1988 Idaho Vandals football team

1988 Idaho Vandals football
Big Sky champion
Div. I-AA Semifinals, L 7–28 vs. Furman
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No.  1 (Nov 22)
Record	11–2 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Keith Gilbertson (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Diedrick (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Barry Lamb (2nd season)
Home stadium	Kibbie Dome
Seasons ←  1987 1989  →

1988 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Idaho $^	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Montana ^	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 12 Boise State ^	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Nevada	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Weber State	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Montana State	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Eastern Washington	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

The 1988 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by third-year head coach Keith Gilbertson, 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 Vandals won their third conference title in four seasons, and made the I-AA playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Led by redshirt junior quarterback John Friesz, Idaho finished the regular season at 9–1 and 7–1 in the Big Sky. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The Vandals scheduled only ten regular season games for the first time since 1969; ^[4] Idaho played only ten regular season games again in 1995, their final year in the Big Sky.

The shortened regular season was beneficial in 1988, as the Vandals played three post-season games, falling on the road in the national semifinals in Gilbertson's final game as the Vandals' head coach. He left for an assistant's position in the Pac-10 in Seattle, as offensive line coach under head coach Don James at Washington.

Notable games

Following a sole loss on the road to conference rival Montana, Idaho won its final seven games of the regular season. The Vandals defeated Nevada for a second consecutive year, ^[5] only the third time in the eleven meetings since the Wolf Pack joined the Big Sky in 1979. The Vandals defeated rival Boise State for the seventh consecutive year, ^{[2] [3]} the seventh of twelve straight over the Broncos. Idaho entered the post-season with the top ranking in Division I-AA. ^{[6] [7]}

Division I-AA playoffs

For the fourth consecutive season, Idaho returned to the I-AA playoffs. In the first round, the Vandals hosted conference foe Montana, who had handed the Vandals their only defeat. The Vandals won the rematch 38–19 at the Kibbie Dome two days after Thanksgiving. ^{[8] [9]} Idaho also hosted in the quarterfinals, and defeated Northwestern State (La.) 38–30, but lost quarterback John Friesz with an ankle sprain in the third quarter. ^[10]

In the semifinals Idaho was eliminated 38–7 on the road at Furman in Greenville, South Carolina, ending the Vandals' season at 11–2. With their third-string quarterback and many other reserves playing against the top-ranked defense in Division I-AA, the Vandals were only down 10–0 at the half, but the score mounted to 38–0 before the Vandals scored. The Vandal defense gave up 320 rushing yards to the Paladins. ^[11] Furman went on to win the I-AA title the following week.

Notable players

The 1988 team included three future NFL players with lengthy pro careers: defensive end Marvin Washington, guard Mark Schlereth, and junior John Friesz, the future collegiate hall of fame quarterback was a three-year starter (1987–89). Washington was on a basketball scholarship and this was his only season of Vandal football.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	7:00 pm	No. 2 (D-II) Portland State *	No. 9	Kibbie Dome Moscow ID	W 27–18	10,100
September 17	6:30 pm	at Pacific (CA) *	No. 9	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	W 36–26	13,868
September 24	12:00 pm	at No. 16 Montana	No. 5	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (Little Brown Stein)	L 17–26
October 1	1:30 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 12	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 31–20	16,100
October 8	7:00 pm	Montana State	No. 8	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 41–24	9,200
October 15	2:00 pm	at Eastern Washington	No. 7	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 31–22	6,644
October 22	7:00 pm	Weber State	No. 4	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 27–24	9,500
November 5	1:00 pm	at Nevada	No. 4	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	W 32–31	16,410	[5]
November 12	7:00 pm	Idaho State	No. 2	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (rivalry)	W 41–7	9,200
November 19	1:30 pm	at No. 13 Boise State	No. 2	Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho (rivalry)	W 26–20	23,687	[1] [2] [3]
November 26	1:00 pm	No. 16 Montana*	No. 1	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 38–19	5,500	[8] [9]
December 3	1:00 pm	No. 8 Northwestern State *	No. 1	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 38–30	6,800	[12] [10]
December 10	10:30 am	at No. 4 Furman *	No. 1	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	L 7–38	11,645	[13] [11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1988 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 16 Lee Allen Jr WR Kasey Dunn Fr WR 7 John Jake Sr QB Steve Nolan So QB 17 John Friesz Jr QB 15 Andy Beitia Fr RB Damon Daniels So RB Bruce Harris So RB Devon Pearce Fr TE 94 Chris Slater Sr OT 70 Greg Hale Sr G 63 Troy Wright Jr G 66 Chris Hoff So C 52 Steve Unger Jr G 60 Mark Schlereth Sr OT Todd Neu Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 1 Richard Carey Sr CB 23 Charlie Oliver So FS John Pleas Sr SS Brian Smith Sr LB Jerry Medved Sr LB Jim Medved Sr LB 43 Roger Cecil So DE Jim Routos So DT 93 Mike Zeller Jr DT Kord Smith Jr DE 90 Marvin Washington Sr DE 87 Jeff Robinson  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Thane Doyle P John Pleas Sr	Head coach Keith Gilbertson (3rd year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Diedrick (OC) Barry Lamb (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source: ^{[10] [11] [14] [15]}

