1970 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1970 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Don Robbins and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in the college division of the NCAA. 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
Conference	Big Sky Conference
1970 record	4–7 (2–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Don Robbins (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Bobby Thompson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Ray Fulton (1st season)
Base defense	5–2
Captains	Steve Olson (QB) Ron Davis (TE) Tim Reese (DE)
Home stadium	Rogers Field (Pullman, Washington)

1970 Big Sky Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
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
$ – Conference champion

Season

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

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).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 12	12:30 pm	at Air Force*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, Colorado [22]	L 7–45	25,000
September 19	1:30 pm	at Washington State*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, Washington [11][12] (Battle of the Palouse)	L 16–44	27,200
September 26	1:30 pm	Pacific*	Rogers Field Pullman, Washington [23]	L 10–17	10,000
October 3	7:00 pm	at Idaho State	ISU Minidome Pocatello, Idaho [24]	L 14–35	12,500
October 10	2:30 pm	Montana	Rogers Field Pullman, Washington [25] (Little Brown Stein)	L 26–44	4,600
October 17	1:30 pm	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR [26][27]	L 13–49	21,300
October 24	1:30 pm	Portland State*	Rogers Field Pullman, Washington [9][10]	W 17–16	6,700
October 31	12:00 pm	at Montana State	Gatton Field Bozeman, Montana [28]	W 37–24	4,500
November 7	12:30 pm	Weber State	Rogers Field Pullman, Washington [29][30]	W 27–17	4,500
November 14	12:30 pm	at Utah State*	Romney Stadium Logan, Utah [31]	W 42–14	10,000
November 21	11:30 am	at Tulsa*	Skelly Field Tulsa, Oklahoma [32]	L 17–30	33,200
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1970 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Tom Ponciano Jr QB 11 Steve Olson (C) Sr QB 12 Bruce Cole  So QB 18 Pete Glindeman Jr RB 20 Fred Riley Jr WR 21 Jess Vernier RB 22 Robert Williams Jr RB 24 Jim Ingles WR 25 Terry Moreland RB 31 Mike Wiscombe Sr WR 37 Kelly Cooke RB 40 Randy Peterson So RB Steve Ball WR,TE 45 Jim Wilund Jr C 50 Ken Muhlbeier So LG 51 John Durhan Sr OL 52 Larry Bosma So OL 54 John Davis OL 59 Daryl Hanauer So OL 68 Jim Wymer Sr RT 70 Richard Beaver Jr OL 72 Bob Myklebust RG 73 Faustin Riley Jr OL 74 Dave Crnich So OL 75 Rich Kushlan Jr OL 76 Bill Fluke LT 77 Bruce Langmade Sr OL 78 Andy Kupp Jr OL 79 Joe Kristoff TE, P 80 Ron Davis (C) Sr TE 82 Darrell Burchfield So TE 86 Jerry Domzalski WR 89 Jack Goddard Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 12 John Hathaway Jr S 26 Steve Holdren Jr CB 27 Pat Sprute Jr S 34 Bob Miller Jr DB, P 36 Kurt Karlsson LB 38 Jesse Craig Sr CB 42 Kelly Courage So CB 44 Kirby Cook LB 53 Rand Marquess So LB 55 Ron Roberts Sr DL 56 Mark Busch So DL 57 Steve Vest LB 58 Ralph Sletager So LB 61 Ron Linehan Jr DL 62 Frank Shaner DT 65 Bill Cady Jr NG 67 Steve Barker Jr DT 69 Brock Jackley Sr DT 71 Mike Newell So DE 81 Tom Jarman Jr DE 85 Rick Simmons DL 87 Neil Stevens DE 88 Tim Reese (C) Sr DL Hank Boomer	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 7 Ricardo Castillo Jr	Head coach Don Robbins (1st year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Bob Thompson (OC) Ray Fulton (DC) Keith Lincoln Ed Troxel Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[33]

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. No second team was selected.[34]

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	WR	6th	146	Atlanta Falcons
Andy Kupp	G	10th	241	New Orleans Saints
Ron Linehan	LB	17th	428	Pittsburgh Steelers

References

1. "McNease fired from Vandal football coaching job". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. May 16, 1970. p. 12.
2. "Whits, Idaho Idaho pick new grid bosses". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. May 16, 1970. p. 13.
3. "Robbins picked to coach Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. May 17, 1970. p. 12.
4. "Washington State-Idaho football special: rosters". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 19, 1970. p. 1, special.
5. "Soph quarterback presses Idaho vets". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 18, 1970. p. 26.
6. "Recruiting needs seen for Vandals". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 23, 1970. p. 41.
7. "Vandals hoping to avoid record 11th straight loss". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. October 24, 1970. p. 8.
8. "Idaho eyes 1st victory". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 19, 1970. p. 13.
9. Payne, Bob (October 25, 1970). "Vandals win first – and they earned it". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
10. Bacharach, Sam A. (October 25, 1970). "Idaho ends 10-game loss skein with win over Portland State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 15.
11. Missildine, Harry (September 20, 1970). "Cougars roar back, swamp Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
12. Brown, Bruce (September 21, 1970). "Next foes are tough". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
13. "WSU Cougars, Idaho Vandals set for "Battle of the Palouse"". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. September 19, 1970. p. 8.
14. Missildine, Harry (November 22, 1970). "Sonny Six dazzles Cougars". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
15. Missildine, Harry (September 19, 1970). "Battle of Palouse matches explosive offenses at Albi". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 14.
16. "Idaho stadium unsafe for use". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. August 6, 1969. p. 41.
17. "Late night fire destroys portion of Neale Stadium on Idaho campus". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. November 24, 1969. p. 16.
18. "Fast blaze ruins Pullman stadium". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. April 6, 1970. p. 1.
19. "WSU fire may be arson". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. April 6, 1970. p. 1.
20. "Fire in Rogers Field stands". Washington State University Libraries. April 5, 1970. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
21. "Rogers Field seating set for Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 25, 1970. p. 23.
22. Payne, Bob (September 13, 1970). "Air Force blitzes Vandals". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
23. Payne, Bob (September 27, 1970). "Pacific beats Idaho late". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
24. Bacharach, Sam A. (October 4, 1970). "ISU Bengals whip Vandals 35-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 12.
25. Bacharach, Sam A. (October 11, 1970). "Vandals fall 44-26 to tough Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 12.
26. cawood, Neil (October 18, 1970). "Ducks bomb Vandals as UO records tumble". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
27. Payne, Bob (October 18, 1970). "Oregon's offense surely too much". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
28. Payne, Bob (November 1, 1970). "Vandals have pleasant day with Montana State victory". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
29. Everson, Joe (November 8, 1970). "Vandals post third in a row". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 4, sports.
30. Wakely, Dan (November 9, 1970). "2nd-half effort wins for Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
31. Payne, Bob (November 15, 1970). "Fast start helps Idaho rip Aggies". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
32. Payne, Bob (November 22, 1970). "Ill wind, Tulsa too much". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
33. "Bengals vs. Vandals: probable lineups". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 19, 1970. p. 14.
34. "Four Vandals selected as Sky stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 27, 1970. p. 13.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1970-71 University of Idaho yearbook – 1970 football season
• Go Mighty Vandals – 1970 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1970 editions