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.
1970 Idaho Vandals football | |
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Conference | Big Sky Conference |
Record | 4–7 (2–2 Big Sky) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Bobby Thompson (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Ray Fulton (1st season) |
Base defense | 5–2 |
Captains |
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Home stadium | Rogers Field |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boise State | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weber State | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shortly after spring drills in May 1970, head coach Y C McNease was fired and assistant coach Robbins was promoted.[1][2][3] With quarterbacks Steve Olson and Tom Ponciano running the offense,[4][5] the Vandals were 4–7 overall and 2–2 in the Big Sky.[6] Winless after six games, they won four straight before dropping the finale. Entering the homecoming game on October 24, Idaho had a ten-game losing streak.[7][8][9][10]
In the Battle of the Palouse, the Vandals suffered a fourth straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling 44–16 at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane on September 19. After a scoreless first quarter, Idaho led by ten at halftime, but was then outscored 38–0.[11][12] It broke a ten-game losing streak for the Cougars,[13] and was their only win of the season.[14] The game with WSU was not played in 1969 or 1971.[15]
The Big Sky added two teams this season, but the Vandals played neither. The new rivalry with Boise State began in 1971 and Idaho did not schedule Northern Arizona until 1975.
The Vandals' former venue on campus, Neale Stadium, had been declared structurally unsafe due to soil erosion in the summer of 1969,[16] and its south grandstand burned that November in a suspected arson.[17] Idaho played home games at Rogers Field in Pullman in 1969 and 1970. In April 1970, Rogers Field also burned in a suspected arson,[18][19] which destroyed most of the primary grandstand on the south sideline, including the press box.[20] WSU played its home games in 1970 and 1971 in Spokane at Joe Albi Stadium. Requiring less seating capacity, Idaho continued at Rogers in 1970, with reserved seating switched to the north side and students in the unburned lower section of the south grandstand.[21] The new Idaho Stadium opened in October 1971.
University division
editThrough 1977, the Big Sky was a college division (renamed Division II in 1973) conference for football, except for university division (Division I) member Idaho, which moved down to the new Division I-AA in 1978. Idaho maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing university division non-conference opponents (and was ineligible for the college division postseason).
Schedule
editDate | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 12 | 12:30 pm | at Air Force* | L 7–45 | 25,000 | [22] | |
September 19 | 1:30 pm | at Washington State* | L 16–44 | 27,200 | [11][12] | |
September 26 | 1:30 pm | Pacific (CA)* | L 10–17 | 10,000 | [23] | |
October 3 | 7:00 pm | at Idaho State | L 14–35 | 12,500 | [24] | |
October 10 | 1:30 pm | Montana |
| L 26–44 | 4,600 | [25] |
October 17 | 1:30 pm | at Oregon* | L 13–49 | 21,300 | [26][27] | |
October 24 | 1:30 pm | Portland State* |
| W 17–16 | 6,700 | [9][10] |
October 31 | 12:00 pm | at Montana State | W 37–24 | 4,500 | [28] | |
November 7 | 12:30 pm | Weber State |
| W 27–17 | 4,500 | [29][30] |
November 14 | 12:30 pm | at Utah State* | W 42–14 | 10,000 | [31] | |
November 21 | 11:30 am | at Tulsa* | L 17–30 | 8,500 | [32][33][34] | |
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Roster
edit1970 Idaho Vandals football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Source:[35]
All conference
editFour Vandals were selected to the all-Big Sky team: wide receiver Terry Moreland, halfback Fred Riley, defensive end Tim Reese, and linebacker Ron Linehan, a repeat pick. No second team was selected.[36]
NFL draft
editNo Vandals were selected in the 1971 NFL draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections). Three juniors were selected in the 1972 NFL draft, also 17 rounds.
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 |
References
edit- ^ "McNease fired from Vandal football coaching job". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. May 16, 1970. p. 12.
- ^ "Whits, Idaho Idaho pick new grid bosses". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. May 16, 1970. p. 13.
- ^ "Robbins picked to coach Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. May 17, 1970. p. 12.
- ^ "Washington State-Idaho football special: rosters". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 19, 1970. p. 1, special.
- ^ "Soph quarterback presses Idaho vets". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 18, 1970. p. 26.
- ^ "Recruiting needs seen for Vandals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 23, 1970. p. 41.
- ^ "Vandals hoping to avoid record 11th straight loss". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. October 24, 1970. p. 8.
- ^ "Idaho eyes 1st victory". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 19, 1970. p. 13.
- ^ a b Payne, Bob (October 25, 1970). "Vandals win first – and they earned it". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ a b Bacharach, Sam A. (October 25, 1970). "Idaho ends 10-game loss skein with win over Portland State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 15.
- ^ a b Missildine, Harry (September 20, 1970). "Cougars roar back, swamp Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ a b Brown, Bruce (September 21, 1970). "Next foes are tough". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
- ^ "WSU Cougars, Idaho Vandals set for "Battle of the Palouse"". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. September 19, 1970. p. 8.
- ^ Missildine, Harry (November 22, 1970). "Sonny Six dazzles Cougars". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Missildine, Harry (September 19, 1970). "Battle of Palouse matches explosive offenses at Albi". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 14.
- ^ "Idaho stadium unsafe for use". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. August 6, 1969. p. 41.
- ^ "Late night fire destroys portion of Neale Stadium on Idaho campus". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. November 24, 1969. p. 16.
- ^ "Fast blaze ruins Pullman stadium". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. April 6, 1970. p. 1.
- ^ "WSU fire may be arson". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. April 6, 1970. p. 1.
- ^ "Fire in Rogers Field stands". Washington State University Libraries. April 5, 1970. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
- ^ "Rogers Field seating set for Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 25, 1970. p. 23.
- ^ Payne, Bob (September 13, 1970). "Air Force blitzes Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Payne, Bob (September 27, 1970). "Pacific beats Idaho late". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Bacharach, Sam A. (October 4, 1970). "ISU Bengals whip Vandals 35-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 12.
- ^ Bacharach, Sam A. (October 11, 1970). "Vandals fall 44-26 to tough Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 12.
- ^ cawood, Neil (October 18, 1970). "Ducks bomb Vandals as UO records tumble". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
- ^ Payne, Bob (October 18, 1970). "Oregon's offense surely too much". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Payne, Bob (November 1, 1970). "Vandals have pleasant day with Montana State victory". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Everson, Joe (November 8, 1970). "Vandals post third in a row". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 4, sports.
- ^ Wakely, Dan (November 9, 1970). "2nd-half effort wins for Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
- ^ Payne, Bob (November 15, 1970). "Fast start helps Idaho rip Aggies". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Connors, Bill (November 22, 1980). "TU Disciplines Vandals, 30-17". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. p. S1. Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Connors, Bill (November 22, 1980). "McGill Goes 97 to Clinch 5th Victory (continued)". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. p. S11. Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Payne, Bob (November 22, 1970). "Ill wind, Tulsa too much". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
- ^ "Bengals vs. Vandals: probable lineups". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 19, 1970. p. 14.
- ^ "Four Vandals selected as Sky stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 27, 1970. p. 13.
External links
edit- Gem of the Mountains: 1970-71 University of Idaho yearbook – 1970 football season
- Go Mighty Vandals – 1970 football season
- Official game program: Idaho vs. Washington State at Spokane – September 19, 1970
- Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1970 editions