1979 Idaho Vandals football team

Last updated

1979 Idaho Vandals football
Conference Big Sky Conference
Record4–7 (2–5 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Tripp (2nd season)
Offensive scheme Veer
Defensive coordinatorTim Hundley (1st season)
Base defense 5–2
Home stadium Idaho Stadium
Seasons
←  1978
1980  →
1979 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Boise State * 7 –0 –010 –1 –0
No. 9 Montana State $ 6 –1 –06 –4 –0
No. 5 Nevada ^ 5 –2 –08 –4 –0
No. T–10 Northern Arizona 3 –4 –07 –4 –0
Weber State 3 –4 –03 –8 –0
Idaho 2 –5 –04 –7 –0
Montana 2 –5 –03 –7 –0
Idaho State 0 –7 –00 –11 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Boise State was on probation
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

The 1979 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Jerry Davitch and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Contents

With quarterbacks Jay Goodenbour and Rob Petrillo running the veer offense, [1] the Vandals were 4–7 overall and 2–5 in the Big Sky. They won four of five in mid-season, but dropped their final four games. [2] Idaho lost to rival Boise State for the third straight year; the Broncos went undefeated in conference play but were on probation for a scouting violation and not eligible for the title or the I-AA playoffs. [3]

Notable players

Junior running back Glen White was the Vandals' leading rusher in 1979, [4] the best season by a UI running back in the 1970s. He missed the opener at Fresno, [5] but gained 889 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry in the final ten games; [2] in the game at Idaho State, he rushed for 163 yards on 19 carries. [5] [6] A  military brat, White graduated from Kaiserslautern American High School in West Germany in 1977. All-Europe for two seasons, [7] [8] he had not been recruited by college football programs; a high school coach was a former Vandal and alerted UI head coach Ed Troxel. [4]

While in off-season training in February 1980, White felt weakness and underwent medical testing in Moscow and Seattle. [9] Diagnosed with aplastic anemia, he battled it for several months until his death from complications on August 9 at an Oklahoma City hospital, near his parents' home at Fort Sill. [10] [11] [12] White, age 22, was posthumously designated an honorary team captain for all eleven games in 1980, [13] and his Vandal teammates wore his number 32 on the left side of their helmets in tribute. [14] [15]

Future NFL linebacker Sam Merriman of Tucson, Arizona, [16] [17] was a standout on defense in 1979 as a true freshman. [2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 87:30 p.m.at Fresno State *
L 10–3011,418 [18] [19]
September 157:00 p.m.at Northern Arizona
L 18–2913,056 [20]
September 227:30 p.m. Pacific (CA) *
W 17–1310,500 [21]
September 297:30 p.m. Puget Sound *
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
W 34–10 [22] [23]
October 67:00 p.m.at Idaho State
W 28–238,175 [6]
October 137:30 p.m. Boise State
L 17–4115,500 [24]
October 201:30 p.m. Montana Dagger-14-plain.png
W 20–1714,200 [25]
October 2712:30 p.m.at No. 9 Montana State
L 20–287,127 [26]
November 31:30 p.m. Nevada
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
L 26–385,500 [27] [28]
November 1012:30 p.m.at Weber State
L 7–122,323 [29] [30]
November 171:30 p.m.No. 8 (D-II) South Dakota State *
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
L 13–276,000 [31] [32]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1979 Idaho Vandals football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 10Jay GoodenbourJr
QB Rob PetrilloSo
RB 3Russell DavisSo
RB, WR 12Rocky Tuttle (C)Sr
RB 30 Tim Lappano Sr
RB 32Glen WhiteJr
RB 33Terry Idler  Injury icon 2.svg Redshirt.svg  So
RB 40Randy DavenportJr
TE Al SwensonFr
TE 85Dan MeyerSr
WR, TE 88Mike HagadoneSr
WR 7Jack KleinSo
WR John PalumboJr
LT 74Bruce FerySo
LT Royal HartJr
LG Dave Monico Jr
C 69Larry CoombsSr
RG John GirntJr
RT 70Kyle RiddellSr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 43Larry BarkerJr
DT 78Steve ParkerSr
NG Steve NelsonSo
NG 75Monty ElderJr
DT 71Mark McNeal (C)Sr
DE Jay HayesSo
LB 50Mike HasfurtherSr
LB Marty MarshallSr
LB 51Chris EadsSr
LB 52 Sam Merriman Fr
LB 83Phil VanceSr
LB 90Lloyd WilliamsonFr
CB 34Mike KeoughJr
FS 22Ray McCanna Jr
SS 25Kelly MillerSo
SS Marc Watts
SS Rick BrownJr
CB Carlton McBrideJr
CB 20Ron JessieSr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 2Dion JergoSo
P Chris BrockmanJr
PK Mike BrowneSr
PK 6Pete O'BrienSo
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Bill Tripp (OC)
  • Tim Hundley (DC)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt
Source: [18] [27] [29] [31] [33] [34] [35] [36]

