Go Wildcats!

Wildcats Win!

That's been said more often than not for well over half a century in McMinnville, Oregon. If Linfield defeats Willamette today it will clinch a 60th consecutive season in which the Wildcats post a winning season. There's no official betting lines for Division III football games but it's been said that the spread would be about 45 points in favor of the Linfield Wildcats.

Linfield last had a losing season when Eisenhower was in office. 1955 was the year. The Wildcats started winning often in 1956 and haven't stopped. There have been some close calls over the decades. It's come down to the final game three times. A robust 5% of the time. The most precarious of those close calls came in 1987 when their win over Pacific University wasn't clinched until 35 seconds remained in the game. That secured a 5-4 season and pushed the streak to 32 seasons. Ten years later the Wildcats tied the All-Time College Football Consecutive Winning Seasons record held by Harvard and Notre Dame. Harvard hadn't suffered a losing season from 1881-1923. Notre Dame hadn't suffered a losing season from 1889-1932. That's football royalty. Linfield didn't stop there. They kept winning more than they lost up to this very season. During this long, incredible streak the Wildcats have won over 80% of the their games and four national titles.

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL have shown that consistency in coaching can bring about good things. The Steelers hired Chuck Noll as head coach in 1969. Since then they have hired a new head coach twice. Bill Cowher in 1992. Mike Tomlin in 2007. Those three coaches have brought Pittsburgh incredible consistency and success. Each won a Super Bowl (Noll won four). Linfield has had a similar sort of stability with their head coaches. Only five head coaches have been a part of the streak.

Paul Durham 1948-67
Ad Rutschman 1968-92
Ed Langsdorf 1992-95
Jay Locey 1996-2005
Joseph Smith 2006-

As interesting as the shortness of this list is that each was mentored by a predecessor. This calls to the close-knit relationship between the city, the college, and the football team. All are closely involved in the other. All are invested. Family. The Wildcats shout Family as they break the huddle. And they actually mean it. Whether it's Linfield in McMinnville or St. John's in Collegeville, Minnesota, it's small schools in small towns that have always made Division III football appealing to me. The term "student-athlete" really means something at these schools because the emphasis is always on the "student." There's also a purity about the "athlete" part of it. They are playing football for the love of the game rather than a necessary step to the next level. I like seeing Linfield listed with the Harvard's and the Notre Dame's of the college football world. Actually, I like seeing Linfield listed above those schools.

Go Wildcats!