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SOU happy to be home for Thanksgiving photo by Jim Craven ASHLAND - Although it may be hard to swallow, Southern Oregon head football coach Jeff Olson could be considered the second-best motivational speaker in his own household. While Jeff has guided the Raider fortunes this season to a 9-1 campaign and berth in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Championship Series on Saturday, it was his wife Linda who supplied the foundation for SOU's playoff run back in August. For the past six years, the Olsons have played host to SOU's senior leaders during fall camp. In those gatherings, the players get together at the Olson household, enjoy a home-cooked meal and set forth their goals for the season. Typically a barbecue feast, Linda opted for another treat when making out the menu this past August - turkey. "It's not the menu you'd normally serve on a hot summer day," admitted Linda, "but there was a reason why turkey was perfect." After getting the OK from her husband to give a speech to the senior leaders, Linda picked her spot wisely. "I waited until they were all sitting down, had some food in their bellies and were settled in before I let them in on my intentions," she said. That's when the menu found new meaning. "I told them I was serving a turkey because I planned on us being in the playoffs for Thanksgiving," said Linda, "so they might as well get used to my cooking since they weren't going to be going home for Thanksgiving." She spent this past season reminding the players time and again about their Thanksgiving plans with the Olsons, then took another step the Wednesday prior to SOU's first-round game with McKendree College. It was on that day that she reserved the Rogue River room at Stephenson Union on the SOU campus for her Thanksgiving feast. "I completely believe in envisioning your future and the control that you have when you do that," said Linda. Of course, the power of positive thinking put Linda in a slight bind leading up to Thursday's feast. It's one thing to talk about providing a Thanksgiving meal, it's another to coordinate an event for about 150 players, coaches, friends of the SOU program, etc. "It's going to be a lot of fun," she said Tuesday in a break from preparations. "There's a lot to put together but there's nothing I'd rather be doing than planning our first Raider Thanksgiving dinner." And although prone to talk about the future much more than her husband, she has made no claims of plans around mid-December - other than the notion of how nice Tennessee must be that time of year. For the record, the NAIA national championship game is Dec. 15 in Hardin County, Tenn. SOU IS ENTERING uncharted territory heading into Saturday's quarterfinal game with fourth-ranked Carroll College, the highest-ranked opponent to visit Raider Stadium since 1996. The Raiders (9-1) are one win away from the school's first-ever 10-win season and SOU's first-ever berth in the NAIA national semifinals. While the pressure might be too much for some, the Raiders appear to be taking it all in stride. "The key factor in all of this is we're playing at home," said SOU coach Jeff Olson, who at 34-22 in six years is one win shy of tying Scott Johnson for No. 3 on SOU's all-time coaching victory list. The Raiders will also be seeking their eighth straight home victory on Saturday, having outscored opponents by a combined 301-90 tally during SOU's current home win streak. A NEW SCOREBOARD may be in order if the Raiders continue at their current pace. Last Saturday's 54-10 dismantling of McKendree helped SOU protect it's status as the highest-scoring team in Northwest small-college history. The Raiders, at 46.1 points per game, are two points higher than the 1993 Pacific Lutheran squad, which not so coincidentally won the national championship. SOU'S POSTSEASON RECORD now stands at 3-3 dating back to the 1946 Pear Bowl. Although it had been 14 years since the Raiders last advanced to the NAIA playoffs, last Saturday's win over McKendree allowed SOU to retrace the steps of the 1987 squad that advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals. Olson and crew, however, would like to get at least one leg up on that team. The 1987 squad lost 38-7 at Mesa State (Colo.) in the quarterfinals. In contrast, Carroll College is 6-9 in 10 NAIA Championship Series appearances since 1978. Last year's group advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Georgetown, Ky., 28-21. Carroll College coach Mike Van Diest said both programs have a right to be optimistic at this point in the season. "I think when you get down to the final eight teams, every team is capable of winning the national championship," he said. Both programs were expected to submit bids this week to host a semifinal contest on Dec. 1, with opponent and site to be determined on Sunday. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.