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| The 'Cats get it done in the end! |
PLU came out loose and motivated and right from the jump you knew that Saturday was going to be a dogfight right out of the gates as the Lutes offense threw to tight end DJ Winter in what seemed like 45 times on the first drive before Linfield was able to hold PLU to a field goal. After that, it was three consecutive listless 3-and-outs for the Wildcat offense before the Linfield Defense was able to make the Linfield’s first big play of the day in a strip sack by Marcus McGovern that was recovered by Jason Farlow early in the 2nd quarter. The turnover gave the offense some temporary life in a 47 yard TD drive capped by a nice 7-yard fade TD strike from Aiden Wilder to JD Lasswell. For a second, it felt like that is what Linfield needed to get control of the game and PLU. However, the tide quickly again as this ‘Cats defense got hit with a 15-yard personal foul on a horse collar tackle and then some dumb Lute magic as PLU hit a flea flicker to Winters again for a 44 yard strike to get the Lutes to the ‘Cats 10 and then three plays later PLU hit a contested TD in the corner to regain the lead at 10-7.
Both teams traded turnovers before the break and the ‘Cats went into the locker room down at half for the first time since week 2 to UMHB and left searching for answers on offense where Linfield was only able to produce a measly 50 yards of total offense. The Linfield coaching staff decided to make a change at that point and inserted freshman quarterback Wyatt Smith into the game to try to add a different dimension to the Wildcat offense.
Even with the change of QB, the ‘Cats offense opened up the 3rd quarter with punting it away after 5 plays and pinning the Lutes on their own 9-yard line. Then one of the most significant stretches of the game occurred when PLU found some soft spots in the ‘Cats secondary and went on a long 12 play drive that saw PLU take it all the way down to Linfield’s 20 and setting up a huge set off downs that saw the Linfield turn away PLU on 4th and 4 form the ‘Cats 14.
At this point, this is when the Freshman arm of Smith started to make an impact for Linfield as the ‘Cats were able to start mixing up the run game with some downfield and the intermediate passing game that saw Linfield march 73 yards in 11 plays to tie the game up on 10-10 on a Willy Warne 27 yard field goal.
From there it was holding onto your hats as both defenses put the lock on the opposing offenses and both punt teams took turns in flipping the field. It almost seemed like both teams were content in not making a huge mistake and resigned to the fact that this game was going to have to get settled in an extra frame.
What a frame it was as overtime in college football is always a wild ride in just how quickly the momentum can swing. The Lutes had possession first in OT and went for the throat in a strike in the back of the end zone but was broken up at the last moment by safety Nate Sample. The ‘Cats defense was able to turn away the PLU offense twice more and set up a PLU field goal try. The block unit for Linfield has already proven they can be a difference maker and they came through once again as 6’5” sophomore wide receiver Chris Cassi would come up huge for the second game in a row in getting a mitt on the kick and blocking the attempt.
The Wildcat offense went right to work with a Chidubem Nnoli 11-yard scamper to pick up a first down and two plays later, Linfield would send out Willy Warne on 3rd down to win the game. However, the Warne kick sailed to the right and missed but the Lutes right gunner took a bad angle and clipped Willy’s kicking leg that drew the roughing the kicker penalty. One play is all that the Wildcats needed with the new life as Nnoli would break 4 would be tackles before hitting paydirt for the victory as the ‘Cats would hit the dogpile in an emotional 16-10 survival exercise.HUGE blocked FG by @chriscassi19 in overtime in Linfield's 16-10 win at PLU. #Catdome pic.twitter.com/eK26A1PWll— Catdomealumni.com (@catdomealumni) October 29, 2017
It was exhausting and all I was doing was pointing my camera at the action, I couldn’t imagine how both the ‘Cats and Lutes felt after that battle. All I know is that I have to tip my cap to PLU for giving Linfield all they had and more. Yes, Linfield has rattled off 18 victories in a row over Pacific Lutheran but nothing but respect to those dudes in just a clean, respectful, and hard fought ball game.
Linfield’s defensive coordinator, Jackson Vaughan, hit it on the money when he said that this team needs to let go of the frustrations of not having the punch on offense as previous years and to embrace who this Linfield team is this year. And that’s a team that is going to play damn good defense, have a strong kick game, and get enough offensive plays when the ‘Cats need it to win and move on. Yes, there’s not a lot of style points but if the score is 2-0 or 45-38, the team with the most points win and six out of seven times in 2017 it’s been the Linfield Wildcats with more points at the end of the day.
