1970 Idaho Vandals football team explained

Year:1970
Team:Idaho Vandals
Sport:football
Conference:Big Sky Conference
Short Conf:Big Sky
Record:4–7
Conf Record:2–2
Head Coach:Don Robbins
Hc Year:1st
Off Coach:Bobby Thompson
Oc Year:2nd
Def Coach:Ray Fulton
Dc Year:1st
Def Scheme:5–2
Captain:Steve Olson
Captain2:Ron Davis
Captain3:Tim Reese
Stadium:Rogers Field

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.

Shortly after spring drills in May 1970, head coach Y C McNease was fired and assistant coach Robbins With quarterbacks Steve Olson and Tom Ponciano running the offense,[1] [2] the Vandals were overall and in the Big Sky.[3] 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.[4] [5] [6] [7]

In the Battle of the Palouse, the Vandals suffered a fourth straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane on September 19. After a scoreless first quarter, Idaho led by ten at halftime, but was then outscored .[8] [9] It broke a ten-game losing streak for the Cougars,[10] and was their only win of the season.[11] The game with WSU was not played in 1969 or 1971.[12]

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,[13] and its south grandstand burned that November in a suspected arson.[14] Idaho played home games at Rogers Field in Pullman in 1969 and 1970. In April 1970, Rogers Field also burned in a suspected arson,[15] [16] which destroyed most of the primary grandstand on the south sideline, including the press box.[17] 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.[18] The new Idaho Stadium opened in October 1971.

University division

Through 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).

Roster

[19]

All conference

Four 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.

NFL Draft

No Vandals were selected in the 1971 NFL draft, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections).

Three juniors were selected in the 1972 NFL draft, also seventeen rounds.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Fred Riley 146
Andy Kupp 241
Ron Linehan 428 Pittsburgh Steelers

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Washington State-Idaho football special: rosters . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . September 19, 1970 . 1, special.
  2. News: Soph quarterback presses Idaho vets . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington . September 18, 1970 . 26.
  3. News: Recruiting needs seen for Vandals . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . November 23, 1970 . 41.
  4. News: Vandals hoping to avoid record 11th straight loss . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho . October 24, 1970 . 8.
  5. News: Idaho eyes 1st victory . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . September 19, 1970 . 13.
  6. News: Vandals win first – and they earned it . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington . Payne . Bob . October 25, 1970 . 1, sports .
  7. News: Idaho ends 10-game loss skein with win over Portland State . Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Bacharach . Sam A. . October 25, 1970 . 15.
  8. News: Cougars roar back, swamp Vandals . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. Missildine . Harry . September 20, 1970 . 1, sports.
  9. News: Next foes are tough . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . Brown . Bruce . September 21, 1970 . 17.
  10. News: WSU Cougars, Idaho Vandals set for "Battle of the Palouse" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho . September 19, 1970 . 8.
  11. News: Sonny Six dazzles Cougars . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington . Missildine . Harry . November 22, 1970 . 1, sports .
  12. News: Battle of Palouse matches explosive offenses at Albi . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. Missildine . Harry . September 19, 1970 . 14.
  13. News: Idaho stadium unsafe for use . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . August 6, 1969 . 41.
  14. News: Late night fire destroys portion of Neale Stadium on Idaho campus . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. November 24, 1969 . 16.
  15. News: Fast blaze ruins Pullman stadium . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington . April 6, 1970. 1.
  16. News: WSU fire may be arson . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington . April 6, 1970 . 1.
  17. News: Fire in Rogers Field stands . Washington State University Libraries . April 5, 1970 . September 30, 2016.
  18. News: Rogers Field seating set for Vandals. Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. September 25, 1970 . 23 .
  19. News: Bengals vs. Vandals: probable lineups . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . September 19, 1970 . 14.