Hitting the road for the third time in four weeks, the Linfield Wildcats travel north to Puyallup, Washington, to take on the Pacific Lutheran Lutes at Sparks Stadium.
 
Coming off a 12-6 victory and owning sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference, the Wildcats have the inside track on program's ninth consecutive league championship. The Lutes' up-and-down season only becomes more difficult as PLU will face the conference's top two teams (Linfield and George Fox) in back-to-back weeks.
 
THE DETAILS
No. 6 Linfield Wildcats (5-1, 4-0 NWC) vs. Pacific Lutheran (2-3, 2-2 NWC)
Sparks Stadium, Puyallup, Washington, 1 p.m.
 
Kevin Nelson and Dave Hansen provide play-by-play coverage of Linfield football. Listen on TruTalk 800 KPDQ-AM for pregame coverage with host John Lee starting at 12:30 p.m. Simulcast coverage throughout the McMinnville area starts on Linfield campus station KSLC 90.3 FM at 1 p.m.

BALANCED OFFENSE, LIMIT TURNOVERS
 
LUTES
Stacked side-by-side, these two offenses are statistically comparable. Averaging exactly 347 yards per game, Linfield and PLU won't likely be filling the scoreboard with points coming from explosive downfield action.
 
PLU quarterback Cole Chandler has thrown for 1,024 yards and averages 204 yards per game (third-best in NWC). Tossing seven touchdowns to just three interceptions, it's obvious the Lutes are making a concerted effort to keep possession of the football and methodically move the ball down the field. Chandler is prone to scramble if he doesn't see an open receiver downfield. He has rushed the ball 57 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns. Like most NWC quarterbacks, Chandler should have a tough time making all of his reads before he is swarmed by the Linfield front seven.
 
Fifth-best in the league in rushing, PLU has struggled to get its ground game going. With just six rushing touchdowns and 142 yards on the ground per contest, the Lutes are expected to rely on two running backs on Saturday. Senior tailback Mark Gallant is PLU's leading rusher with 207 yards on 41 carries (5.0 yards per carry) but has not reached the end zone in 2017. Teammate Ethan McElderry has 17 carries for 89 yards and one touchdown.
 
Relying a veteran receiving corps, Chandler has established rapport with two impressive receivers. Senior Jacob King has caught 18 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns. His 63.8 yards per game ranks fifth in the conference. Junior receiver Brady Winter has 14 catches for 213 yards and one TD (a 63-yard strike). Brady's older brother D.J. is the Lutes' star at tight end. D.J. Winter leads PLU with four scores on 17 catches for 275 yards.
 
WILDCATS
As balanced as any team in the NWC on paper, Linfield's offense has rushed for 1,051 yards while throwing for 1,036 in six games this season. At 347 yards per game, teams prepare for a running attack that has a sneaky ability to strike quickly with deceptive play action.
 
Who gets the nod at quarterback? After starting the team's first four games Troy Fowler has played sparingly since. With the job still up in the air, question marks surround the most important position on the field. Aiden Wilder's threat to escape the pocket and evade defenders downfield gives Linfield an added runner. For his part, Fowler has shown moments of brilliance in delivering perfect passes to his favorite receiver J.D. Lasswell.
 
The 'Cats have taken a liking to Chidubem Nnoli and with good reason. The sophomore transfer from Southern Oregon has shone brightly in the starting role at running back. Nnoli has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last four games. He leads the NWC in total rushing yards with 649 and ranks second for rushing average at 108 yards per game. He also sits tied for the conference rushing touchdown lead with six TD. Expect a heavy dose of Nnoli on Saturday.
 
Spelling Nnoli is Dawson Ruhl and Blake Burnett. Ruhl, a freshman, has been impressive as a third-down back and receiving threat. Burnett is physical between the tackles and freshman Kela Marshall could see some carries as well.
 
With receiver Tyler Torgerson sidelined by injury for the foreseeable future with injury, Linfield turn to its youth at receiver. Kyle Kimball was inserted into the starting lineup last week and despite not recording a catch against George Fox, Kimball should thrive in his role on the outside. Kimball joins a steady group led by Lasswell, Cody Oden and Keegan Weiss.
 
Scoring all 12 points for the 'Cats a weekend ago, kicker Willy Warne was named NWC Football Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week for his stellar performance. Warne also brought home national recognition as the nation's kicker of the week as named by D3football.com. He made all four of his field goal tries from 40, 35, 32 and 20 yards in steady wind and rain at the Catdome.
 
