Willamette1-9The Bearcats of Salem, Oregon, a founding member of the Northwest Conference whose football history runs more than a century deep and whose every fall turns on the rivalry with Linfield.
Willamette helped found the Northwest Conference in 1926 and has played football since the 1890s, but the modern story is written by Linfield down the road.
Bearcats country waits.
Willamette · Next-Season Outcome Band
Willamette · Next-Season Outcome BandFloor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Recent Form · last 10 games
Hibernating
Zero of five. Reset territory.
Opens Sep 5
vs Pomona Pitzer · away
Game Week
9 days
until kickoff · at Pomona Pitzer · Sat Sep 5 · 19:00 UTC
The Bearcats of Salem, Oregon, a founding member of the Northwest Conference whose football history runs more than a century deep and whose every fall turns on the rivalry with Linfield.
Willamette sits 8th in the Northwest Conference and 226th of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — outside the at-large picture — the path runs through the conference title.
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whitworth | 7-0 | 8-3 | 61.2 |
| 2 | Linfield | 6-1 | 7-2 | 59.9 |
| 3 | Pacific Lutheran | 5-2 | 6-4 | 51.6 |
| 4 | Lewis & Clark | 5-4 | 6-4 | 52.0 |
| 5 | George Fox | 4-4 | 4-6 | 44.8 |
| 6 | Pacific (OR) | 3-5 | 3-7 | 40.6 |
| 7 | Puget Sound | 1-7 | 1-9 | 33.5 |
| 8 | Willamette | 0-8 | 1-9 | 32.7 |
Win the Northwest Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.
Signature win 29-14 over La Verne; toughest day 19-65 against Linfield.
Community pulse
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.
The Pulse on Willamette
What moved it — fall camp · last 14 days
No player stats logged for this program yet — stats appear once the season is underway.
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sep 6 | — | — | — | Pomona Pitzer | L 17–41 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 13 | #628 | #495 | — | Pacific (OR) | L 0–42 | 0-2 | 0-1 |
| 4 | Sep 20 | #649 | — | — | @La Verne | W 29–14 | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| 6 | Oct 4 | #658 | #440 | — | @Pacific Lutheran | L 28–31 | 1-3 | 0-2 |
| 7 | Oct 11 | #657 | #487 | — | Lewis & Clark | L 20–28 | 1-4 | 0-3 |
| 8 | Oct 18 | #642 | #654 | — | @Puget Sound | L 28–45 | 1-5 | 0-4 |
| 9 | Oct 25 | #651 | #588 | — | @Pacific (OR) | L 14–35 | 1-6 | 0-5 |
| 10 | Nov 1 | #652 | #558 | — | George Fox | L 9–31 | 1-7 | 0-6 |
| 11 | Nov 8 | #656 | #426 | — | Whitworth | L 0–29 | 1-8 | 0-7 |
| 12 | Nov 15 | #659 | #430 | — | @Linfield | L 19–65 | 1-9 | 0-8 |
Home-Field Advantage · Willamette · 2018-present
Above-Average
15% home win rate vs 10% on the road. margin runs +7.5 better at home. McCulloch Stadium seats 7,000.
66°F average kickoff temp; 16% of games had measurable precipitation; 6 mph average wind.
Based on 19 home games with weather data.
All-Time Record
6-72-2
since 1916 · 30 seasons · .075 win rate
Moment of the Year · Willamette · 2025
Moment of the Year · Willamette · 2025Won 29-14 at La Verne
Week 4 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.