Monday, September 18, 2017

UMHB boat race the 'Cats in 24-3 loss at the 'Catdome



Jason Farlow (#35) and the 'Cats defense played tough against the Cru's offense
Photo Courtesy of Brad Thompson: View Brad's Photos Here.
That was tough.  We knew what UMHB was all about coming into this game, a defensive juggernaut with a play making offense, and the Cru lived up the hype in a slowly suffocating 24-3 defeat for Linfield. After the first drive of the game where Linfield was effective in moving the ball and missed a wide open shot at a TD, the Crusaders defense put a lock on the Wildcat offense for the rest of the day in limiting the ‘Cats to just 141 yards of total offense in a text book butt whooping on that side of the ball. I hate writing that but it’s what happened.  The Crusader defensive line created chaos all day with their ability to penetrate and shed blockers like they were a passing breeze. The result were 9 punts on 11 offensive possessions and 5 three and outs. That was about as dominate performance on a Linfield offense that I’ve seen. 

Flipping over to the other side of the coin, the Linfield defense balled.  However, the Wildcat's defense made one early game mistake on an assignment and UMHB made the ‘Cats pay on an untouched 74-yard TD run on a veer option keeper on the Crusaders second play of the game.  Once that dust settled, the Wildcat defensive performance was outstanding. The ‘Cats physicality up front was impressive as well as their ability to pressure the QB on passing downs.  UMHB also tested the ‘Cats defense often on the edges and Linfield’s speed on the outside was up to the task.  The Wildcat defense flew to the football and didn’t allow the Cru’s short passing game break for significant gains.  The outcome of the game left over the 3,200 fans in attendance disappointed in the end results, but at the same time, hopeful that this team does have the talent and skill to develop into something electric as the season progresses.

On a side note, I loved the changes that the athletic department put into the Linfield game day experience.  “Streak Street” has some real potential just right outside the stadium, the student section rebranding was great, and all the new signage and additional booths, including a beer garden were a smash hit.  My only request is they either crank up the volume on that 3rd down siren or just cut it off all together.  The low volume on that siren doesn’t inspire at all.  Make that LOUD.

So where do the ‘Cats go from here? Well, the playoffs for Linfield started as soon the clock hit 00:00. If this Wildcat team has aspirations to make the division III playoffs then the margin of error is razor thin.  That means the path runs through the NWC and the goal of winning the conference championship and the automatic qualifier.  But this is far from a shoe-in for the ‘Cats.  Coming to the ‘Catdome in two weeks is the best Whitworth team that I can remember.  Yes, better than the 2007 team that went undefeated in the regular season, beat Linfield, and hosted a playoff game.  What has made the Pirates so dangerous this season is not entirely their electric offense (52.7 PPG through 3 games) but it’s their new found defensive prowess.  The 2017 Rats defense is only allowing 7.7 PPG and combine that with their pinball like scoring offense and you have a dangerous football team.   I think our defense is tremendous but Whitworth is going to probe and test our defensive secondary like the previous two games couldn’t and our young offense is going to battle another excellent defense as well.  If the ‘Cats don’t fix what has hampered them the first two game, Linfield will be looking at a 1-2 start and behind the 8 ball in terms of this programs long term goals. I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer but I’m just laying out the clear facts of this season. The 2017 Wildcats have a chance to be excellent but the maturation process has to be accelerated.

Success for this 2017 team isn’t going to come in a flashy video promo or a new game day experience at the ‘Catdome. Nope, success for this team is going to start Monday afternoon and it will come dressed in overalls and a hard hat in the form of hard work and attention to the smallest of details. The ‘Cats have two weeks to figure it out and I’m looking forward to the response.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

Tremendous defensive effort: You take away the blown assignment long-TD run by T.J. Josey and the Linfield defense pretty much squared up the Crusaders offense until the late 4th quarter drive where the exhausted defense gave up the their only sustained drive of the night.  I thought the ‘Cats defensive line front played a fantastic game in terms of creating stalemates on the line of scrimmage and pressuring the quarterback.  There was a little bend at times up the A gaps but overall, the ‘Cats defense was as advertised, fast and physical. 

#98 Tony Kraus racked up one of Linfield's 7 tackles for loss against UMHB.
Photo Courtesy of Brad Thompson: View Brad's Photos Here.

No Turnovers/Low Penalties: The ‘Cats certainly didn’t hurt themselves on Saturday and that is a marked improvement over the opening game down in Chapman.  That was even more impressive considering the defense the ‘Cats offense was facing with the Cru.  I know this is a bit of reach in trying to find silver linings in getting bullied offensively but eliminating turnovers was a positive takeaway.

‘Cats legs: Freshman Punter Colton Ramos continues to impress (but has been kicking way too much for any Wildcat’s liking).  Ramos assaulted the football on Saturday with an average of 42.2 yards per punt, including a beauty that should have been downed at the goal line. Place kicker Willy Warne continues to show his growth and should be a critical weapon for the Linfield offense this season.  Warne was 1 of 2 on attempts this weekend but nailed a 51-yard attempt right at the end of the first half in a pressure situation.


The Bad

That kickoff return for a touchdown:  Any momentum the ‘Cats had going into the half down 10-3 evaporated on a 95-yard kickoff return by Bryce Wilkerson to start to second half.  Linfield didn’t even get a finger on Wilkerson as he split the coverage team like a hot knife through butter. It sucked because I thought our special teams had a solid day in coverage up to that point. UMHB had three big plays against Linfield and this was an ugly critical one.

Not making enough plays on the ball: Linfield had a few big of opportunities to make plays on balls on the air to possibly stem the tide of the game but couldn’t convert and it cost the ‘Cats. We have dudes that can get behind defenses and the speed to keep up with receivers but we had to be better on winning the ball.

Not in-sync offense: It was a pressure cooker of a test for this offense and the ‘Cats couldn’t find answers offensively.  Linfield blew a great opportunity during the first drive to strike for the touchdown but overthrew a wide open Tyler Torgerson, missed the field goal, and could find their foothold against an iron curtain defense after that.  For most of the game it seemed that our receivers would be zigging and our QB’s would be zagging in terms of the passing game were not one the same page.  I still feel this group will find themselves as they get more game action together but there is no chance to breathe with Whitworth coming into town.

34 yards of rushing: 29 rushing attempts for a net total of 34 yards. The Crusaders flat owned the attack on the line of scrimmage. The ‘Cats HAVE to be a threat in the rushing game if this offense is going to be productive for the rest of 2017.  It kills me writing this, because I love this group of guys and still believe they have the potential to be excellent, but they have to gel and get better or Linfield is going to struggle to finish 3rd in the NWC.

The Ugly

Being Kept out of the End Zone: For the second game in a row, the Crusaders have kept the Linfield offense from scoring a touchdown.  That stings.  Look, we’re talking about the best defense in the country at our level and possibly the best defensive line I’ve seen since watching DIII football but it sucks that our offense has been completely neutralized by the Crusaders.  To put it bluntly, UMHB physically owned us at the point of attack and UMHB’s speed at Linebacker cleaned up any hope of out flaking the push upfront. Saturday was a gauge to see where this offense is at and the result was a Christmas list length of items for the ‘Cats to try to fix in a hurry before Whitworth’s steamroller of a team comes to the ‘Catdome.

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