1975 Boise State Broncos football team

1975 Boise State Broncos football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division II Quarterfinal, L 21–24 vs. Northern Michigan
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	9–2–1 (5–0–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Tony Knap (8th season)
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium
Seasons ←  1974 1976  →

1975 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Boise State $^	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Idaho State	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Montana State	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Idaho	2	–	2	–	2			4	–	5	–	2
Montana	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Weber State	1	–	4	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
Northern Arizona	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

The 1975 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University during the 1975 NCAA Division II football season, the eighth season of Bronco football (at the four-year level) and the third in the newly reorganized Division II. The Broncos were in their sixth year as members of the Big Sky Conference (and NCAA) and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho.

Prior to the season, the stadium was expanded with an upper deck added to the east grandstand, which increased the permanent seating capacity to 20,000. Part of the original design, it had been delayed for five years due to high costs. ^[1]

Season

Led by eighth-year head coach Tony Knap, the Broncos were 9–1–1 in the regular season and undefeated in conference (5–0–1), gaining their third straight Big Sky title. ^[2] For those three seasons, the Broncos were 17–0–1 (.972) in conference play; the only non-victory was a tie at rival Idaho during the Kibbie Dome dedication game in October. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} Prior to the regular season finale at Idaho State, it was announced that the winner would gain one of the eight playoff berths; ^[7] BSU won by three to advance to the postseason. ^[8]

Playoffs

Invited again to the eight-team Division II playoffs, sixth ranked BSU hosted #5 Northern Michigan at Bronco Stadium in the quarterfinals on November 29. ^{[9] [10]} Cold and windy conditions caused fourteen fumbles, nine by BSU, and the visitors won 24–21. ^[11] Winless the previous season, the Wildcats went on to win the national title; ^[12] they were led by sophomore quarterback Steve Mariucci, ^[11] later a head coach in the NFL for nine seasons.

	1	2	3	4	Total
N. Michigan	3	0	14	7	24
Broncos	7	0	7	7	21

It was the third consecutive year that the Broncos fell in the playoffs to the eventual national champion, and it was their last appearance in the D-II playoffs. Boise State won the Big Sky title in 1977 but could not participate in the playoffs because of a late regular season game, and they moved up to the new Division I-AA in 1978. BSU returned to the postseason in 1980 and won its only national title.

Knap departs

Two months later in January 1976, 61-year-old Knap moved south to Nevada-Las Vegas to replace Ron Meyer, who had left for SMU in Dallas. ^{[13] [14]} At the time, UNLV was also in Division II, but moved up to I-A in 1978; Knap led the Rebels for six seasons, through 1981. Jim Criner, the linebackers coach at Rose Bowl champion UCLA, was hired as BSU's next head coach in February 1976, ^{[15] [16]} and stayed through 1982.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13		Cal State Hayward *		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 42–20	18,046	[17]
September 20		Cal Poly *		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 35–29	18,988	[18]
September 27		at Weber State	No. 3	Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	W 34–7	11,342	[19]
October 4		Montana State	No. 3	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 35–34	19,642	[20]
October 11	2:30 pm	at Idaho	No. 4	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (rivalry)	T 31–31	16,250	[3] [4] [5] [6]
October 18		UNLV *	No. 7	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 34–21	20,000	[21]
October 25		Northern Arizona	No. 5	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 48–0	13,545	[22]
November 1		Montana	No. 4	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 39–28	19,171	[23]
November 8		at Nevada *	No. 3	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (rivalry)	W 49–6	5,150	[24]
November 15	1:30 pm	Utah State *	No. 3	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	L 19–42	20,000	[25] [26] [27] [28]
November 22		at Idaho State	No. 7	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID	W 20–17	12,000	[8]
November 29		No. 5 Northern Michigan *	No. 6	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	L 21–24	17,347	[10] [11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[29]

