Every week, Keith McMillan, a guest and I take a tour through the weekend’s games, giving you our take on what the big games, big upsets and new names will be coming out of the upcoming week. Our Triple-Take guest this week is Ryan Carlson, former Linfield defensive lineman and publisher of Catdomealumni.com.

And our guest headline this week is from Ryan’s wife, Kelly, who described the scene of each of us updating our respective sites on a Friday night when we were in Oregon. (Never fear, there was at least beer being downed at the time.)

Game of the Week
Ryan’s take: Linfield at Whitworth. Being a Linfield honk, I think this is an easy call. It will be when the No. 12 Wildcats (4-2, 3-1 NWC) travel out to Spokane, Washington to lock up with the Pirates (5-2, 4-0 NWC). This game has major implications on not only the NWC title but will essentially eliminate one of the two from Pool B contention. The Rats (as Whitworth is known in NWC circles) feature a ball-hawking defense and grinding zone running attack. Linfield will counter with a surging defense and a more balanced offense than in years past.
Keith’s take: Rochester at RPI. About a dozen games this week will make or break the season for two teams. But how many affect four teams? The undefeated Engineers host the Yellowjackets in a game that pits two of the four Liberty League teams still alive for the crown and AQ. Hobart at Union matches the other two. Depending on the outcomes, next week’s RPI/Union Dutchman Shoes rivalry game could have title and playoff implications.
Pat’s take: Albright at Widener. It isn’t quite the culmination of what started as an awful season for the MAC but it’ll be pretty close, with the conference’s last two unbeaten teams facing off. (Albright still must play Delaware Valley the following week.) And this isn’t just because I’ll be there. Albright has the best shot at getting a decent NCAA playoff seed if it wins out, but has the best two teams for last.

Surprisingly close game
Ryan’s take: Carthage at Wheaton. This is a shot in the dark but after getting pasted last year by the Thunder look for the Red Men to keep it surprising close with the No. 4 team in the country. Of course, I’m probably way off base and the Thunder will roll by a double Monkey Stomp.
Keith’s take: Monmouth at Knox. The Scots have outscored the Prairie Fire 173-14 in the past four meetings, going back to a 27-23 game in 2002. The only reason to believe it might be surprisingly close is that its The Bronze Turkey rivalry game, and strange things have been known to happen. Mostly to the trophy though (Google it if you need to read up, they’re great stories).
Pat’s take: Washington and Jefferson at Thomas More. W&J may be content to rest on its laurels and this is a long trip to suburban Cincinnati. Last year Thomas More lost this game on the road 21-12.

Most likely Top 25 team to get upset
Ryan’s take: No. 24 Occidental. The Tigers (6-1) finally lost in the regular season with a resounding thud as the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen sacked Oxy 43-25 last weekend. Oxy will host a solid Chapman Panthers (5-2) squad that has ripped off 4 impressive wins in a row including a 44-30 victory over Cal Lu. I look for Oxy to still be reeling from last weekend and for Chapman to add to the misery.
Keith’s take: No. 18 Bethel. It’s not so much that I think 4-4 Augsburg is a better team, though they have averaged 38.3 points in three games since upsetting still-ranked Wartburg. I just know that it’s tough for players not to look ahead to the game that makes the season — Week 11’s St. John’s game in the Royals’ case.
Pat’s take: No. 16 Muhlenberg. Not that we don’t like Muhlenberg, but homestanding Ursinus is 7-1, 5-1 in the Centennial and playing for its postseason life the final two weeks. Although Muhlenberg ends with a rivalry game against Moravian, this wouldn’t be considered a trap game for the Mules — they know they need this game and the rivalry with Moravian has recently been described as more important to the alumni than the current players. Ursinus averages nearly twice as many yards on offense as Muhlenberg allows on average on defense, so it will be a good test for the Muhlenberg D.

They’ll be on your radar
Ryan’s take: Case Western Reserve, hosting Washington U. In following the Pool B thread of Post Patterns it seems that in order to help increase the Northwest Conference’s case for a Pool B slot a loss by Case Western would be a positive event. Heck I live in the Pacific Northwest so it doesn’t seem too odd to be rooting for a school named Washington University even if said school is from Missouri.
Keith’s take: Illinois Wesleyan. Before they can clash with Wheaton for the CCIW championship, they have to get past Saturday’s game at North Central. The Cardinals, because of two early-season losses, have dropped below the radar but remain dangerous. The Titans’ run is probably up here, but they’ve been proving people wrong ever since the CCIW portion of the schedule started, so why not once more?
Pat’s take: Olivet. The Comets started off 0-3 but against some decent competition: Illinois Wesleyan, Wittenberg and Elmhurst, a combined 16-8. Olivet is 4-1 in the MIAA and plays at Hope (5-3, 5-0) with title hopes on the line.

Will any of the nine teams that have a chance to clinch an automatic bid Saturday fail to do so?
Ryan’s take: Muhlenberg. The Mules have a seven-game winning streak over the Ursinus Bears but there have been some close shaves over that stretch. Both teams’ defenses have been stingy over the season so I see another nip and tuck game with the Bears getting their first win of the decade on the Mules.
Keith’s take: No. I feel fairly confident in all nine teams, from top-10 UW-Whitewater and Mary Hardin-Baylor to off-the-radar Hope and N.C. Wesleyan.
Pat’s take: Well, I’ve already mentioned Hope and Muhlenberg above, so if I were to spotlight someone new, I’d go with Concordia (Wis.). The Falcons’ loss at Greenville was a surprise, at least in terms of the margin of defeat (44-14). Benedictine is coming in strong, with four wins in a row, and if you’re a slave to the common opponents results, Benedictine won at Greenville on Oct. 6.

Which key Pool B game will be more exciting, Whitworth at Linfield or Wash. U. at Case Western Reserve?
Ryan’s take: No contest? Linfield at Whitworth. I’m not even sure how you could justify going the other way on that question. No offense to the UAA but play out in the NWC is just better.
Keith’s take: The big UAA clash lost a bit of its luster when Wash U. lost to Carnegie Mellon last weekend, but the Bears can still spoil the Spartans’ undefeated run and the conference’s chance at a playoff spot. The game in McMinnville, Ore., will be more exciting, because with a 3:30 kickoff Eastern Time, the result of the noon game in Cleveland should be in. Should Wash U. pull the upset, the Wildcats and Pirates will likely be playing for playoff position as well as the NWC title.
Pat’s take: Wash U. at Case Western Reserve, Ryan, because I can watch it for free online and Linfield charges at least an arm, if not an arm and a foot, for video of its games. What, the game’s at Whitworth, not at Linfield? Well, there goes that point. Seriously, both should be good, just in different ways.

Which New York team will help itself most?
Ryan’s take: Union helps out its cause by eliminating Hobart from title contention and set up the home game for all the marbles with RPI the final week of the season. That’s how Union rolls.
Keith’s take: An inside joke. Nice. I’m going to slide over the Empire 8 and say that Alfred rebounds from the Hobart thumping and barely gets past Ithaca to remain undefeated in-conference while a Week 11 showdown with St. John Fisher awaits.
Pat’s take: SUNY-Maritime, which is riding — or being ridden by — a seven-game losing streak heading into its season finale at Gallaudet. Maritime hasn’t won since Sept. 8 and can avenge a loss to the club Bison from 2006.