The Pointers open their 2010 season saturday by hosting the Willamette bearcats in an inter-regional clash of playoff contenders. The Bearcats will be making the long trip from Salem, Oregon. Willamette narrowly missed the playoff field in 2009. The Bearcats won 8 of their last 9 ball games last year, with their only defeat in that span being a 30-27 loss to highly rated Linfield. UW-Stevens Point will be looking to re-enter the playoff field in 2010 after missing the field with a 7-3 record last year.
HOW THE POINTERS CAN WIN
The Pointers must play for 60 minutes. Last season, the Pointers lost an 11 point lead in the final 6 minutes of play in a season opening defeat at the hands of Central College that ultimately kept them out of playoff consideration at season's end. This year UW-SP will be opening with a hungry opponent as the Bearcats were surprised in a season opening loss to Concordia-Moorhead that kept them out of the post season tournament as well. Casey Barnes, a freshman, will need a productive first start as he leads an offense that gained 68% of their yards through the air a year ago. The Pointers veteran offensive line must get push in the running game to take some of the pressure off Barnes. Defensively, the Pointers must remain fundamentally sound and control their gaps against the unusual "Fly Offense" of Coach Mark Speckman. Willamette loves to live off of big plays, so making the Bearcats try to live off methodical drives will help, too.
ANALYSIS
This is one of the most interesting opening games in the country as a pool c playoff bid could easily be on the line. While the Bearcats will be hungry and determined, Stevens Point looks to be the stronger overall team. The biggest question mark will be how the freshman Barnes performs in his first collegiate start. Having led his high school team (Homestead) to three consecutive state championship games and two state championships, Barnes seems to be a good bet to play well.
SCORE PROJECTION
UW-Stevens Point 24
Willamette 17
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