Linfield is back on the road out-of-state for the second straight week to open 2023, after beginning the season with a 28-14 win at Denison last weekend, winning their third straight season-opening game under eighteenth-year head coach Joseph Smith.
 
The Wildcats will face off against a much more familiar non-conference opponent this week, traveling to southern California to face the University of Redlands Bulldogs and third year head coach and former Wildcat Jim Good, an all-conference selection for Linfield in 1993 under then head coach Ed Langsdorf.
 
It will be the thirteenth meeting all-time between the two programs and the eighth since 2014.
 
Both teams are looking to improve to 2-0 after Redlands topped Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma to open the season, with the Bulldogs also looking to avenge their 21-3 loss at the hands of the Wildcats last season.
 
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased at the main gate at Ted Runner Stadium starting one hour before kickoff.
 
Adult general admission tickets are 10 dollars while seniors and non-Redlands students with their ID can attend for five dollars. Admission for children under 12 is free.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Linfield Sports Network will provide live audio coverage starting a half hour before kickoff with the Farnham Electric Pregame Show.
 
Joe Stuart provides play-by-play coverage in his third year as Linfield Athletics' lead broadcaster. Former Wildcat running back and NAIA All-American Gary McGarvie joins Stuart in the broadcast booth for a second season.
 
Redlands will provide video livestream coverage accessible through their website as well as live stats.
 
THE SEASON SO FAR
Both teams enter the season with just one game under their belt.
 
The Wildcats opened their season last weekend in Granville, Ohio with a 28-14 win over the Denison Big Red in the first ever meeting between the programs.
 
Redlands, meanwhile, was off last weekend after opening their season on Sept. 2 at Pacific Lutheran in a come-from-behind 28-14 win at Memorial Field.
 
THE LINFIELD OFFENSE
A year ago the Wildcats posed the most dangerous offense in the Northwest Conference and one of the most dangerous in Division-III, averaging 44.73 points and 435.5 yards of total offense per game.
 
The Linfield attack was a bit slow out of the season opening gate against an unfamiliar opponent last week at Denison, finding themselves down 7-0 after the first quarter, but found a groove in the second, scoring three touchdowns in the period on the way to the 28-14 victory.
 
The 'Cats totaled 394 yards of offense with an average of 5.4 yards per play, 218 coming through the air and 176 on the ground.
 
First team All-NWC and third team all-region quarterback Blake Eaton, a junior, connected on 21 of 35 pass attempts against the Big Red last weekend, for 218 yards and a touchdown while adding 13 yards gained and a touchdown in the rushing attack.
 
Eaton connected with seven different pass-catchers en route to victory.
 
Fifth-year senior and first team all-conference wideout Colton Smith led the receivers with six catches going for 53 yards and added a two-yard rushing touchdown.
 
Fellow First-team All-NWC selection graduate senior Devon Murray led the group in yards with 62 on six catches.
 
The first team all-league tandem is expected to lead the Wildcat passing attack again this weekend.
 
Fifth-year tailback Connor McNabb, on the hunt for a third straight first team all-league nod, looked the part as he started his final season with one of the best performances of his career, running for 161 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts, averaging 6.7 yards per rush.
 
McNabb is backed up by senior Aaron Martinez, who recorded five totes for 16 yards in the season-opener and added a 33-yard receiving touchdown late in the third quarter that put Linfield up two-scores for the rest of the game.
 
Grad students Franco Keplinger and Isaac Hoidal combined for five catches for 31 yards from the tight end position while leading a developing Linfield blocking scheme anchored by all-conference linemen senior linemen Bailey Lee at guard and Diego Rodriguez at tackle.
 
THE REDLANDS OFFENSE
The Redlands Bulldogs averaged 25.9 points per game and 281.5 yards of total offense, fifth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in both categories.
 
They averaged 121.2 rushing yards per game, fourth in the SCIAC, but just 160.3 through the air, second-to-last in the seven-team league. On the season Redlands scored 35 touchdowns, 18 via pass and 15 on the ground.
 
Redlands found an offensive rhythm late in the first half against Pacific Lutheran to score its first touchdown after going down 14-0. It was the start of 24 unanswered points against the Lutes.
 
