1981 Idaho Vandals football team

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1981 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record3–8 (0–7 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Tripp (4th season)
Offensive schemeVeer
Defensive coordinatorLeland Kendall (2nd season)
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Idaho State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Boise State ^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Montana 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Nevada 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Northern Arizona 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Montana State 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Idaho 0 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Committee poll

The 1981 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by fourth-year head coach Jerry Davitch, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Led by sophomore quarterback

rival Boise State for the fifth straight year, but it was the Broncos' last win over Idaho until 1994, as the Vandals won a dozen straight in the interim. In their third and final win in early October, running back Russell Davis set a school record with 345 rushing yards at Portland State.[1][2][3]

In August, Sports Illustrated had picked the Vandals as one of the top teams in Division I-AA,[4][5] with high expectations to improve on the previous year's 6–5 record.[6] But after a fifth straight loss and no wins in six conference games, Davitch was fired nine days before the final game against Boise State.[7] Several weeks later Dennis Erickson was hired and immediately turned the Vandal program around in 1982, reaching the quarterfinals of the 12-team Division I-AA playoffs.

In 1981, Idaho State and Boise State were the top two teams in the Big Sky and both advanced to the 8-team Division I-AA playoffs, won their first-round games, and hosted the semifinals. Boise State was stopped by Eastern Kentucky, whom Idaho State defeated the following week in Texas to win the national title.

Notable players

Sophomore quarterback

All-American. Hobart played a season in the USFL with Jacksonville in 1984 and several in the CFL
.

Junior linebacker

1983 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. A four-year starter for the Vandals, he played five seasons with Seattle, primarily on special teams.[9][10][11] A serious knee injury in a 1988 preseason game ended his playing career.[12][13][14]

Fallen teammate

At the close of the 1981 spring semester, Vandal wide receiver Joe Keogh, age 20, was killed in a mid-morning automobile accident. En route to Seattle on Saturday, May 16, he was one of four occupants in a vehicle westbound on Interstate 90, west of Ellensburg. The driver, a family friend, lost control and veered off the road and the car ended on its side. Keogh, a 1979 graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane,[15] was the only fatality.[16][17]

Keogh's Vandal teammates wore his number 4 on the right side of their helmets during the 1981 season.[18][19] It was the second death for the football team in less than ten months: prior to his senior season, standout running back Glen White had died in August 1980 after a brief battle with aplastic anemia.[20]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 57:30 p.m.
Simon Fraser*
W 52–710,500
September 126:30 p.m.at Weber State
L 21–4215,900
September 197:30 p.m.Northern Iowa*
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
W 59–1412,000
September 2610:30 p.m.at Hawaii*
L 6–2143,719
October 37:00 p.m.at Portland State*
W 56–93,000
October 107:30 p.m.Montana
L 14–1611,000
October 171:00 p.m.at
Reno H. Sales Stadium
  • Bozeman, MT
    		• L 28–2910,017
    October 241:30 p.m.Nevadadagger
    • Kibbie Dome
    • Moscow, ID
    		L 14–2314,000
    October 317:30 p.m.No. 3 Idaho State
    • Kibbie Dome
    • Moscow, ID
    		L 14–2410,500
    November 76:30 p.m.at Northern Arizona
    		L 3–2410,500
    November 217:30 p.m.No. 4 Boise State
    		L 43–4514,000

    Roster

    1981 Idaho Vandals football team roster
    Players Coaches
    Offense
    Pos. # Name Class
    RB 3 Russell Davis Sr
    FL 7 Jack Klein Sr
    QB 9 Ken Hobart So
    QB 11 Mark Vigil So
    QB 16 Carmen Espinoza
    QB, RB 30 Dave Jeranko Sr
    RB 34 Randy Zimmerman
    RB 35 Wally Jones Jr
    RB 33 Terry Idler Jr
    RB 45 Tim Payne Jr
    LG 56 Kima Sua Jr
    RG 62 Steve Seman Jr
    LT 63 Dave Frohnen Jr
    C 64 Bob Wartella Jr
    LG 72 Tony Cotta Sr
    RT 74 Bruce Fery Sr
    LT 76 Greg Diehl Jr
    TE Tom Coombs Sr
    TE 87 Kurt Vestman So
    WR 88 Vic Wallace Jr
    WR Curtis Johnson Jr
    		Defense
    Pos. # Name Class
    CB 2 Calvin Loveall Fr
    CB 22 Mike Keough Sr
    SS 25 Kelly Miller Sr
    CB 41 Greg Jennings Sr
    FS 42 Boyce Bailey So
    CB 43 Howard Wilcox Jr
    DE 44 Frank Moreno So
    NG 47 Darby Lewis So
    LB 52 Sam Merriman Jr
    LB 57 Larry White So
    DE Jay Hayes Sr
    DT Dan Saso Sr
    NG 79 Paul Griffin Jr
    DT 85 John Fortner Jr
    DE 90 Lloyd Williamson So
    		Special teams
    Pos. # Name Class
    KR 2 Calvin Loveall Fr
    PK, P 6 Pete O'Brien Sr
    Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches
    • Bill Tripp (OC)
    • Leland Kendall (DC)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt
    Source:[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