All-conference

Quarterback John Friesz and tackle Greg Hale returned to the all-conference team as unanimous selections. Also on the first team were wide receiver John Jake, center Steve Unger, defensive end Marvin Washington, and safety Brian Smith. Vandals on the second team were tackle Todd Neu, guard Mark Schlereth, cornerback Richard Carey, and linebackers Roger Cecil and Jerry Medved. Honorable mention were wide receiver Lee Allen, guard Troy Wright, running back Bruce Harris, placekicker Thayne Doyle, and defensive linemen Kord Smith, Jim Routos, and Mike Zeller. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}

Friesz repeated as the Big Sky's outstanding offensive player, and was a first-team Kodak All-American in Division I-AA. ^{[20] [21]}

NFL Draft

Two Vandal seniors were selected in the 1989 NFL draft, which lasted twelve rounds (335 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Marvin Washington	DE	6th	151	New York Jets
Mark Schlereth	G	10th	263	Washington Redskins

One Vandal junior was selected in the following year's draft in 1990, also twelve rounds (332 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
John Friesz	QB	6th	138	San Diego Chargers

References

1. Tatko, Mike (November 19, 1988). "Vandals, BSU play for Big Sky title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
2. Tatko, Mike (November 20, 1988). "Idaho victory twice as nice". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
3. Meehan, Jim (November 21, 1988). "No. 1-ranked Vandals Sky-high". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1B.
4. Jacobson (March 29, 1988). "Wind chill doesn't ground Vandals". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 10A.
5. Tatko, Mike (November 6, 1988). "Idaho pulls off magic 32-31 victory over UNR". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1D.
6. Meehan, Jim (November 22, 1988). "Gilbertson lashes out at BSC coaches". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1B.
7. "Vandals enter playoffs as No. 1". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. staff and wire reports. November 22, 1988. p. 2B.
8. Barrows, Bob (November 27, 1988). "Shock the monkey". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
9. Meehan, Jim (November 28, 1988). "Round two: Vandals deck Grizzlies". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 6A.
10. Meehan, Jim (December 5, 1988). "Vandals: Plenty of pain and gain". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 6A.
11. Meehan, Jim (December 12, 1988). "UI dream year ends with nightmare". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1B.
12. "Vandals advance, but lose Friesz, Harris". The Times-News. December 4, 1987. Retrieved February 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Furman advances to final". The Charlotte Observer. December 11, 1988. Retrieved September 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Idaho at Boise State: probable starting lineups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 19, 1988. p. 4B.
15. "Montana at Idaho: probable starting lineups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 26, 1988. p. 4B.
16. "All-BSC: Six Vandals make first team". Idahonian. (Moscow). staff and wire report. November 30, 1988. p. 6A.
17. "UI's Friesz named Big Sky first-team quarterback". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). staff and wire reports. November 30, 1988. p. 1B.
18. "Friesz and Hale unanimous picks". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 30, 1988. p. D1.
19. "Dozen Vandals land on Big Sky all-stars". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). staff and wire reports. November 30, 1988. p. C1.
20. "Surprised Friesz gains more awards". Idahonian. (Moscow). staff and wire reports. December 2, 1988. p. 1B.
21. "Friesz named All-American, MVP". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). staff and wire reports. December 2, 1988. p. C1.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1989 University of Idaho yearbook – 1988 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1988 editions