RFC Summer Semester--Northwest Conference (NWC) Preview (NCAA Division III)

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2011 Final Standings

Looking back: Linfield rolled to yet another Northwest Conference (NWC) championship in 2011, going unbeaten (9-0) during the regular season en route to advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.  That's where the Wildcats season came to an end, as they were eliminated by Wesley, 49-34.

Looking ahead: Expect the rest of the NWC to chase Linfield in 2012.

2012 Predicted Order of Finish (2011 overall record in parentheses)

1. Linfield (10-1):  The Wildcats will look to not only extend the longest active streak of winning seasons in college football at all levels--56 straight winning seasons from 1956-2011--but also try to make a deeper postseason run in 2012.  If that wasn't enough, with a career record of 49-13, head coach Joseph Smith needs just one more win to join the 50-win club.

2. Pacific Lutheran (6-3):  As hard it was to believe, the Lutes once reeled off 36 straight winning seasons from 1969-2004, with most of them coming under former head coach Frosty Westering.  Now, under current head coach Scott Westering (yes, he's Frosty's son), PLU hopes to build on back-to-back winning seasons.  In the last two years, the Lutes are a combined 14-4 overall, although their win total did decrease by two between 2010 and 2011.  They'll be tested sternly in their 2012 season opener at home against Cal Lutheran on September 8.

3. Lewis and Clark (7-2):  Although they clinched their first winning season since 1995, the way the 2011 season ended was anything but pleasant for the Pioneers, as they lost back-to-back games to close it out after starting 7-0.  They hope to win their first NWC crown since 1991, when they shared it with Linfield, en route to finishing 7-2-1 overall that season.

4. Willamette (4-6):  The Bearcats will look to not only bounce back from their first losing season since 2007, but also try to win their first NWC title--as well as advance to the NCAA Division III playoff for the first time--both since 2008.  With an all-time record of 491-385-38 going into the 2012 season, they need just nine more wins (which would mean they would have to go 9-0 during the regular season) to get the program's 500th all-time win. 

5. Whitworth (4-6):  The Pirates hope to build on a season-ending surge where they won three of their last four games to end the 2011 season after a 1-5 start. Only a tough loss to Linfield in the next-to-last game of last season kept them finishing it at .500.

6. Pacific (1-8):  In just their second season resuming their football program, the Boxers won their lone game of 2011: a 44-25 rout of Puget Sound for Homecoming.

7. Puget Sound (0-9):  Speaking of the Loggers, they'll try to win their first game since October 30, 2010, when ironically, they beat the Boxers, 42-31.