HANDLING THE PRESSUE
 
LUTES
A team that allows 347 yards per game doesn't point to a dangerous defense but the Lutes yield only 19 points per game and are one of the top teams in the NWC against the run, giving up just 139 yards on the ground per contest.
 
Keep an eye on the blitzing defensive back Carson Ketter who leads the team with 44 tackles. His playmaking ability from the secondary will be needed to stop the NWC's best rushing attack.
 
All five starting defensive backs for the Lutes have an eye for takeaways as each has at least one interception. PLU ranks second as a team with 17 sacks, headlined by linebacker Isaish Watkins and his team-leading three sacks.
 
"PLU is very dangerous on defense. I think defense is the strength of their team," said Linfield coach Joseph Smith earlier this week. "Playing up there is never easy."
 
WILDCATS
Teaming up to allow fewer than 100 yards before the Bruins' final drive last weekend, the Linfield defense appears to be firing on all cylinders heading to Puyallup.
 
Leading the NWC at 263 yards and 13.2 points allowed per game, the Linfield defense has scored three touchdowns and forced 14 turnovers.
 
Tackles leader Jason Farlow continues his stellar season in the middle of the field where he averages nine tackles per game.
 
Coming off their best game, the Wildcats' rapidly maturing secondary stood out in the low-scoring affair last weekend. Holding George Fox to under 30 passing yards for the better part of the day, cornerbacks Andrew Schweiterman, Cory Stowell and Anthony Guttadauro look to continue their solid play.
 
Clogging the PLU running lanes is one important key to victory for the 'Cats. The Wildcats are fortunate to have two of the best defensive linemen in the NWC in end Marcus McGovern and tackle Zach Grate. The senior tandem have combined for six sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss to go along with more than 40 tackles.
 
OVERALL
Saturday's game could be closer than expected because of the two high-quality defenses. Slow tempo is expected with lots of attempts on the ground by both sets of running backs. Don't be surprised if either side busts a big play that's set up by play action.
 
Given the recent play defensively and the way Linfield is able to control most games on the ground, the 'Cats should leave Sparks Stadium with a victory on Saturday.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield leads its all-time series with Pacific Lutheran 43-24-4 and has won the last 17 meetings (15 regular season, 2 playoff), including last season's 27-10 win in McMinnville. The first meeting was in 1933, when Linfield won 19-7 in at PLU. . .PLU's last victory was in 2001, by a 31-20 score at PLU. . . Linfield is 25-8-1 in McMinnville and 18-13-3 at PLU's various home fields. . . 7 of the meetings have been in the NCAA or NAIA national playoffs, with Linfield holding a 4-3 edge. . .from 1974-1980, five of the seven regular-season games were decided by one point … Linfield's widest margin of victory was 45 points, 45-0 in 2008 at PLU; PLU's widest margin of victory was 39 points, 45-6 in 1940 in McMinnville. Linfield's widest margin in McMinnville was 38 points, 45-7 in 2011; PLU's widest margin at home was 24 points, 44-20 in 1987.
 
STREAK ASSURED
Linfield secured its 62nd consecutive winning season with a 12-9 victory over George Fox last week. . .the Wildcats' streak, which began in 1956, is the longest in the history of college football at any level. During the streak, Linfield is 496-113-10 for a winning percentage of .808. . .Linfield's record at home during the streak is 269-42-4 (.860), and at Maxwell Field it is 266-42-4 (.859). . .2017 is Linfield's 103rd season of football, dating back to 1896.
 
600 AND COUNTING
The 600th win in program history also was achieved last Saturday. . . the Wildcats' all-time record is 600-264-28 (.688). . .Linfield's all-time road record is 261-167-12 (.604), including 3-0 this season. . . Linfield has won four national championships (1982, 1984, 1986, 2004), finished runner-up three times (1961, 1965, 1992) and won 40 Northwest Conference titles (32 outright).
 
SINCE 2009
Since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 90-12 overall (.882), 74-4 (.949) in the regular season and 50-3 (.943) at home … the Wildcats have won 8 straight Northwest Conference championships in that time (7 outright) and are 54-1 in NWC games (.982).
 
COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Smith is in his 12th season as Linfield's head coach. He has an overall record of 108-21 (.837), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history. . .Smith's record includes marks of 92-13 (.876) in the regular season, 69-5 (.932) in Northwest Conference games, 16-8 (.667) in the postseason and 60-7 (.896) at home.