LINFIELD WILDCATS (5-2, 4-1 NWC) vs. PUGET SOUND LOGGERS (5-3, 3-2 NWC)
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Baker Stadium, Tacoma, Wash.
 
Winners of four consecutive Northwest Conference games, 23rd-ranked Linfield meets Puget Sound Saturday at Baker Stadium in Tacoma, Wash. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Wildcats' defense is expecting a stiff test against the Loggers' NWC-leading passing offense. 
 
THE DETAILS
Kevin Nelson and Dave Hansen provide live audio play-by-play coverage of Linfield football on the Linfield Sports Network. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. with the Farnham Electric Pregame Show.
 
LOGGERS OFFENSE
Throw. Throw. Throw. The Puget Sound passing offense ranks second in NCAA Division III football, throwing for an average of 373 yards per game and 430 total yards. Featuring five different receiver formations, the Loggers passing attack is dynamic as they come.
 
Quarterback Murdock Rutledge towers over the offensive line at 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds. The sophomore has passed for 2,122 yards, completing 54 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns to six interceptions. The second-year QB has powered the Loggers to an average of 32 points per game. His backup, Nik Bernhardt, has thrown for more than 600 yards with six TDs and five interceptions.
 
The Loggers use two running backs in sophomore Duncan Varela and junior Vance Wood. Varela has 333 yards on 83 carries for an average of four yards per carry with three rushing touchdowns. Varela has doubled his rushing total from 2017. Wood has totaled 43 touches and 205 total yards with one score. 
 
Puget Sound has an incredibly talented receiving corps than could be considered a true three-headed monster unlike any other in Division III. Receivers Alvin Johnson, Jewell Day and Collin Heimbach each have more than 700 yards receiving. No other team in Division III has more than three receivers with at least 700 yards receiving. Johnson totals 785 yards on 70 catches with six touchdowns. Day has 778 yards through the air on 47 grabs with 12 touchdowns (6th in NCAA III) and Heimbach enters Saturday with 56 receptions for 775 yards and eight touchdowns. The trio rank 30th, 31st and 33rd nationally in receiving this season.
 
To be a quick-hitting, pass-heavy offense, it's necessary to have an agile offensive line. Puget Sound's front five average just 251 pounds, easily the smallest unit Linfield faces this season by nearly 20 pounds. The group only lacks experience as senior right guard Zack Losack is the lone senior starter on the Loggers offensive line.
 
WILDCATS OFFENSE
Linfield continues to control games with a dominant rushing attack and timely chunk plays through the air. The 'Cats average 386 yards per game with more than 145 coming on the ground. Linfield averages 28 points per game, more than 40 of which has come in three of the last four games.
 
The Wildcats quarterback is sophomore Wyatt Smith. Smith has thrown for 1,618 yards on 61 percent passing. He threw for more than 220 yards and two touchdowns last week against Pacific Lutheran.
 
Reigning first team all-NWC running back Chidubem Nnoli is on his way to another stellar season. The junior has carried the ball 129 times for more than 670 yards and six touchdowns. He is averaging 96 yards per game (best in the NWC) and more than five yards per carry. Nnoli has surpassed 100 yards rushing in each of the last four games. Spelling Nnoli are Artimus Johnson and Tala Teaupa.
 
The Wildcat receiving corps looks to get back to full strength this weekend. Linfield anticipates the return of receiver Tyler Torgerson for what will be a homecoming of sorts for for the third-year receiver from nearby Puyallup. Torgerson is teamed up with Keegan Weiss, who has a team-best 32 receptions for 354 yards and a touchdown. Senior J.D. Lasswell leads the club with four touchdown receptions on 26 catches totaling 336 yards.
 
The Wildcat offensive line has paved the way for Nnoli and the Linfield running game. Linfield looks to continue its powerful run blocking against a Loggers rush defense that ranks last in the NWC through eight games.
 
Linfield kick returners Keegan Weiss, Khory Day and Chris Adamo combine to average 29.23 yards per return (fourth-most in NCAA Division III).
 
LOGGERS DEFENSE
Puget Sound allows more than 365 yards per game. The Logger defense forces an average of more than two turnovers a game with an average of two sacks.
 
Todd Blakely, Peter Ciari and Braden Ash make up the front three of a 3-4-4 alignment. Blakely leads the front with 34 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss.
 
The Logger linebacking group does not feature an upperclassman. Sophomores Zachary Meyer, Ryan Hickey and Cole Grismanauskas are joined by first-year backer Taima Mitchell. Meyer leads the group with 33 tackles from his inside linebacker position.
 
The secondary is the strength of the Logger defense. First team all-conference cornerbacks Zack Teats and Jason Clayton are paired with safeties Keanu Songcuan and Matt Ahnin. Teats led the nation in pass breakups last season with 22. Songcuan tops the Loggers with 69 tackles.
 
