Linfield Favored to Win 3rd Straight Title
| NWC Football Coaches' Pre-Season Poll: |
2001 records |
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
All |
NWC |
| 1. Linfield (Ore.) |
(4) |
38 |
7-2 |
4-1 |
| 2. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
(2) |
33 |
8-3 |
4-1 |
| 3. Whitworth (Wash.) |
|
23 |
7-2 |
4-1 |
| 4. Willamette (Ore.) |
|
19 |
4-5 |
2-3 |
| 5. Lewis & Clark (Ore.) |
|
13 |
3-6 |
1-4 |
| 6. Puget Sound (Wash.) |
|
6 |
0-9 |
0-5 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 7-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Linfield College is favored to claim its third straight Northwest Conference football title, according to the 2002 pre-season poll of conference coaches.
Linfield, which shared the championship with Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth in 2001 after winning outright in 2000, claimed four of six first place votes and 38 poll points. The Wildcats return 18 starters from a team that finished 7-2 overall last fall. Fifteen of those starters earned some kind of conference honor.
Pacific Lutheran picked up the other two first place votes and 33 total points. The Lutes return 13 starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA West regional final and finished 8-3 overall after an 0-2 start. Head Coach Frosty Westering is in his 39th season as a head coach, 31st leading PLU.
Whitworth College is third in the poll with 23 points. The Pirates must overcome the graduation of 15 starters from a team that finished 7-2 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1960. However, they do have 2001 NWC Offensive Player of the Year Scott Biglin returning at QB.
Willamette University, Lewis & Clark College and University of Puget Sound round out the final three places in the poll. Willamette looks to make a jump back to the top of the standings after two sub-par seasons. The Bearcats return 15 starters from 2001. Lewis & Clark returns 17 starters from last season, including 10 on defense. Puget Sound hopes for a new start after 2001's 0-9 showing.
This will be the seventh season since the Northwest Conference readopted football as a conference sport. From 1985 through 1995 the Northwest Conference schools played football as part of the Columbia Football Association and the NAIA. In 1995 the Northwest Conference began the process of joining the NCAA and withdrew from membership in the CFA.