With that said, it’s not like the offense isn’t going to throw up their hands and say “I guess we will just suck for the rest of the year”. That’s not going to happen but our offensive line needs to find a way to get healthy as quick as possible. The ‘Cats opening year starting five haven’t been on the field together since Whitworth as multiple players been banged up at various times and the offensive staff seems like they are in a constant state of shuffling the line. Along with that, Linfield knows they have to find a way to start consistently throwing the football. I’m not talking about the bombs but the plays that move the chains. If somehow the ‘Cats can quickly develop that aspect of their game it cures some of what ails this offense.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Good
Winning: A few years from now people won’t see Saturday as a game where Linfield struggled to beat PLU but they will see another football game that Linfield won. That’s the bottom line is it doesn’t have to be pretty but Saturday was a gut check for this Linfield program in that 2nd half and ultimately these players answered the bell and that excitement at the end of the football game wasn’t something you could force but was genuine and exciting.
Making plays when they count: When the game hung in the balance and the ‘Cats had to make the plays they needed to win the game, that’s just what they did. It’s the mark of a winner. From Nate Sample knocking down that sure TD in the back of the end zone in OT, Chris Cassi getting a mitt on the field goal attempt, and Nnoli not being denied on the game-winning TD run. Winners will themselves to win and this roster is full of winners.
Special Teams Impact: The Linfield special teams was absolutely tremendous once again this Saturday against the Lutes. Great coverage by the punt and kick teams and once again the legs of kicker Willy Warne and punter Colton Ramos were huge.This was a great effort by Linfield's offense and @Chidubem_12 in punching in the game winning TD in OT vs PLU. #Catdome #D3FB pic.twitter.com/Wz2InjHlRJ— Catdomealumni.com (@catdomealumni) October 31, 2017
‘Cats gutting it out/new faces stepping it up: I don’t want to point out how bad this player was hurting, because I don’t want other teams to know how banged up this guy was this weekend, but I want to salute this dude who was basically dragging himself off the field after every possession on Saturday. Crazy respect to you. Also, Linfield had two players making their first starts ever in Linebacker Patrick Pipitone and safety Kyell Davis. Both of these players stood up to the heat.
Red Zone Offense: Yes, the Linfield offense didn’t even total up over 200 yards of offense but Linfield made it count in when they were in the red zone in going 3 for 3 to push this team over the hump and securing the victory.
The Bad
Not being sharp enough: It was a general feeling that you could pick up that they didn’t have that same heat or intensity as the week before. I can understand that being an issue in playing a team that on the surface wasn’t doing too hot but like I wrote before the Linfield coaching staff knew better and it was almost a bitterly hard lesson this year’s team almost felt the hard way. This Linfield team cannot just roll the ball out on the field and expect anybody to roll over. The ‘Cats have to bring it every single week.
3rd down defense/offense: The Wildcat defense has suffocated every team this season on 3rd down but Saturday was the first game all season long that Linfield allowed an offense to break the 50% on 3rd down conversions and while it didn’t amount to many points on the scoreboard, it allowed the Lutes to hold position of the ball at a much greater clip that the ‘Cats. Flipping it over, the Wildcat offense was an abysmal 4 of 13 on 3rd down tries. Not good at all.
Too much pressure: Last three games the ‘Cats have given up 13 sacks. Obviously, that needs to get cleaned up heading into the last two weeks of the season as Puget Sound has improved on defense and Pacific is a program that prides itself on getting pressure up front.
The Ugly
Lack of a passing attack: I’m not writing this to be a downer but we know that 66 yards of passing isn't up to snuff. What I’m not saying is that we all should be expecting this Linfield team to be a 250+ yard a game passing attack for the remainder of the season but what I do hope is that the ‘Cats can find a way to be sound in throwing the ball. This is a run-first offense but Linfield has to find a way to keep teams from loading up the box and be credible in throwing the football. If that can happen then Linfield will see the defense loosen up and should be able to pop the run game for bigger chunks. Here’s to hoping that we can find a little of that during the next two weeks.
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