1976 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1976 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

1976 Idaho Vandals football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
1976 record	7–4 (5–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Ed Troxel (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	John McMahon (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Veer
Defensive coordinator	Andy Christoff (3rd season)
Base defense	5–2 [1]
Captains	Barry Hopkins (SS) John Kirtland (LB) Wil Overgaard (OT)[2]
Home stadium	Kibbie Dome

1976 Big Sky Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Montana State $^	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
Idaho	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Montana	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Boise State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

Season

With quarterbacks Rocky Tuttle and Craig Juntunen running the veer offense,[3][4] the Vandals were 7–4 overall and 5–1 in the Big Sky.[5][6] The only conference loss was to Montana State in Bozeman;[7] the Bobcats went undefeated in the Big Sky and won the Division II national championship.[8]

The season opened with a road win over Boise State,[9][10] the three-time defending conference champions, in the debut of Jim Criner as head coach of the Broncos.[11] Originally scheduled for November 27, it was moved to the opener at BSU's request, so as not to interfere with the Division II playoffs.[12] In the Battle of the Palouse, the Vandals suffered a ninth straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling 45–6 at Martin Stadium in Pullman on October 2. The Cougars were led by quarterback Jack Thompson and fullback Dan Doornink.[13]

Outside of the 1971 season (8–3), the Vandals' 7–4 record in 1976 was the best since 1938 (6–3–1).[5] It was Troxel's only winning season as head coach; Idaho slipped to 3–8 in 1977 and he was fired in late December.

Notable players

Center John Yarno of Spokane was selected to the AP All-American team,[14] which included a prime-time appearance on Bob Hope's Christmas show on NBC on Monday, December 13.[15][16][17] The All-America team was headlined by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett of Pittsburgh.[18] Yarno was also selected to play in the East–West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl.[19] His number 56 was retired the following year.[20][21] Selected in the fourth round of the 1977 NFL Draft, he played six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the last five as a starter.

Future actor Bill Fagerbakke of Rupert was a sophomore defensive lineman and was ticketed to redshirt, but was called into action in the fourth game.[22] Head coach Troxel planned on moving him to the offensive line in 1977,[23] but a knee injury in spring drills ended Fagerbakke's athletic career, which turned his focus to theater.[24]

Division I

Through 1977, the Big Sky was a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA in 1978. Idaho maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing Division I non-conference opponents (and was ineligible for the Division II postseason).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
Sep 11	6:30 pm	at Boise State	Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho (Rivalry)	W 16–9	20,549
Sep 18	7:30 pm	at Pacific*	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, California	W 31–28	11,769
Sep 25	11:30 am	at Ohio*	Peden Stadium Athens, OH [25]	L 0–35	13,710
Oct 02	1:30 pm	at Washington State*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	L 6–45	20,000
Oct 09	8:00 pm	New Mexico State*	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	W 33–6	10,166
Oct 16	8:00 pm	Weber State	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	W 45–17	15,607
Oct 23	12:30 pm	at Montana State	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, Montana [7]	L 14–29	5,400
Oct 30	7:00 pm	at Idaho State	ISU Minidome Pocatello, Idaho	W 6–3	9,625
Nov 06	12:00 pm	at Colorado State*	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, Colorado	L 14–31	17,535
Nov 13	8:00 pm	Montana	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho (Little Brown Stein)	W 28–19	9,396
Nov 20	8:00 pm	Northern Arizona	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho [5][6]	W 31–14	7,160
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1976 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class SE 6 Ron Loveall SE 11 Jeff Taylor QB 12 Rocky Tuttle So QB 14 Craig Juntunen Jr SE 18 Kirk Allen So SE, P 21 Paul Cox Sr SE 23 Dave Imelia RB 25 Robert Brooks Jr RB 30 Tim Lappano So RB 31 Lance Hubbard SE 34 Nick Pothetes RB 35 Glenn Ford RB 40 Robert Taylor Jr TE 44 Dan Meyer FB 45 Kevin McAfee Sr C 50 Mike Clark C 53 Dave Pearson C 56 John Yarno Sr RG 61 Dick Wilkin OL 64 Doug Gisselberg LG 65 Joe Dahlin Jr OL 66 Peter Koch RG 68 Clarence Hough Sr OL 69 Larry Coombs Fr OL 71 Mark McNeal Fr LG 74 Dave Wiggum Jr RT 76 Greg Kittrell Sr OL 77 Tom Randel So LT 78 Wil Overgaard (C) Sr SE 80 Dan Davidson TE 84 Rick Mayfield So FL 88 Mike Hagadone So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 20 Dan Dangerfield DB 22 Ron O'Bard FS 24 Rick Linehan So CB 26 Greg Coman Jr DB 33 Chris Frost DB 36 Greg Stewart SS 37 Barry Hopkins (C) Sr DB 38 Eric Simmon DB 41 Doug May CB 42 Bill Clark Jr CB 43 Brian Charles Jr LB 47 Tom Jacksha DE 51 Chris Eads Fr LB 52 Bob Cafferty So LB 54 Tom Kelleher DE 55 Jeff Phister Sr LB 57 Marty Marshall LB 58 Kjel Kiilsgaard Sr LB 59 John Kirtland (C) Sr NG 62 Tim Sanford Jr DL 63 Scott Whipps DL 67 Mike Shelby DL 70 Pat Collins DL 72 Pat Hayes DT 72 Joe Pellegrini Jr NG, DT 73 Tom Eilertson Jr DT 75 Lynn Rice DL 79 Bill Fagerbakke So LB 81 Rich Hunt DL 82 Randy Ralph DL 83 Phil Vance Fr DE 85 Chris Tormey Jr DL 86 Jeff Mooney DL 89 Robert Collins	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 7 Chuck Filippini Sr PK, P 10 Ralph Lowe Jr	Head coach Ed Troxel Coordinators/assistant coaches John McMahon (OC) Andy Christoff (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[2][26][27][28]

