While college football in the Inland Northwest might not be the all-consuming cultural force that it is in the South, there's plenty of football history between the Washington State Cougars, Eastern Washington Eagles, Idaho Vandals and, across the Cascades, the Washington Huskies. Heck, Gonzaga even has two Pro Football Hall of Famers despite playing its last game in 1941. But one school often gets overlooked.
In terms of pure execution this season, the best ball around can be found on a field in north Spokane.
Whitworth football is having a moment.
It's a soggy Saturday afternoon in early November when I drive up north for undefeated Whitworth's penultimate home game of the season, a Division III clash with fellow Northwest Conference foe Lewis & Clark. The Pirates' home field — the Pine Bowl — is an incredibly quaint and charming venue for college football with a pine-treed suburban backdrop framing all the action on the field as fans pack the rows of bleachers that rise on only one side. The vibes feel closer to a high school game than a clash between DI powerhouses like Oregon and Georgia, but when Whitworth has the ball on offense this day, they execute with truly elite precision.
Leading the way is senior quarterback Ryan Blair. Against Lewis & Clark, he puts on one of the most impressive throwing days you can imagine — dropping absolute dimes that hit his receivers in stride on route to 465 passing yards with three touchdowns. With a week left to play in the regular season, he's already set Whitworth's single-season record with 32 passing touchdowns while throwing for 2,541 yards. But the senior's had quite the winding journey to end up as one of the best passers in DIII.
After starting his collegiate career at Western Oregon University, Blair transferred to Whitworth and was hyper-efficient as the Pirates' starting QB in 2022 (completing 74.2% of his passes) before going down with an extremely severe, season-ending ankle dislocation and tear that left him with a plate and nine screws in his right fibula. After sitting behind DI transfer and NWC Offensive Player of the Year Austin Ewing in 2023, Blair could have left his football playing days behind. Instead, he decided to stick it out one more year because of the potential he saw in this year's squad.
"It was the glimpses that we had last year, knowing that a lot of the guys were coming back. I felt like we had unfinished business," Blair says. "I know we came out as conference champs last year, and I knew that we could probably make an even deeper run this upcoming year. Just the group of guys, and relationships that I've built — I couldn't see myself going into the workforce right now and just being a regular person. [Laughs]"
Blair is far from the only star on Whitworth's offense. His main target all year has been grad student wide receiver Evan Liggett. With an agile 6-foot-3-inch frame, Liggett is able to have his way with most DIII defensive backs. Against Lewis & Clark, he racks up 12 catches for 225 yards and two touchdowns, adding to his own single-season Whitworth record for receiving touchdowns (which currently sits at 17). The on-field chemistry between Blair and Liggett, who are also housemates, might call to mind a DIII version of the Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp.
"It's just a blast. Nobody I'd rather go out there and play with," Liggett says. "We just go out there and have fun. It's not about looking at the records for us. At the end of the day, it's still a game. And we just try and not make it stressful."
But if opposing defenses scheme to lock down the Blair-Liggett combo, they also must deal with running back Luis Salgado — and the junior ball carrier can be a problem. In a tight 39-32 win over Pacific (Oregon), Salgado rushed for a school record 365 yards. 365! (We swear that's not a typo.)
As Whitworth's 48-9 blowout win over Lewis & Clark showcases, even if you pick your poison playing the Pirates (L&C held Salgado to "only" 92 rushing yards), you're still drinking poison.
The man overseeing Whitworth's offensive explosion is head coach Rod Sandberg. Looking a bit like a trimmed-down Dan Campbell, he combines the same fiery intensity and connection with his players that his Detroit Lions pseudo-doppelganger has become famous for on the NFL level.
"[Coach Sandberg] is one of a kind," Blair says. "He brings a different level of intensity and enthusiasm that I've never seen from anybody."
"He's just a guy that you'd play your heart out and run through a brick wall for," Liggett adds.
While Sandberg's been on the job since 2014 — winning NWC titles and making the DII playoffs in the past — the past two seasons have felt different.
"The sign of a great program is when you can consistently be great. And we haven't been there. We've had great moments, but we want to be a great program that can consistently do that," Sanberg says. "And I think this group of 32 seniors took that on themselves, saying, 'Hey, we're not satisfied. We think this program can get better.' And it's been fun to watch that."
The players are certainly on the same page as Sandberg in that regard.
"A goal of ours wasn't just to come out and win championships, but to change the trajectory of Whitworth football for good," Liggett says. "The culture is really what's changed. It's not just the football on the field, it's everything in between — the relationships we have and all that stuff."
The Pirates enter the final week of the regular season ranked No. 16 with a 9-0 record. And history is repeating itself, as for the second straight year the Northwest Conference title will come down to a final week battle between undefeated Whitworth and the Linfield University Wildcats, who are also undefeated in conference play. Last year the Pirates pulled out a 28-24 victory at Linfield to win the NWC title. This year, the tilt for all the marbles will go down at the Pine Bowl at noon on Saturday, Nov. 16.
More Whitworth offensive history could take place on Saturday too, as Liggett and Salgado are respectively 148 receiving yards and 128 rushing yards away from the single season school records.
Regardless of how Saturday's showdown with Linfield goes, Whitworth has staked its claim as a football program to be reckoned with these past two seasons. In an era when some fans get turned off by a pro sports mentality seeping into the collegiate game, watching DIII football is just about young men playing the game they love with no eyes on future glory. The guys on Spokane's college football team aren't going to be playing on Sundays, but they're gonna have a blast while they can still ball on Saturdays.
"You have to buy into everything," Liggett says of DIII football. "All the little things. All the relationships. Obviously, it's not a huge spotlight. You're not going to be walking around getting noticed, but at the end of the day, I don't think that's what football is about. You know, everyone's going to stop playing. You can't play ball your whole life. DIII football is just about finding friends for life while playing the game you love." ♦
Whitworth Pirates vs. Linfield Wildcats • Sat, Nov. 16 at noon • $12 • Whitworth Pine Bowl • 300 W. Hawthorne Road • whitworthpirates.com
