#RV Football Preview: NCAA Tournament Second Round vs. No. 14 Linfield

Texas Lutheran (9-1) vs. No. 14 Linfield (9-1)

November 30, 2024
Where: McMinnville, Oregon
Stadium: Maxwell Field
Time: 2 p.m. CT / 12 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN+

THE OPENING KICKOFF
• Texas Lutheran University continues its 77th season of football on Saturday when the Bulldogs face Linfield in the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
• The Bulldogs are making just their second all-time appearance in the NCAA Championship Football Tournament, losing their previous appearance to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 27-20. TLU's last appearance in the tournament was in 2014.
• The Wildcats will be making their 18th NCAA playoff appearance and 33rd overall postseason appearance. Linfield has an all-time national playoff record of 45-28 (.616) and is 29-16 in postseason games since joining NCAA Division III in 1998.
• Texas Lutheran continues to receive votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Coaches Poll.
• Last time out, Texas Lutheran (9-1) clinched their spot in the 2024 NCAA Championship Tournament after defeating Southwestern at home, 17-10 in overtime. The win moved Texas Lutheran to 5-0 at Bulldog Stadium on the season, the first time TLU finished undefeated at home since the stadium opened in 2014.
• Linfield (9-1) knocked off previously unbeaten Whitworth 34-7 to capture the program's third Northwest Conference championship in four seasons.
• The Bulldogs 9-1 start is the best for the program since 2014.
• Texas Lutheran finished SCAC Conference play with a 7-1 record, the most conference wins since their 8-1 conference mark in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) in 2019.
• TLU has won seven consecutive games, the longest winning streak for Texas Lutheran since 2019.
• TLU holds an all-time record of 351-403-13 (.466).

SERIES HISTORY VS. LINFIELD
• Texas Lutheran is set to face off with Linfield for just the second time in program history this Saturday.
• TLU holds a 1-0 advantage in the series over Linfield.
• The first-ever meeting between the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs and the then-Linfield College Wildcats took place in 1974, with the Bulldogs defeating the Wildcats, 52-8, in a NAIA National Semifinal game played at Matador Stadium in Seguin during the Bulldogs 1974 National Championship run, a season they have honored the 50th anniversary of this season.

Linfield Wildcats Scouting Report
• Joseph Smith is in his 18th season leading the Linfield Wildcats.
• Smith is a 13-time Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, earning the honors again this season after leading Linfield to its 68th consecutive winning season.
• He is a Linfield alum who played cornerback for the Wildcats from 1989-92, earning Second Team NAIA All-American honors in 1992.
• Linfield leads the NWC in scoring offense (46.5 ppg) and scoring defense (10.8 ppg), while leading in total defense (237.8 ypg) and ranking second in total offense (445.1 ypg).
• The Wildcats lead the nation in interceptions (20) as well as red zone offense (.961) and red zone defense (.500).
• QB Blake Eaton, a three-time All-NWC honoree, has completed 164-of-242 passes (67.8%) for 2,194 yards, with 17 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
• LB Blake Rybar became the first player in the history of the Northwest Conference to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players to come through Linfield. Rybar led the Linfield defense with a career-high 70 tackles. He also recorded 9.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one pass defended, and one fumble recovery.
• Chance Sparks, who plays both defensive back and wide receiver for the Wildcats, led the NWC with five interceptions. An All-NWC First Team honoree, he totaled 26 tackles, three tackles for loss, five interceptions, one of which went back for a touchdown, and one sack. Offensively, Sparks caught six passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
• Linfield has won 17 of their last 19 games.

A Texas Lutheran Win Would ...           
• Be Texas Lutheran's 352nd all-time victory, the first postseason victory since the 1975 NAIA National Championship game, and the first NCAA Tournament victory.
• Continue TLU's deepest run into the NCAA Tournament in program history.
• Give Neal LaHue his 16th victory at Texas Lutheran in his 31st career game as a head coach.
• Mark the first ten win season since 1976.
• Extend Texas Lutheran's winning streak to eight-straight games, the longest since 1975-76 (19 games).

Third Season of LaHue Era
• Texas Lutheran Football Head Coach Neal LaHue is in his third season at the helm of the Bulldogs. In his third season at the helm of the Bulldog program, led TLU to a 9-1 overall mark (7-1 in conference) and a regular season SCAC co-championship – the program's fourth since joining the conference in 2013 and earned the SCAC Coach of the Year Award for his efforts.
• TLU finished the season ranked number 26 in the NCAA NPI rankings as well as receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll.
• The LaHue led Bulldogs featured a balanced attack this season that is averaging a SCAC-leading 35.9 points per game and 404.8 yards per game in total offense while allowing just 15.9 points per game. 
• Texas Lutheran ranks 20th in NCAA Division-III in rushing offense, averaging 212.6 yards per game.

Bugatti Bosanko
• Junior Caden Bosanko (San Antonio/East Central) has led Texas Lutheran to 10 wins in 16 starts during his first three seasons as a Bulldog. Bosanko was named the 2024 SCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year earlier this week in what has been a decorated first season as the full-time starting quarterback.
• Bosanko finished second in the conference in passing yards (1,848) and fourth in rushing yards (646) and led the SCAC in scoring with 14 rushing touchdowns. A three-time Offensive Player-of-the-Week during the regular season, including in Weeks 7 and 10 when he had four rushing TDs in each contest that Saturday, the junior completed 144 of 245 passes (58.8 percent) for 10 touchdowns and had a 131.5 passing efficiency rating. Nationally, Bosanko ranks 19th in rushing touchdowns.
• He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in seven out of 10 games he has played this season, and is responsible for a touchdown in nine out of ten. Expect Bosanko to look toward wide receiver Caleb Camarillo (San Antonio/Southside) on Saturday as the All-SCAC First Team wideout is 18th in the nation in yards per reception (20.73).
• Entering the NCAA Division-III Championship Tournament, Bosanko needs two rushing touchdowns to match the single-season record set by David Wehmeyer in 1971.

Welch the Weapon
• Senior punter Cameron Welch (New Braunfels/Canyon) has established himself as one of the best specialists in all of Division-III, capping his career with a 2024 SCAC Special Teams Player of the Year honor.
• Welch led the SCAC with an average of 44.5 yards per punt during the regular season, which was second-best in the nation. His current average would break the previous Texas Lutheran program record of 43.0 yards held by Harold Anderson since 1962 and is just behind the SCAC's all-time single season mark of 44.9 yards per kick set by Bob Burwell of Rose-Hulman in 1978. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Welch also owns the program's career punting average record at 40.5 yards, passing Dillon Koop's (2010-13) previous mark of 39.7.
• Welch was a two-time SCAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week during the 2024 season, placing 13 of his 34 punts inside the 20-yard line with just one touchback all season.
• Texas Lutheran currently leads the nation in net punting at 42.26 yards per kick with opponents mustering just 55 return yards.