Roster

1975 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 15 Lee Huey Sr QB 18 Greg Stern Jr FB Kent Hollingsworth RB 28 Tom Sims RB 34 Bob Cleveland RB 40 John Smith RB Ron Emry WR 8 John Crabtree WR 20 Mike Holton WR Clarence Smith OT Mike Gasseling G Glenn Sparks C Todd Whiteman G Jim Ryan OT Everett Carr	Defense Pos. # Name Class RCB 7 Lester McNeary Jr LCB 21 Gary Roslowich Jr LLB 39 Gary Gorrell Sr DB 43 Jim Meeks Sr SS 46 Jeff Tryon FS 49 Clint Sigman Sr MLB 51 Kauhi Hookano RLB 52 Barry Munson LDE 86 Mark Humpheries LDT 88 Pete Poumele RDT 73 Saia Misa RDE 60 Alva Liles	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Avi Rofe	Head coach Tony Knap (8th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Steve Buratto (DL/LB) Tom Cruickshank (DB) Dave Nickel (OL) Adam Rita (RB/WR) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source: ^[30]

NFL Draft

Three Broncos were selected in the 1976 NFL Draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (487 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
John Smith	Running back	3rd	75	Dallas Cowboys
Gary Gorrell	Linebacker	16th	448	Buffalo Bills
Jim Meeks	Defensive back	17th	475	Detroit Lions

References

1. "BSC wants $1.4 million for stadium addition". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 1, 1973. p. 15.
2. "Boise State Broncos -- College Football (NCAA)". college-football-results.com. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
3. Drosendahl, Glenn (October 11, 1975). "Idaho bucking Broncos in dome dedication game". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
4. Roche, Kevin (October 12, 1975). "Kibbie Dome dedication: sideshow for a 31-31 tie". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 12A.
5. Drosendahl, Glenn (October 12, 1975). "Idaho-Boise St. brawl ends with 31-31 tie". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
6. Payne, Bob (October 12, 1975). "Vandals, Boise battle to tie". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. D1.
7. "BSU-ISU victor playoff-bound". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 18, 1975. p. 2B.
8. "Broncos capture Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 23, 1975. p. 1B.
9. "Texas A&I leads rankings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 27, 1975. p. 2B.
10. "Boise State braces for NMU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 29, 1975. p. 4B.
11. "Fumbles cost Boise 24-21". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 30, 1975. p. 3B.
12. "Winless in '74, then a title in '75". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. December 14, 1975. p. 10B.
13. "Knap leaves Boise State for Las Vegas". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 30, 1976. p. 1B.
14. "Boise's Knap off to Vegas". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 30, 1976. p. 17.
15. "Boise St. hires UCLA grid assistant". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 14, 1976. p. 4B.
16. "Boise selects Criner; ISU elevates aide". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 14, 1976. p. 16.
17. "Boise State roars past Cal State-Hayward". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. September 14, 1975. p. 2B.
18. "Last-ditch pass saves Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 21, 1975. p. 2B.
19. "Broncos pass past Weber". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 28, 1975. p. 2B.
20. "Boise State wins on late TD". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 5, 1975. p. 2B.
21. "Broncos rock Rebels". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 19, 1975. p. 2B.
22. "Boise State rips NAU 48-0". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 26, 1975. p. 2B.
23. "Grizzlies ground game stopped cold by Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 2, 1975. p. 4B.
24. "Montana clubs post wins; Boise romps". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 9, 1975. p. 3B.
25. Ferguson, George (November 14, 1975). "Ag desire is big item". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 11B.
26. Keel, John P. (November 15, 1975). "Most Big Sky clubs in non-conference tilts". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 3B.
27. "Utah State romps over Boise State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 16, 1975. p. 1B.
28. Ferguson, George (November 17, 1975). "Easy time for Aggies". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 2C.
29. "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 70. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
30. "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 11, 1975. p. 2B.

External links

• Bronco Football Stats – 1975