NWC game day previews: PLU, UPS face road conference openers

PACIFIC LUTHERAN (2-1) AT WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY (2-2)

1 p.m. Saturday, McCulloch Stadium, Salem, Oregon

Series: PLU leads, 27-17-2. The Bearcats snapped a five-game skid against the Lutes with a 10-9 victory last season in Puyallup. PLU has won three of the past four games in Salem, including a 35-24 win in 2013.

What to watch for: Hello, Kellen Westering. The Lutes wide receiver, and son of coach Scott Westering, appears to be regaining his dominant form from 2012. He scored his first touchdown in nearly three years in PLU’s 27-16 victory over Pacific last weekend. The Rogers High School graduate is becoming the Lutes’ much-needed big-play threat, but his balky hamstrings will determine how long he stays in games. … PLU will continue to go with the same formula at quarterback: Play Jon Schaub for 15-17 plays, then bring in backup Cole Chandler for the same amount of time. Whoever is playing better by halftime will likely take on the lion’s share of snaps in the second half. Last week, that guy was Chandler. … The Bearcats will try to establish the run game with tailbacks Taylor Wyman (76 carries, 458 yards, four touchdowns) and Jimmy Sharpe. Wyman is the only running back in the conference to average 100 or more yards per game.

What’s at stake: If the Lutes can start the NWC schedule 2-0 with a road win Saturday, that will certainly beat the drum louder on whether PLU is a legitimate conference contender or not.

TNT pick: PLU, 27-24.

PUGET SOUND (2-1) AT WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY (3-1)

1 p.m. Saturday, Pine Bowl, Spokane

Series: Whitworth leads, 41-25-1. The Pirates have won 20 games in a row against UPS, including last year’s 24-7 victory in Tacoma. The Loggers’ last victory in the series came in 1995 — 48-35 in Tacoma.

What to watch for: Get ready for what should be the longest game in conference play — with a minimum 100 passing attempts between the two offenses. And why wouldn’t you throw the ball when you have two quarterbacks such as these: Whitworth’s Ian Kolste (143 of 197, 1,630 yards, 11 TDs) and Hans Fortune of UPS (91 of 148, 1,001 yards, 11 TDs). The Pirates run the “Air Raid” system straight out of a Mike Leach playbook, and Kolste’s 407.5-yard passing average ranks No. 2 in the country in NCAA Division III. Whitworth tailback Duke DeGaetano (eight total TDs) is the conference’s top all-around running back in both rushing and receiving. … It hasn’t been a pretty sight for the UPS defense through three games, giving up a conference-worst 531.3 yards per game. The Loggers need to find more effective ways to stunt and twist to get pressure on Kolste, or he will have a field day against a secondary that rotates in four freshmen.

What’s at stake: As quickly as UPS fell behind in the NWC title race last weekend after its shocking loss to Willamette, it can get right back in it with an upset Saturday.

TNT pick: Whitworth, 50-35.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "NWC game day previews: PLU, UPS face road conference openers."