1980 Boise State Broncos football team

1980 Boise State Broncos football
NCAA Division I-AA national champion Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 31–29 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
AP	No.  7 (November 26)
Record	10–3 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jim Criner (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Gene Dahlquist (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Lyle Setencich (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium
Seasons ←  1979 1981  →

1980 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Boise State $^	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Idaho	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Nevada	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Idaho State*	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Weber State*	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Montana State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Northern Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Montana	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

The 1980 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jim Criner and the "Four Horseman" senior backfield: quarterback Joe Aliotti, fullback David Hughes, halfback Cedric Minter, with halfback Terry Zahner in reserve. ^[1]

The previous season, the Broncos had a 10–1 record and were undefeated in the Big Sky, ^{[2] [3] [4]} but were on probation for a scouting violation in November 1978, making them ineligible for the conference title or the 1979 I-AA playoffs. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Regular season

The Broncos finished the regular season in 1980 at 8–3 and 6–1 in conference to win their fifth Big Sky title in eleven seasons, their first since 1977. BSU defeated their two Division I-A opponents, but lost a road contest in November to Cal Poly-SLO, the eventual Division II national champions, whom they had routed at the end of the previous season. ^{[2] [3]}

The Broncos easily defeated rival Idaho, then ranked ninth, for the fourth consecutive year in mid-October in Boise. During halftime of the Nevada-Reno game on November 8, BSU dedicated the playing field at Bronco Stadium to athletic director and former head coach Lyle Smith. ^[8] The only conference setback was a one-point loss in late September at Montana State, the difference was a last-minute two-point conversion. ^[9]

Division I-AA playoffs

The Broncos were invited to the four-team I-AA playoffs. As Big Sky champions with a substantial stadium and fan base, BSU was chosen to host in the first round, a national semifinal on December 13, three weeks after the completion of the regular season. The opponent was Grambling State, coached by legend Eddie Robinson. The Broncos won 14–9 in sub-freezing fog and advanced to the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game the following week in California against defending champion Eastern Kentucky, coached by Roy Kidd. ^{[10] [11] [12]} In a back-and-forth contest played in the fog at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, Boise State won 31–29 to win their only I-AA national title. ^{[13] [14]}

The Broncos returned to the I-AA semifinals the following season and 1990, and the title game in 1994; they moved up to Division I-A in 1996.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Utah *		Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 28–7	27,231	[1] [15]
September 13	Southeastern Louisiana *		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		L 13–17	21,342
September 20	at Northern Arizona		Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ		W 20–18	10,787	[16]
September 27	at Montana State	No. 10	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT		L 17–18	9,121
October 4	Montana		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 44–10	20,453
October 11	No. 9 Idaho		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)		W 44–21	21,812
October 18	Cal State Fullerton *	No. 9	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 26–11	17,052
October 25	Weber State	No. 7	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 24–0	18,455
November 8	Nevada	No. 7	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)		W 14–3	20,682
November 15	at No. 4 (NCAA D-II) Cal Poly *	No. 5	Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA		L 20–23	8,330
November 22	at Idaho State	No. 9	ISU MiniDome Pocatello, ID		W 22–13	13,865
December 13	No. 2 Grambling State *	No. 7	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		W 14–9	17,300
December 20	vs. No. 3 Eastern Kentucky *	No. 7	Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game—Camellia Bowl)	ABC	W 31–29	8,157	[17]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FL 1 Ron Harvey So QB 7 Kevin McDonald Sr FL 11 Lance LaShelle Sr QB 14 Joe Aliotti Sr QB 18 Tim Klena Fr TB 20 Cedric Minter Sr TB 27 Terry Zahner Sr FB 33 David Hughes Sr OL 54 Art Valero Sr C 55 Randy Schrader Sr LT 60 Dennis Brady Jr RG 62 John Gasser Jr RT 67 Bill Madinger Jr LG 69 Shawn Beaton Sr SE 80 Kipp Bedard Jr TE 90 Duane Dlouhy Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LCB 28 Chris Bell Jr SS 29 Rick Woods Jr RCB 30 Mike Bradeson Sr FS 42 Larry Alder So NG 43 Bob Skinner So ROLB 48 Ron Chatterton Sr ROLB 52 Larry Lewis Sr LOLB 57 Ralph Esposito Sr RILB 58 Dan Williams Sr LILB 59 Dan Brown Sr LILB 61 Ray Santucci Jr LDT 70 Randy Trautman Jr RDT 83 Michel Bourgeau Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Kenrick Camerud So P, K 18 Tim Klena Fr KR 20 Cedric Minter Sr KR 27 Terry Zahner Sr PR 29 Rick Woods Jr P 33 Tom Spadafore Sr	Head coach Jim Criner (5th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Gene Dahlquist (OC) Lyle Setencich (DC) John Fox (DB) Dave Wasick (DL) Claude Tomasini (LB) John Fox (DB) Mitch Britzman Mike Solari Jeff Skocko Jim Farmer Ed Lambert Randy Stewart Bob Markovich John Williams (manager) Ed Pflefer (assistant trainer) Kevin Roberts (assistant trainer) Jim Neal (assistant trainer) Ted Choules (assistant trainer) T.J. Byrne (assistant trainer) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source: ^[18]

NFL Draft

One Bronco senior was selected in the 1981 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (332 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
David Hughes	FB	2nd	31	Seattle Seahawks

References

1. Rock, Brad (September 6, 1980). "Utes ready for opener with Boise tonight". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A3.
2. "Broncos stampede Cal-Poly SLO 56-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 18, 1979. p. 12D.
3. "'Our bowl game,' cries Criner". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. November 19, 1979. p. 12D.
4. "College standings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. November 26, 1979. p. 4C.
5. "Boise St. coach admits to scouting violation". Daily News. (Bowling Green, Kentucky). Associated Press. November 16, 1978. p. 4-B.
6. "Big Sky's down hard on Boise". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 17, 1978. p. B1.
7. "Probation slapped on Boise State football". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. December 18, 1978. p. 7.
8. BSU Game Day program – November 8, 1980 – p.8
9. "Montana State stuns Broncos". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. September 28, 1980. p. 2C.
10. "Boise State gains finale". Spokane Daily Chronicle. UPI. December 15, 1980. p. 28.
11. "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Lewiston, Idaho. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
12. "Camellia: who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 20, 1980. p. 24.
13. "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 21, 1980. p. B2.
14. "Boise gets title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. December 22, 1980. p. 28.
15. Rock, Brad (September 8, 1980). "Start believing, Utah, Nebraska's up next". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. B3.
16. "BSU holds on to edge Northern Arizona". The Idaho Statesman. September 21, 1980. p. 37.
17. "Last-grasp pass lifts Boise 31–29". The Sacramento Bee. December 21, 1980. Retrieved March 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
18. BSU gameday program – Boise State vs. Nevada, Reno – November 8, 1980 – Probable starters, rosters, p. 21–25

External links

• Bronco Football Stats – 1980