Whitworth host for battle of unbeatens
It has reached that point in the NCAA Division III football season where coaches no longer feel obligated to respectfully heap unwarranted praise on inferior opponents.
Superlatives uttered during the postseason are almost always sincere, because as Whitworth College’s John Tully puts it: “Everybody, at his point, is good, or they wouldn’t still be playing.”
Which means local fans should be in for a treat at the Pine Bowl today when Tully’s unbeaten and eighth-ranked Pirates (10-0) entertain unbeaten and 10th-ranked Occidental College in the opening round of the D-III playoffs.
Kickoff is set for noon, and Tully expects his Bucs to have their hands full with a Los Angeles-area Occidental team that ran its regular-season winning streak to 26 games while claiming its third consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship.
“They’re a very, very good football team,” Tully said of the Tigers, who survived a major scare in last weekend’s regular-season finale by scoring 20 fourth-quarter points to take a 34-30 win over Whittier College (2-7). “They kind of mirror us offensively, and play good, solid defense.
“But when you’re 9-0, you’re good in all facets of the game.”
Occidental, which has outscored its opponents by an average of almost 20 points per game (39.2-19.9), is led by senior quarterback and all-American candidate Andy Collins, who was named the SCIAC’s top offensive player in 2004 and 2005.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder from Zillah, Wash., threw for 251 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns in last Saturday’s comeback win over Whittier and led the SCIAC in passing yards (243.2 per game) and total offense (282.0 yards per game) this fall.
“He’s a really, really good talent,” Tully said of Collins, whose efficiency rating of 158.0 was also tops in the SCIAC. “He’s got a strong arm and is able to throw the ball very accurately. He’s very athletic and a gifted runner as well. And whenever you have a quarterback like that, he creates problems for your defense.”
Northwest Conference champion Whitworth, which closed its regular season with last Saturday’s 44-27 rout of Puget Sound, will challenge Occidental with the stingiest defense in the NWC.
The Pirates led their conference in scoring defense, allowing just 11.7 point per game, and also finished No. 1 in pass defense, allowing only 138 yards per game.
Whitworth’s offense, which averaged 30.0 points and 363.8 yards per game, is led by senior quarter Joel Clark, who is averaging an NWC-best 252.1 yards of total offense per game. But Clark’s status for today’s playoff opener remains uncertain because of an ankle sprain he suffered against UPS last weekend.
This will be the first meeting between Occidental and Whitworth, which played two common opponents – the University of Redlands and the University of La Verne – during the regular season.
Whitworth opened the year with non-conference wins at Redlands (28-3) and at home against La Verne (37-16). Occidental beat both of its SCIAC rivals on the road, slipping past Redlands 24-10 and routing La Verne 49-14.