1973 Idaho Vandals football team

1973 Idaho Vandals football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	4–7 (3–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Don Robbins (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Don Matthews (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Veer [1]
Defensive coordinator	Tom Roth [2] [3] (1st season)
Base defense	4–3 [1]
Captains	Rick Seefried (QB) Alan Vance (DE)
Home stadium	Idaho Stadium
Seasons ←  1972 1974  →

1973 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boise State $^	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Montana State	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Idaho	3	–	2	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Northern Arizona	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Montana	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Weber State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Idaho was classified as Division I. [4] All the other teams were classified as Division II. Rankings from AP small college poll

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.

Season

With quarterbacks Rick Seefried, Dave Comstock, and Dennis Ballock running the veer offense, ^{[1] [3] [5]} the Vandals were 4–7 overall and 3–2 in the Big Sky. ^[6]

In the Battle of the Palouse, Idaho suffered a sixth straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling 51–24at Martin Stadium in Pullman on September 29. ^[7]

In their third game with new rival Boise State and first in Moscow, the Vandals fell at home 47–24 on September 15; ^[8] this was the only outdoor meeting in Moscow in the series. The Broncos went on to win the first of three consecutive conference championships. Idaho did not schedule Northern Arizona until 1975 and both played only five games in conference.

At the conclusion of the season, Robbins' contract was not renewed. ^{[9] [10] [11]} He was succeeded by Ed Troxel, a Vandal assistant coach since 1967 and also the head coach of the track team. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Division I

Through 1977, the Big Sky was a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA in 1978. Idaho maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing Division I non-conference opponents (and was ineligible for the Division II postseason).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:30 pm	UTEP *	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	W 62–14	8,500	[15]
September 15	1:30 pm	Boise State	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID (rivalry)	L 24–47	17,104	[8]
September 22	11:30 am	at Iowa State *	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	L 0–48	31,000	[16]
September 29	1:30 pm	at Washington State *	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	L 24–51	22,500	[7]
October 6	1:30 pm	Colorado State *	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	L 30–33	5,720	[17]
October 13	5:30 pm	at TCU *	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 14–30	15,110	[18]
October 20	1:30 pm	Weber State	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	W 17–13	10,670	[19]
October 27	1:30 pm	Montana State	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	L 14–35	7,068	[20]
November 3	12:30 pm	at Montana	Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT (Little Brown Stein)	W 20–7	4,300	[21]
November 10	1:30 pm	at Washington *	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 14–41	47,000	[22]
November 17	12:30 pm	Idaho State	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	W 43–0	6,879	[6]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1973 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Dennis Ballock Jr QB 14 Dave Comstock So WR 16 Jerry Williams QB 18 Rick Seefried (C) Sr WR, P 20 Kirk Dennis Jr WR 21 Collie Mack Jr RB 22 Dennis Mitchell Jr RB 23 Monty Nash Fr WR 27 Jerome Dowdy Jr RB 30 Mark Fredback Jr WR 31 Jim Welch Sr RB 33 Marshall Brantley Fr RB 36 Rich Brown Jr RB 42 Rob Dean Jr FB 44 J.C. Chadband So TE 45 Kevin McAfee Fr OL 51 Mike Kramer So C 56 John Yarno Fr LG 62 John Adams So RG 65 Kurt Nelson Jr C 67 Craig Pritchard Sr OL 69 Dave Hershey Jr LT 70 Jerry Sinclair Sr OL 72 Scott Callahan Jr LG 73 Pat Fee Sr OL 75 Clarence Hough Fr RT 76 Bob Van Duyne Sr RG 79 Kevin Wolske Sr WR, DB 80 Jay Curcio Sr TE 82 Steve Duncanson So WR 83 Tim Coles So TE 85 Bill Kashetta Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 10 Syd Lofton So FS 11 Bucky Bruns Sr CB 24 Ross Nelson Jr CB 25 Randy Hall Sr SS 26 Curt Parsons So DB 38 Joe White Jr DB 40 Johnny Sims So DB 43 Chris Mooney Sr LB 50 Randy Dorn Jr LB 52 Kevin Robison Sr LB 53 Duke Minium Jr LB 54 Fred Morscheck Sr LB 55 Vince Howard Jr LB 58 Kjel Kiilsgaard Fr LB 59 John Kirtland Fr LB 60 Brian Scott Jr LB 61 Chuck Blanck Sr LB 63 Bill Kirtland So DT 68 Lloyd Grimsrud Sr DL 71 Rick Attishin Jr DL 74 Jim Allen Jr DT 77 Ed Arnold Fr DT 78 Lorne Sherbina Sr DL 81 Doug Fisher So DE 84 Alofa Tauvage Sr DE 86 Tom Doud Sr DE 87 Alan Vance (C) Sr DE 88 Mark Hodges Jr LB 89 Chris Tormey Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK, P 7 Steve Tanner Jr PK 16 Chuck Filippini KR 31 Jim Welch Sr	Head coach Don Robbins (4th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Don Matthews (OC) Tom Roth (DC) Hoyt Keeney (DL) Gary Knecht (LB) Tom Manke (QB) Ed Troxel (RB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source: ^{[3] [23] [24] [25] [26]}

