1971 Idaho Vandals football | |
---|---|
Big Sky champion | |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Record | 8–3 (4–1 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
|
Offensive coordinator | Bobby Thompson (3rd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Ray Fulton (2nd season) |
MVP | Ron Linehan |
Captains |
|
Home stadium | Idaho Stadium Bronco Stadium Joe Albi Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho $ | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Boise State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weber State | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana State | 0 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 1971 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Lled by second-year head coach Don Robbins, the Vandals played the final three of their five home games at the new Idaho Stadium, an outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The Vandals won their first outright conference title in 1971, which included an eight-game winning streak after opening with two losses. Idaho finished 8–3 in the regular season and 4–1 in the Big Sky. At the time, it was the best record in school history.
A third consecutive season opened without a home field, as the new Idaho Stadium was not quite finished and there was no suitable venue available on the Palouse. [1] [2] After the wooden Neale Stadium (1937) was condemned in August 1969, the Vandals played their limited schedule of Palouse home games at the wooden Rogers Field at WSU in nearby Pullman in 1969 and 1970. [3] The primary (south) grandstand of Rogers burned in April 1970, [4] and was razed in 1971; in its footprint Martin Stadium was constructed and opened in September 1972. [5] [6]
The Vandals' season opener was a stunning 14–42 upset loss at Boise State in the first meeting between the two teams, creating an instant rivalry game. [7] [8] This was actually an Idaho "home game" moved south to Boise, [9] because the new stadium in Moscow was behind schedule and not completed. [10] Boise State had been a junior college program through 1967, moved up to NAIA in 1968 as an independent, and joined the NCAA "college division" (Division II) and Big Sky in 1970. [11] Idaho had played a home game every season in Boise in the old wooden Bronco Stadium through 1968; this ended when Boise State joined the Big Sky.
The Colorado State game on September 25 was played at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, [12] The Vandals shut out the CSU Rams 10–0 to begin their eight-game winning streak; [13] the Rams' star running back was Lawrence McCutcheon, [12] [14] who was selected for multiple Pro Bowls while with the Los Angeles Rams.
The new Idaho Stadium opened with a 40–3 Vandal victory over Idaho State on October 9. [15] The unlit outdoor concrete stadium in Moscow replaced Neale Stadium in the same footprint and continued with a natural grass surface.It was the first game played on campus in nearly three years, the last was a win on November 2, 1968. Artificial turf, 3M Tartan Turf, was installed in 1972, [16] and the facility was enclosed in 1975 to become the multi-purpose Kibbie Dome.
After four consecutive road victories, [17] the Vandals finished the 1971 season at home with a 40–2 victory over Montana State to wrap up the Big Sky title, and a disappointing 13–42 non-conference loss to Utah State in the finale. [18] [19] [20] Boise State finished at 10–2 with a postseason win, but its two losses were in league play and finished second in the Big Sky at 4–2. [21]
Although a charter member of a conference whose other members were "college division" (Division II) for football, Idaho maintained its status as a "university division" (Division I) program with the NCAA by playing only "university division" opponents in its non-conference schedule. [22] [23] That is why runner-up Boise State went to the Camellia Bowl in 1971, [24] and when the Division II playoffs arrived in 1973, the Vandals were again ineligible, as they were in Division I. (Idaho was a member of the conference primarily for basketball, in Division I.)
The Big Sky moved up to the new Division I-AA in 1978, and Idaho was forced to move down. In 18 seasons in I-AA, the Vandals reached the post-season playoffs 11 times, missing only once in the final 11 seasons of 1985–95.
Idaho returned to Division I-A in 1996 with a move to the Big West, and then to the WAC in 2005. (The Big West dropped football after 2000; Idaho was a "football only" member of the Sun Belt for four seasons, 2000–04.) The WAC dropped football after the 2012 season and Idaho athletics rejoined the Big Sky in 2013 for all sports except football, which was independent in 2013, rejoined the Sun Belt in 2014, and the Big Sky (FCS) in 2018.
