The Oaks still finished with their best NWC record, 3-3, after four seasons in the conference, but with a chance to place second in the standings were no match for the nationally-ranked Bearcats, who still have a chance to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Div. III Playoffs when the 32-team field is announced on Sunday. Menlo finishes its initial season under head coach Fred Guidici with a 4-6 record, its best since 2006.

While it didn't take Willamette long to put the game away, it did take the Bearcats a couple possessions to get going. Menlo forced the Bearcats to punt on the game's opening possession and took advantage of a rare Willamette miscue on its next offensive play to set up an early score. Running back Jamiere Abney fumbled away a handoff onto the still-drying field that Oaks defensive lineman Greig O'Connor recovered at the Bearcats 10 yard line.

If Menlo was going to put a real scare into highly-touted Willamette it was going to put maximum points on the scoreboard following such momentum-changing plays. Unfortunately, the Oaks offense only picked up three yards and settled for a 25-yard Eddie De Leon field goal. It was 3-0 Oaks with just less than nine minutes left in the first quarter.

From that point forward the Bearcats showed why they have been a fixture in the national rankings for the past two seasons, answering with a seven-play, 51-yard scoring drive that Josh Green capped with a one-yard touchdown run. By the time Menlo was able to catch its breath, Willamette led 28-3 and was in cruise control.

The Bearcats forced two punts and intercepted a Cruz Castillo pass on Menlo's next three possessions to set up its offense for three more touchdowns in successions following Green's initial score. A 10-play, 74-yard drive ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brian Widing to Scott Schoettgen that gave Willamette a 14-3 at the end of the opening quarter; Kevin Ramay ran eight yards to paydirt to finish a short drive of 33 yards in five plays then tossed a 38-yard strike to Chad Pollard on the only play of the Bearcats next possession. Willamette scored four touchdowns in as many possessions with only 10 minutes, 31 seconds of game time elapsing between the opener and Pollard's catch.

Menlo did have an answer this time, though. Senior running back Shaun Souza ran for a yard to start the Oaks ensuing drive before picking up seven more on a reception. Castillo moved the chains with another seven-yard completion to senior tight end Lance Walkup before finding senior running back Keith Daniels for 16 yards on a third-and-long pass. Two plays later Castillo went to the air again, putting enough air under a pass down the left sideline to allow freshman wide receiver to rise above his defender and pull the ball down as he crossed the goal line.

After forcing a punt, the Oaks nearly struck for more points, but stalled at the Willamette five yard line. The Bearcats turned right back around, going 95 yards in 10 plays to score on a 22-yard pass from Ramay to Schoettgen with 21 second remaining in the half. Willamette led 35-10.

Schoettgen caught his third touchdown pass of the game and 14^th of the season in the third quarter before Terrell Malley tallied the last points of the day on a four-yard run in the same stanza. Menlo had a pair of chances to score late in the game, but twice turned the ball over on downs inside the red zone.

Castillo completed 10-of-26 passes for 131 yards while Nick Ruhl completed two passes for 30 yards. Souza ran 15 times for 35 yards, Daniels caught three passes for 30 yards, Cavness had two receptions for 54 yards, and Sean Villareal picked up 27 yards on two grabs. Safety Beau Bussani and linebacker Brett Klee each made nine tackles for the Oaks while Klee added a sack and a tackle for loss.

Willamette totaled 456 yards of offense with 234 on the ground and 222 via pass. Widing and Ramay combined to complete 14-of-23 passes with four touchdowns. Pollard picked up 124 total yards on 11 touches while Schoettgen caught eight passes for 116 yards. Cory Lowe finished with two sacks and as many tackles for loss.