The Bulldogs needed just 276 yards of total offense to get past the Lutes. Redlands rushed for 127 yards and passed for 146 while scoring all three touchdowns in the run game.
 
The Redlands quarterback is dual-threat sophomore Tyler Tremain, who took over the job midway through last season, helping the Bulldogs go 3-1 through their final four games after starting out 1-5.
 
Tremain impressed against PLU in his first season-opening start, earning SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week for his role in the comeback win.
 
He completed just 13 of 23 passes for 146 yards and an interception but gained 38 yards on the ground and scored two rushing touchdowns to get Redlands on the board late in the first half before tying the game early in the third quarter.
 
Tremain was supported in the ground game by senior running back Tony Williams Jr., who rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts, while adding two catches for 13 yards.
 
Tremain's top target against PLU was sophomore receiver Seth Weller, who caught six passes for 49 yards. Weller's joined at receiver by seniors Evan Aguon and Markelle Raymond.
 
Aguon was a First team All-SCIAC selection from a year ago, totaling 51 catches for over 500 yards and five touchdowns, but was limited to two catches for 18 yards by the Lute defense.
 
Junior Grant Chaney could also factor into the passing game at tight end, having brought in 125 yards and three touchdowns last season.
 
An inexperienced offensive line feature senior Jordan Jacob at and junior Dominic Perez at the tackle positions, but two freshmen and a sophomore fill out the other three starting slots.
 
THE LINFIELD DEFENSE
The Wildcat defense picked up from where it had left off in 2022, holding Denison to scores late in the first and third quarter while limiting the home team to just 4.6 yards per play.
 
Linfield gave up 334 yards of total offense but just 75 in the rushing game against a Denison ground attack that was top-30 in the nation last year, holding Big Red to 2.6 yards per attempt.
 
The 'Cats also totaled four tackles for loss and two late interceptions. Although they didn't record a sack, they forced 12 quarterback hurries.
 
Along the defensive line, senior Alex Frazier-Dow led the way with five tackles and two for loss. Frazier-Dow is paired at tackle with two-time first team all-league selection and fellow senior Nick Severson, held to two tackles last weekend.
 
At the end positions, sophomore Grady Kentch made his presence felt with four tackles and two quarterback hurries, while junior Connor Stevens contributed three tackles, half a tackle for loss and a hurry, and senior Caleb Sell added two tackles, half a tackle for loss and two hurries.
 
The Linfield "D" is anchored by reigning NWC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American senior Blake Rybar at linebacker, who tied for the team lead in tackles last week with six, four of them solo, and added a quarterback hurry.
 
Starting at linebacker alongside Rybar is sixth-year senior Tyler Good. After getting into just four games the last two years, Good broke into the starting lineup for the season-opener and totaled two tackles to go with two pass breakups.
 
Senior Caiden Biege-Wetherbee, sophomore Blaze Holani and senior Logan Carr may mix into the linebacker rotation as well. Holani recorded three tackles with half a tackle for loss and a team-leading three quarterback hurries while Biege-Wetherbee pulled in the second of Linfield's two fourth quarter interceptions.
 
At rover sophomore Johnny Miller earned the first start of his career and recorded three tackles, a hurry and the first of the two late picks, returning it for 32 yards as the first turnover of the season by the Wildcat defense.
 
Miller is backed up by senior Cutter Hillock, who totaled three tackles.
 
Fifth-year safety Ben Baxter tied with Rybar to lead the team with six tackles last week, adding half a tackle for loss. Junior Jett Searle spelled Baxter to pick up three tackles.
 
At monster, junior Colby Kalaukoa carried his strong play from last season into the 2023 opener, totaling five tackles, a pass breakup and a hurry.
 
At cornerback, graduate student Justin Pfau and junior Chance Sparks man the starting roles, while senior Evan Fisette and sophomore Kenyon Johnson mix into the gameplan as well. Pfau led the group with two tackles and two pass breakups at Denison.
 
THE REDLANDS DEFENSE
The Bulldogs were middle-of-the-pack in the SCIAC on defense as well last year, allowing 25.6 points per game, fourth in the league, and 349.7 yards per game, third in the conference.
 
Against the Lutes the Redlands defense was able to stiffen up in the second half after giving up two second quarter touchdowns.
 