    All-conference

    No Vandals made the first team; second team selections included quarterback Ken Hobart, wide receiver Jack Klein, and linebackers Sam Merriman and Jay Hayes.[28][29][30] Honorable mention were tackle Bruce Fery, guard Steve Seman, defensive linemen John Fortner and Dan Saso, and safety Kelly Miller.[29][30] Despite leading the conference with over 111 yards rushing per game, running back Russell Davis was overlooked.[29]

    NFL Draft

    Two Vandal seniors were selected in the

    1982 NFL Draft,[31][32][33]
    which lasted twelve rounds (334 selections).

    Player Position Round Overall Franchise
    Tom Coombs TE
    7th
    		 181 New York Jets
    Russell Davis RB
    11th
    		 305 Cincinnati Bengals

    References

    1. ^ "Davis rewrites record book in UI romp". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 4, 1981. p. 2C.
    2. ^ "Idaho rocks Portland State". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. October 4, 1981. p. 6B.
    3. ^ "UI's Davis tops nation's rushers". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 6, 1981. p. 2C.
    4. ^ Mike, DeInagro (August 31, 1981). "Small colleges". Sports Illustrated. p. 64.
    5. ^ "Sports Illustrated picks Vandals to win Big Sky". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 1, 1981. p. 3C.
    6. ^ Missildine, Harry (September 4, 1981). "Jerry Davitch's big secret: 'Ignorance keeps us going'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 31.
    7. ^ Missildine, Harry; Blanchette, John (November 13, 1981). "UI fires Davitch". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 29.
    8. ^ Ramsdell, Paul (November 27, 1982). "Lucky Sam Merriman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
    9. ^ "Sam Merriman". Database Football. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
    10. ^ Weaver, Dan (July 18, 1984). "Low in the draft, high on the team". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
    11. ^ Jacobson, Bryan (December 20, 1986). "Like riding a bike". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 25.
    12. ^ "Seahawks lose Merriman for year". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. August 13, 1988. p. B1.
    13. ^ Pierce, Oliver (September 14, 1988). "Merriman isn't merry on sidelines". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 9A.
    14. ^ "Seahawks cut Merriman, two others". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 18, 1989. p. C3.
    15. ^ "Football signings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). February 22, 1979. p. 5B.
    16. ^ "Car accident kills UI football player". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 17, 1981. p. 3C.
    17. ^ "13 are killed on highways". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 18, 1981. p. 1.
    18. ^ Emerson, Paul (October 27, 1981). "An instinct for the ball". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1C.
    19. ^ "'96 Vandals will sport new look". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. April 28, 1996. p. 6B.
    20. ^ "UI running back dies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. August 10, 1980. p. 2B.
    21. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 5, 1981. p. 5B.
    22. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 26, 1981. p. 3B.
    23. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 10, 1981. p. 5C.
    24. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 31, 1981. p. 3C.
    25. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 21, 1981. p. 1C.
    26. ^ Missildine, Harry (November 21, 1981). "Davitch's last Idaho hurrah". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 17.
    27. ^ Stewart, Chuck (November 20, 1981). "Memories". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 18.
    28. ^ "Former I.E. stars on Big Sky team". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 1, 1981. p. 18.
    29. ^ a b c "Idaho's Davis overlooked". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). staff and wire reports. December 2, 1981. p. 1B.
    30. ^ a b "Idaho not ignored on defense". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 3, 1981. p. 3B.
    31. ^ "NFL teams grab best local talent". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 29, 1981. p. 27.
    32. ^ "Four Cougars, two Vandals picked". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). April 29, 1982. p. 35.
    33. ^ "NFL teams add Idaho players in late rounds". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 29, 1982. p. 1C.

    External links

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