All-conference

Senior center John Yarno was the Big Sky offensive player of the year and one of six Vandals selected to the all-conference team. The other three on offense were running back Robert Brooks, guard Clarence Hough, and tackle Wil Overgaard. The two defensive players were linebacker Kjel Kiilsgaard and end Chris Tormey, a future Vandal head coach (1995–99). Second team selections were tackle Greg Kittrell, noseguard Tim Sanford, and linebacker John Kirtland.[29][30]

NFL Draft

One Vandal was selected in the 1977 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (335 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
John Yarno	Center	4th	87	Seattle Seahawks

References

1. "Troxel claims defense key at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 7, 1977. p. 42.
2. Payne, Bob (September 10, 1976). "Idaho goes with Tuttle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 29.
3. "Vandals vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 2, 1976. p. 13.
4. "Aggies vs. Vandals: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 9, 1976. p. 13.
5. Payne, Bob (November 21, 1976). "Vandals clobber Northern Arizona". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1D.
6. English, Sue (November 22, 1976). "Year tabbed "great" by Idaho grid boss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 31.
7. Payne, Bob (October 24, 1976). "Dennehy inspires Bobcats". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
8. "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
9. Payne, Bob (September 12, 1976). "Vandals win opener". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
10. English, Sue (September 13, 1976). "Vandals tame Broncos". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
11. "Idaho team underdog against Boise squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). September 10, 1976. p. 23.
12. Kirtland, Bill (September 10, 1976). "An interesting evening in Boise..." Idaho Argonaut. (Moscow). (University of Idaho). p. 7.
13. Payne, Bob (October 3, 1976). "Thompson unloads on Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington).
14. Brown, Butch (July 29, 1977). "John Yarno learns enthusiastically". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 17.
15. "Yarno named All-American". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 2, 1976. p. 39.
16. "Contracts please Yarno". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). May 26, 1977. p. 44.
17. Payne, Bob (December 3, 1976). "John Yarno:'Hard to believe'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 33.
18. "Dorsett heads AP's All-America team". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 3, 1976. p. 1B.
19. "Selection shocks Yarno". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 3, 1976. p. 1B.
20. "Hall of Famers arrive on campus". University of Idaho Athletics. September 6, 2007.
21. "John Yarno named first team All-American". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1977. p. 44.
22. "Bad news for Idaho: Joe Pellegrini lost". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 5, 1976. p. 16.
23. Payne, Bob (November 28, 1976). "Vandals on the rise?". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D5.
24. White, Vera (July 31, 1997). "Football not enough for Fagerbakke". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
25. "Leaky Vandals yield again; Hawaii rolls to 46-25 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 26, 1977. p. 15.
26. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 2, 1976. p. 13.
27. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 16, 1976. p. 15.
28. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 13, 1976. p. 15.
29. "Big Sky all-stars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1976. p. 27.
30. "Six Vandals on Sky stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 25, 1976. p. 112.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1977 University of Idaho yearbook – 1976 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1976 editions