For the game, it held Pacific Lutheran to just 191 yards of total offense and 3.3 yards per play, and allowed just 47 rushing yards on 33 attempts (1.4 yards per rush). The Bulldogs also recorded two sacks and forced two turnovers.
 
The Bulldog defense is anchored by First team All-SCIAC defensive tackle graduate student Mikey Duran, coming off the best season of his collegiate career.
 
Duran totaled 41 tackles last year with eight for loss. Against PLU he posted six tackles with half a tackle for loss.
 
It was defensive end and fellow graduate student Luke Purcella leading the way against the Lutes, racking up a career best 10 tackles with one for loss.
 
The opposite end is junior Jax Lee, who also performed against PLU, recording six tackles with a team-high 3.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks.
 
Senior Jacob Sega leads the linebacker group for Redlands after a second team all-league junior campaign. He's joined at linebacker by senior Kamdin Karmann and sophomore Jaeden Thorn.
 
Sega led the group against PLU with seven tackles. Karmann added 1.5 tackles for loss while Thorn recorded his first career interception.
 
At strong safety senior Scott Tinsley leads the Redlands secondary. A two-time First team All-SCIAC and D3Football.com All-Region selection, Tinsley was third on the team in tackles last year with 63 while bringing in three interceptions, following up the nine he picked off in 2021.
 
He recorded five tackles and a pass breakup against PLU.
 
Two more seniors fill out the free safety and weak safety positions, with Andre Owens and Elijiah Valles. Last year the trio combined for six interceptions and five pass breakups.
 
A pair of sophomores start at cornerback in Connor Green and Laurence Williams. Williams totaled seven tackles with three pass breakups and a forced fumble in the season-opener.
 
THE LINFIELD SPECIALISTS
Senior punter Thomas Tabor earned NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week after he was called into action eight times at Denison, totaling 331 yards for 41.4 yards per punt, including a 57-yarder.
 
Kicker Gavin Dalziel went 4-for-4 on point after touchdown attempts last Saturday but missed his lone field goal opportunity, just barely missing the top of the right upright from 27 yards out.
 
It was a rare miss for the junior, who last season hit 7-of-8 attempts from inside 40 yards.
 
Junior Maclain Stoneking and senior Paul Thie man the return responsibilities on kickoffs and punts. In 2021 they were two of the top punt returners in the country, with Stoneking earning First team All-NWC and all-region honors.
 
THE REDLANDS SPECIALISTS
The Bulldog special team group is highlighted by senior punter Vicente Garcia, a three-time all-SCIAC selection and unanimous First Team All-American last season across D3Football.com, the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association.
 
Garcia averaged 45.60 yards per punt last season with 11 going for more than 50 yards while also handling field goal responsibilities, connecting on five of nine attempts.
 
Veterans man the return positions with Aguon handling punts and Williams Jr. returning kickoffs.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield has an all-time record against Redlands of 11-1 in a series dating back to 1998 … The most recent meetings was last season, with Linfield winning 21-3 in McMinnville; the first meeting was the Wildcats' 24-23 win in Redlands … Redlands' victory was in 2019, 27-19 in Redlands … Linfield is 7-0 at home in the series and 4-1 on the road … The widest margin of victory was 48 points, 48-0 in 1999 in McMinnville; the closest game was that 24-23 game in 1998. Linfield's widest margin in Redlands was 41 points, a 51-10 win in the first of two meetings in 2021 … Two of the previous games were in the NCAA Division III national playoff first-round games in McMinnville, with Linfield winning 44-10 in 2021 and 31-23 win in 2003 … Against teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Linfield has an all-time record of 31-4 …
 
HEAD COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith is in his 17th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 149-28 (.842), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 118-16 (.881) in the regular season, 98-6 (.942) in Northwest Conference games, 82-8 (.911) 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 …
 
SINCE 2009
Since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 131-19 (.873) overall, 111-7 (.941) in the regular season, 72-4 (.947) at home and 84-2 (.977) in NWC games … In that time, Linfield has won 12 NWC titles, including the 2022 crown; 11 of those have been outright titles, including 2022 … During that span, Linfield is 20-12 (.625) in the postseason … Since 2009, Linfield has recorded 7 unbeaten regular seasons … In its last 100 regular season games dating back to the 2011 season, the Wildcats are 94-6 …