All-conference

Tackle Kyle Riddell, center Larry Coombs, defensive tackle Mark McNeal, and placekicker Pete O'Brien were named to the all-conference team. [37] [38] Second team selections were safety Ray McCanna and linebacker Sam Merriman, a true freshman. [38]

NFL draft

One Vandal senior was selected in the 1980 NFL draft, [39] [40] which lasted 12 rounds (333 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Mark McNeal DE 6th 153 Seattle Seahawks

References

  1. ↑ Killen, John (September 4, 1979). "Pulls no punches". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  2. 1 2 3 "Peaks and valleys". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 22, 1979. p. 1B.
  3. ↑ Killen, John (October 13, 1979). "Idaho: possibility looms for a winning season". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  4. 1 2 Killen, John (November 14, 1979). "Prodigal son: Glen White came back to Idaho and everybody's happy he did". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  5. 1 2 Stewart, Chuck (October 12, 1979). "White leads Vandals against Boise State". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 25.
  6. 1 2 Emerson, Paul (October 6, 1979). "Vandals stop ISU for 3rd straight win". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1D.
  7. ↑ "All-Europe". High School Football Europe. 1975. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  8. ↑ "All-Europe". High School Football Europe. 1976. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Idaho back stricken". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 21, 1980. p. 23.
  10. ↑ "UI running back dies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 10, 1980. p. 2B.
  11. ↑ "UI grid star dies of anemia". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. August 11, 1980. p. 17.
  12. ↑ "White's memory lives on". Argonaut. (Moscow, Idaho). (University of Idaho). August 26, 1980. p. 23.
  13. ↑ "Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 18, 1980. p. 4C.
  14. ↑ "White memory spurs Vandals to big victory". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 18, 1980. p. 30.
  15. ↑ "'96 Vandals will sport new look". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 28, 1996. p. 6B.
  16. ↑ "Sam Merriman". NFL.com. (historical players). Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Sam Merriman". Database Football. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  18. 1 2 Killen, John (September 8, 1979). "Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1C.
  19. ↑ Killen, John (September 9, 1979). "Vandals: Fresno St. delivers 30-10 loss". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1D.
  20. ↑ Killen, John (September 16, 1979). "Lumberjacks fell Vandals in wild one, 29-18". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1D.
  21. ↑ Killen, John (September 23, 1979). "Idaho nips Pacific". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1D.
  22. ↑ Killen, John (September 30, 1979). "Vandals drown Puget Sound". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1D.
  23. ↑ Stewart, Chuck (October 1, 1979). "Vandals erupt late to 'win for Lappano'". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
  24. ↑ Killen, John (October 14, 1979). "End of a Vandal winning streak". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1D.
  25. ↑ Emerson, Paul (October 21, 1979). "Winners by a foot". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5D.
  26. ↑ Emerson, Paul (October 28, 1979). "Bad day at Bozeman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 2D.
  27. 1 2 Killen, John (November 3, 1979). "Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  28. ↑ Emerson, Paul (November 4, 1979). "High rollers". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 8D.
  29. 1 2 "Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 10, 1979. p. 3C.
  30. ↑ "Cornered cats can kill". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 11, 1979. p. 4D.
  31. 1 2 Killen, John (November 17, 1979). "In the Dome". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  32. ↑ Barrows, Bob (November 18, 1979). "Hard-hitting Jackrabbits". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 4D.
  33. ↑ Killen, John (September 4, 1979). "Pulls no punches". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  34. ↑ Stewart, Chuck (September 5, 1979). "Vandal boss stresses 'love'". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 15.
  35. ↑ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 8, 1979. p. 4C.
  36. ↑ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 22, 1979. p. 3C.
  37. ↑ "3 Vandals honored". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1979. p. 30.
  38. 1 2 "2 Vandals on stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 7, 1979. p. 28.
  39. ↑ "NFL Draft: Two Palouse players go in early rounds". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 30, 1980. p. 1B.
  40. ↑ "Patera: We got the best". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 30, 1980. p. C2.
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