With a 67^th consecutive winning season secured following a Homecoming thumping of George Fox, the Linfield Wildcats turn their attention to a trip to Tacoma, Wash. to visit the Puget Sound Loggers at Baker Stadium and work closer to a 39^th Northwest Conference championship.
 
TICKETS
Tickets may be purchased at the main gate of Baker Stadium prior to kickoff. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for youth and seniors.
 
COVERAGE
The Linfield Sports Network will provide live audio coverage of the game starting at 12:30 with the Farnham Electric Pregame Show before the 1:00 kickoff.
 
Linfield alum Joe Stuart handles play-by-play duties while Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame running back Gary McGarvie contributes color commentary and analysis. Linfield Football on the LSN can also be heard in the McMinnville area through KLYC 1260 AM.
 
The Puget Sound Athletic Department will provide live video coverage and live stats of the game.
 
THE SEASON SO FAR
The Wildcats are ranked No. 9 in the D3Football.com Top-25 and No. 4 in the AFCA Coaches Poll after their 41-13 Homecoming win last week at George Fox. Linfield has posted an average margin of victory of 42.0 points against Northwest Conference opponents this season under eighteenth year head coach Joseph Smith.
 
The George Fox win moved Linfield to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference play, clinching the program's 67^th consecutive winning season, the all-time record among all levels of college football.
 
A seemingly improved Puget Sound squad has already surpassed their overall win total and have matched their conference win total from last season, currently sitting at a 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the NWC under fourteenth year head coach Jeff Thomas.
 
The Loggers began their season with a 42-38 non-conference win over Lewis & Clark, and picked up their second win of the season in a 29-27 thriller on a made field goal as time expired at home against George Fox.
 
But the Loggers could not keep good fortune rolling their way last week during a trip to Spokane, falling at Whitworth 63-21, their most points allowed in a game this season.
 
THE LINFIELD OFFENSE
The Wildcats have put together the top total offense in the NWC through five games, averaging 445.4 yards per game and sitting top-20 in scoring offense nationally with 42.6 points per game, second in the league.
 
A balanced attack has seen and even split of 174 both rush and pass attempts, leading the conference in rushing with 173.2 yards per game and sitting third in passing offense at 272.2.
 
Junior quarterback Blake Eaton leads the NWC and is seventh in Division-III in completion percentage at 72.5 percent after one the best games of his career against George Fox, in which he set season-highs with 302 passing yards on an 83.9 percent completion rate to go with three touchdowns.
 
Eaton is second in the league in passing with 236.8 yards per game while leading the pack in touchdowns with 12 and is the only NWC starting quarterback to still have not thrown an interception.
 
Fifth-year senior running back Connor McNabb leads Linfield with 105.2 all-purpose yards per game and is second in the league in rushing yards per game at 83.4. The two-time first team all-league selection currently sits twelfth in program history in rushing with 1,954 yards to his name, just 39 yards outside the top-10.
 
McNabb's four touchdowns on the ground this season are tied for third in the conference with Aaron Martinez. Martinez and Tyler Larson, both true seniors, have spelled McNabb to the tune of a combined 270 rushing yards this season.
 
Linfield's top receivers on the season continue to be graduate senior Devon Murray and fifth-year Colton Smith.
 
Smith sits fourth in the NWC in catches this year with 29, turning in 244 yards and two touchdowns. Murray is also top-10 in catches with 26, while sitting third in receiving touchdowns with six and seventh in yards with 326.
 
Both are top five in program history in career receiving touchdowns with Smith sitting tied for third with 31, just one behind Charlie Poppin for second while Murray is just behind in fourth with 29.
 
THE PUGET SOUND OFFENSE
The Logger offense has centered on the pass, leading the NWC in passing with 298.6 yards per game, 23^rd in D-III. Overall Puget Sound sits fourth in the league in total offense at 395.8 yards per game and sixth in scoring with 25.4 points per game.
 
Puget Sound is led by junior quarterback Mason Binning, in his second season as the Loggers' starter.
 
Binning leads the NWC in passing with 1,490 passing yards this season, averaging 298.0 per game, 14^th in the nation. He's completed 59.2 percent of his passes while throwing for 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
 
Binning's top target on the year is fifth-year senior wideout Izaiah Jerenz, who's 46 catches, 686 receiving yards and eight touchdowns all lead the conference. He has been one of the best statistical receivers in D-III this season, sitting top-20 in yards, touchdowns and receptions per game.
 
Freshman JohnJohn Nelson directly follows Jerenz on the conference leaderboard with 33 catches, turning in 293 yards, top-10 in the league. Fifth-year Joe Gallagher began the season as Puget Sound's third option in the passing game but has not played since September 30.
 
Senior running back Henry Hernandez is sixth in the NWC in rushing at 61.3 yards per game and has scored two touchdowns and has added seven catches for 91 yards. He's been spelled by junior Nick Fernandez 18 times for 81 yards.
 
The Loggers have ran the ball just 153 times for just 486 yards through five games, both numbers are last in the NWC.
 
THE LINFIELD DEFENSE
Linfield has set the standard on defense for the NWC once again this year, leading the league and sitting in the top-25 in D-III in both scoring and total defense, allowing just 13.2 points and 227.6 yards per game, with opponents averaging just 3.47 yards per play, eighth in the country.
 
The 'Cats have been particularly dominant against the rush. After giving up just 3 yards rushing against George Fox, Linfield is allowing just 58.0 yards per game and 1.8 yards per attempt, both top-10 numbers nationally.
 
Senior tackles Alex Frazier-Dow and Nick Severson lead the defensive front for Linfield. Frazier-Dow has totaled 18 tackles with six tackles for loss and two sacks while Severson has added 17 tackles.
 