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 11 | 7:00 pm | Boise State Δ | L 14–42 | 16,123 | [7] [8] | |
September 18 | 11:30 am | at Iowa State * | L 7–24 | 25,000 | [25] | |
September 25 | 7:30 pm | Colorado State Δ* | W 10–0 | 12,600 | [12] [13] | |
October 2 | 12:30 pm | at Montana | W 21–12 | 12,000 | [26] [27] | |
October 9 | 1:30 pm | Idaho State ![]() | W 40–3 | 14,200 | [15] | |
October 16 | 2:00 pm | at Pacific (CA) * | W 13–12 | 10,132 | [28] | |
October 23 | 6:00 pm | at West Texas State * | W 26–0 | 14,000 | [29] | |
October 30 | 6:30 pm | at New Mexico State * | W 19–14 | [30] | ||
November 6 | 12:30 pm | at Weber State | W 24–20 | 8,404 | [17] | |
November 13 | 12:30 pm | Montana State |
| W 40–2 | 12,900 | [31] |
November 20 | 12:30 pm | Utah State * |
| L 13–42 | 15,100 | [18] [19] [20] |
|
1971 Idaho Vandals football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
|
|
Six Vandals were named to the all-Big Sky team, two on offense and four on defense: halfback Fred Riley, guard Andy Kupp, defensive end Rick Simmons, noseguard Steve Barker, and linebackers Ron Linehan and Rand Marquess. The second team also had six Idaho players, with four on offense and two on defense: fullback Frank Doctor, wide receiver Jack Goddard, tackle Larry Bosma, center Ken Muhlbeier, defensive tackle Bill Cady, and defensive back Kelly Courage. [34] [35]
Linehan's selection was his third consecutive, and he was also named the team's most valuable player. [36] Three weeks after the season ended, he received a gunshot wound to his left side; [37] he spent less than two days at Gritman hospital and was released. [38] [39] His younger brothers were also starters for the Vandals: Rick was the strong safety in the late 1970s and Scott was the quarterback in the mid-1980s.
Three Vandal seniors were selected in the 1972 NFL draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).
Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
Fred Riley | WR | 6th | 146 | Atlanta Falcons |
Andy Kupp | G | 10th | 241 | New Orleans Saints |
Ron Linehan | LB | 17th | 428 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
One junior was selected in the following year's draft in 1973, also seventeen rounds (442 selections).
Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
Ken Muhlbeier | C | 16th | 400 | Denver Broncos |
Two sophomores were selected in the 1974 NFL draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).
Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
Bob Van Duyne | G | 10th | 240 | Baltimore Colts |
Randy Hall | DB | 13th | 317 | Baltimore Colts |
The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2024, ten full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.
Neale Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Opened 87 years ago in 1937 for college football, it was used for over three decades, through the 1968 football season; the track team moved to the venue in the late 1940s.
The Boise State–Idaho football rivalry was an intrastate college football rivalry in Idaho between the Broncos of Boise State University and Vandals of the University of Idaho in Moscow. The game was played annually 1971–2010, and with the exception of the 2001–2004 games, the rivalry was a conference game. Boise State moved from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference in 2011 and the rivalry went on hiatus, with no future games currently scheduled.
The 1982 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1982 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coach Dennis Erickson, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1977 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by fourth-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1964 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Dee Andros and were an independent in the NCAA's University Division. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
The 1976 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1975 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1974 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium, an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1973 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by fourth-year head coach Don Robbins and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium, an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1972 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Don Robbins and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium, an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1970 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho as a member of Big Sky Conference during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Don Robbins. Without a usable stadium on their Moscow campus for a second year, they played their home games at Rogers Field at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
The 1977 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1977 NCAA Division II football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by second-year head coach Jim Criner, the Broncos were 9–2 overall and 6–0 in conference to win the Big Sky title, their fourth in five years.
The 1971 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State College during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season, the fourth season of Bronco football and the second as members of the Big Sky Conference and NCAA. In the College Division, they played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.
The 1965 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Steve Musseau and played in the Big Sky Conference for the first time; they played the previous six seasons as an independent in the NCAA University Division. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
The 1968 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1968 NCAA College Division football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Y C McNease and played in the Big Sky Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
The 1969 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Y C McNease and played in the Big Sky Conference. After two seasons in the College Division, Idaho returned to the University Division this year.
The 1966 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Steve Musseau and played a second season in the Big Sky Conference, but remained in the NCAA University Division. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
The 1967 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1967 NCAA College Division football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Steve Musseau and played a third season in the Big Sky Conference. Two home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with another in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College. The Vandals were 4–6 and were outscored 332 to 156.
The 1961 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1961 college football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Skip Stahley, the Vandals were an independent in the NCAA's University Division and went 2–7. Two home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.