All-conference

Four Vandals were selected to the Big Sky all-conference team: tight end Bill Kashetta, defensive tackle Lloyd Grimsrud, cornerback Randy Hall and safety Bucky Bruns. Three were named to the second team (honorable mention): running back Mark Fredback, wide receiver Tim Coles, and offensive tackle Bob Van Duyne. ^{[27] [28]}

NFL draft

Two Vandal seniors were selected in the 1974 NFL draft, which lasted 17 rounds (442 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Bob Van Duyne	G	10th	240	Baltimore Colts
Randy Hall	DB	13th	317	Baltimore Colts

References

1. Payne, Bob (September 2, 1973). "No title chance? Vandals aren't whining". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 6, sports.
2. "Vandals will start Aug. 17". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. July 19, 1973. p. 18.
3. Payne, Bob (April 29, 1973). "Robbins relaxed, excited at Vandal prospects". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 4, sports.
4. "NCAA Statistics" . Retrieved January 12, 2025.
5. "Broncos vs. Vandals: rosters". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 15, 1973. p. 14.
6. Emerson, Paul (November 18, 1973). "Idaho bruises Bengals behind rugged defense". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
7. Missildine, Harry (September 30, 1973). "Washington State offense erupts as Cougars smash Vandals 51-24". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
8. Johnson, Bob (September 17, 1973). "Emotions mixed in Idaho defeat". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 15.
9. Shelledy, Jay (November 30, 1973). "Board demands Robbins resign or be fired". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 19.
10. Brown, Bruce (November 30, 1973). "Robbins bitter as Idaho prepares for dismissal". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
11. Shelledy, Jay (December 1, 1973). "Don unloads...Knecht next?...football out?". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 15.
12. Shelledy, Jay (December 20, 1973). "'Trox' changes mind, accepts Vandal grid challenge". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
13. "Troxel motivated by players' pleas". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. December 20, 1973. p. 27.
14. Emerson, Paul (January 17, 1974). "Idaho AD eyes '75 for 'doming' Idaho Stadium". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
15. Payne, Bob (September 9, 1973). "Sensation! Idaho mangles Miners 62-14 in devastating grid debut". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
16. Payne, Bob (September 23, 1973). "Iowa State crushes charitable Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
17. Barrows, Bob (October 14, 1973). "Rams 'pass' Idaho 33-30". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 19.
18. Henzel, Phil (October 14, 1973). "TCU toys with Vandals 30-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 15.
19. Henzel, Phil (October 21, 1973). "Vandals' late touchdown cuts down Weber 17-13". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
20. Emerson, Paul (October 28, 1973). "Classy Montana State punishes Vandals, 35-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 19.
21. Henzel, Phil (November 4, 1973). "UI defense halts Montana 20-7". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 13.
22. Emerson, Paul (November 11, 1973). "Slow-starting UW raps Vandals 41-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 13.
23. Payne, Bob (September 7, 1974). "Vandals experienced but untested". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
24. "Idaho vs UTEP: probable starters". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). September 7, 1973. p. 14.
25. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 15, 1973. p. 14.
26. "Vandals' finale rated important". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 16, 1973. p. 17.
27. "Montana St. places nine on Big Sky all-star squad". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 1, 1974. p. 15.
28. "Four Vandals on Sky Squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Washington. December 1, 1973. p. 10.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1974 University of Idaho yearbook – 1973 football season
• Go Mighty Vandals – 1973 – Idaho and the PCAA part II
• Game program: Idaho at Washington State – September 29, 1973
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1973 editions
• University of Idaho Library - digital collections – 1973 Idaho football coaching staff