't very big but seems to have some speed. The Loggers have piled up 9 sacks, 33 tackles for loss, and 7 forced fumbles. This will be a good challenge for the 'Cats offense line to have back-to-back games in keeping bodies off Mickey and defenders out of the backfield.

Overall.

'Cats by 28 plus.  Look, if Linfield comes into this game sharp and ready to play there is no reason for the 'Cats not to put a healthy spanking on UPS. The Loggers road all-while uniforms might look like Linfield but that's where the similarities between these two programs end. UPS could stick around and cause the 'Cats pain if Linfield is sloppy but I'm betting this team will be ready to feast and beast on Saturday.