Defensive ends senior Caleb Sell and sophomore Grady Ketch have four tackles for loss apiece this year and have combined for six sacks.
 
All-American senior linebacker Blake Rybar anchors the middle of the Linfield defense, leading the team with 23 tackles this season and 14 unassisted. He's added four tackles for loss with two sacks, three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and an interception.
 
Senior Caiden Biege-Wetherbee and sophomore Blaze Holani will both look to make contributions at linebacker as well. Holani is second on the team in tackles with 18 and hurries with five.
 
Sophomore Johnny Miller has registered 17 tackles from the rover position this season, with 1.5 for loss to go with an interception and a forced fumble.
 
Linfield suffered a loss at safety last week against George Fox, with starting junior Colby Kalaukoa going down with injury. Fifth-year senior Ben Baxter is expected to move from monster to safety while senior Jett Searle while step into the starting monster role.
 
Baxter has totaled 13 tackles this season with one for loss, while Searle's registered 17 takedowns and a recovered fumble.
 
Grad. senior Justin Pfau and junior Chance Sparks continue to hold down the starting cornerback roles, with rotation from senior Evan Fisette and sophomore Kenyon Johnson.
Pfau has 10 tackles with two pass breakups on the year, while Sparks has posted nine tackles with three breakups. Fisette leads the cornerback room with the lone interception in the group.
 
THE PUGET SOUND DEFENSE
Puget Sound has struggled on defense, sitting sixth in the conference in both scoring and total defense, giving up 36.4 points and 422.2 yards per game.
 
The Loggers have been completely unable to stop the run, allowing 204.4 rushing yards per game, dead last in the NWC and 211^th out of 238 teams in D-III.
 
Over their last three games they've allowed an average of 275.6 rushing yards per game, which includes allowing 299 to Whitworth last week and 303 at Pacific on September 30, the two highest totals in the NWC this season.
 
Junior safety Amarian Culepepper leads the team with 33 tackles this year, including 19 solo while holding down the back of Puget Sound's defense. He's also posted two pass breakups and a pick.
 
He's joined in the backfield by two young cornerbacks, freshman Steven Anaya and sophomore Tyler Evars. Anaya also has one interception while Evars leads the team with six pass breakups to go with 17 tackles.
 
Up front, senior Mason Bridges leads the way at defensive tackle with 22 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Freshman Gunner Jorgensen has 16 tackles and is tied for the team lead with one sack at defensive end.
 
Senior Max Arneklev leads a five-man linebacker set from the inside with 21 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a sack, in addition to a team-best 3 pass breakups.
 
Freshman outside linebacker Mason Brubaker also has been a big contributor this season with 20 tackles and a team-leading four tackles for loss. Fellow Freshman Michael Toa has recorded just eight tackles but three have been for loss, including one resulting in a fumble.
 
THE LINFIELD SPECIALISTS
Junior kicker Gavin Dalziel is fresh off his third NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week award for his performance against George Fox, in which he made both of his field goal attempts (from 23 and 36 yards) and all five of his point after touchdown attempts. On the year he is now four for six on field goal attempts.
 
Senior Thomas Tabor leads the NWC and is now eighth in the nation in punting this season with 42.8 yards per punt. He's pinned 11 punts inside the 20-yard line and has had six punts of 50 yards or more.
 
Senior Paul Thie has returned six punts for 91 yards this season while junior Maclain Stoneking has returned seven for 67 yards. Thie has also served as the lead return man on kickoffs, returning four for 77 so far this year.
 
THE PUGET SOUND SPECIALISTS
Junior Jordi De La Torre handles both kicking and punting duties for the Loggers. On the season he's made all three of his field goal attempts and all 13 of his point-after attempts, and averages 37.2 yards per punt.
 
Junior Jayson Barber has returned six punts this year for 20 yards, in addition to 10 kicks for 180 yards. Sophomore Dylan Graham has returned 11 kicks for 164 yards.
THE SERIES
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 35-12-1 and has won the last 32 meetings, including 72-2 in 2022 in McMinnville; that tied for the 11^th-highest score in Linfield's football history and tied for seventh-widest margin of victory … The most recent game in Tacoma was Linfield's 56-7 victory in 2021 … Puget Sound's last win was in 1987 by a 21-20 score in McMinnville … the Wildcats are 17-5 against the Loggers in McMinnville and 18-7-1 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, Linfield is 34-1 vs. UPS … Linfield lost the first 7 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-, tied for ninth-, and tied for 11th-highest scoring games in Linfield history and the fourth-, tied for 11^th-, and eighth-largest margins of victory in Linfield history … Linfield's 77 points in 2019 tied for the fifth-highest scoring game ever for the Wildcats; the 99 combined points in that game was the third-highest total ever in a Linfield game … 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 …
 
THE STREAK
By beating George Fox 41-13 in McMinnville in the fifth game of the 2023 season, Linfield extended the longest string of winning seasons in college football history at any level to 67; The Streak began in 1956 … During the streak, Linfield is 551-120-10 for a winning percentage of .816. Linfield's record at home during the streak is 293-43-4 (.868), and at Maxwell Field it is 290-43-4 (.866) … Linfield's Northwest Conference record during the streak is 275-33-5 (.887). In all league games, it is 327-45-5 (.874), which includes games from 1985-1995 when the NWC schools were part of the Columbia Football Association …
 
HEAD COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith is in his 17th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 152-28 (.844), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 121-16 (.883) in the regular season, 100-6 (.943) in Northwest Conference games, 83-8 (.912) at home and 20-12 (.625) in the postseason … During Smith's tenure, Linfield has won 12 NWC titles, including the 2022 crown; 11 of those have been outright, including 2022 … During Smith's tenure, Linfield has put together 7 unbeaten regular seasons …