WILDCATS DEFENSE
Linfield continues to climb in the national rankings as the season progresses. The 'Cats rank among the top-20 in total defense (18th), scoring defense (14th), defensive passing efficiency (16th) red-zone defense (2nd) and first down defense (5th).
 
Tony Kraus, Travis Swanson, Chris Stinchcomb, Sam Gomez and Havili Eteaki have exerted their influence on NWC quarterbacks. Swanson had two sacks on back-to-back plays last week. Linfield allows 86 rushing yards per game, second-fewest in the conference.
 
Fresh off of an D3football.com Team of the Week honor, linebacker Patrick Pipitone is a force from the middle of the Linfield defense. With 38 tackles, four forced fumbles (three last week) and an interception, Pipitone's versatility has made the Wildcat defense into one of the best in the West Region. He is teamed with Brian Pullman, Taulelei Toledo and Kamaehu Beltrame-Aila.  
 
The Wildcats secondary must be up to the task of slowing the Loggers' pass-happy offense. The 'Cats allow just 10.4 points per game and fewer than 160 yards passing. Sophomore Tyler Bergeron is tied for the NWC lead with four interceptions, including two that have been returned for touchdowns. Duke Mackle leads the team with 49 tackles from his safety position. Cornerbacks Anthony Guttadauro, Marquis Perrrilliat and Adamo make for one of the leading secondaries in the conference.
 
OVERALL
Can the Wildcats limit the Loggers passing attack? If so, this should be an easy day for the Linfield offense that has run the ball ultra-efficiently in each of the last four games since traveling to Whitworth. If not, this has the potential to be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair in the potentially sloppy natural grass conditions at Baker Stadium. Pack your extra-long spikes for this one as Linfield looks to keep its playoff hopes alive in the closing weeks of the regular season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Linfield's series with Puget Sound dates to 1924, when Puget Sound took a 55-6 win in Tacoma. Linfield leads the all-time series 31-12-1 and has won the last 28 meetings, including 23-0 in 2017 in McMinnville. The most recent game in Tacoma was Linfield's 33-7 win in 2016 … Puget Sound's last win was in 1987 by a 21-20 score in McMinnville … the Wildcats are 15-5 against the Loggers in McMinnville and 16-7-1 in Tacoma … Linfield and Puget Sound did not play between 1947 and 1983. Before that break, Linfield was just 1-11-1 in the series … since the break ended, the Wildcats are 29-1 vs. the Loggers … Linfield lost the first seven games of the series before gaining a 7-7 tie in Tacoma in 1936, then a 28-19 win in McMinnville in 1939 … from 2013-2015, Linfield scored at least 70 points in each game of the series, winning 79-3 in McMinnville in 2013, 73-10 in Tacoma in 2014 and 72-3 in McMinnville in 2015. Those are the fourth-, sixth- and eighth-highest scoring games in Linfield history and the third-, ninth- and sixth-largest margins of victory in Linfield history …  Linfield's widest margin of victory was 76 points, a 79-3 win in 2013 in McMinnville; Puget Sound's widest margin of victory was 50 points, 50-0 in in 1928 in McMinnville. Linfield's widest margin in Tacoma was 63 points, 73-10 in 2014; Puget Sound's widest margin in Tacoma was 49 points, 55-6 in 1924 in the series' first game.
 
SHUTOUT STATS
So far this season, Linfield has posted three shutouts; that ties for the seventh-most in a season in school history and is the most since posting three shutouts in 2007 …  The most shutouts Linfield has ever recorded is 5, in 1935, 1963 and 1964. The Wildcats blanked opponents 4 times in 1926, 1927 and 1950 … there have been 12 Linfield teams besides this year's that posted 3 shutouts. For the 1904 squad, that meant an entire season of not allowing a point as then-McMinnville College beat Monmouth Normal (now Western Oregon) 11-0, beat the Portland YMCA 43-0 and tied Columbia (now University of Portland) 0-0.
 
THE STREAK
Linfield secured its 63rd consecutive winning season last week with a 41-7 win over Pacific Lutheran … the Wildcats' streak, which began in 1956, is the longest in the history of college football at any level … During The Streak, Linfield is 505-116-10 for a winning percentage of .808. Linfield's record at home during The Streak is 275-42-4 (.863), and at Maxwell Field it is 272-42-4 (.862).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2018 is Linfield's 104th season of football, dating back to 1896. The Wildcats' all-time record is 609-267-28 (.689) … Linfield's all-time home record is 341-91-16 (.779), including a Maxwell Field record of 320-79-11 (.794) … since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 99-15 overall (.868), 82-6 (.932) in the regular season, 56-3 (.949) at home and 61-2 in NWC games (.968) … During that span, Linfield is 17-9 (.654) in the postseason.
 
COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith is in his 13th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 117-24 (.830), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of  100-15 (.870) in the regular season, 76-6 (.927) in Northwest Conference games, 17-9 (.654) in the postseason and 66-7 (.904) at home.