1976 Idaho Vandals football team

Coordinates: 46°43′34″N 117°01′05″W / 46.726°N 117.018°W / 46.726; -117.018

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]
Captain Barry Hopkins (SS)
Captain John Kirtland (LB)
Captain Wil Overgaard (OT)[2]
Home stadium Kibbie Dome
1976 Big Sky football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#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
  • ^ – Division II playoff participant
  • Montana State won Div. II championship.

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.

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 [[1976 NCAA Division II football season#Postseason|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 player

Center John Yarno 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.

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 [22] 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 Statedagger 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. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP poll. All times are in Pacific time.

Roster

1976 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 12 Rocky Tuttle So
QB 14 Craig Juntunen Jr
SE 18 Kirk Allen So
RB 25 Robert Brooks Jr
RB 30 Tim Lappano So
RB 40 Robert Taylor Jr
FB 45 Kevin McAfee Sr
C 56 John Yarno Sr
RG 61 Dick Wilkin
LG 65 Joe Dahlin Jr
RG 68 Clarence Hough Sr
LG 74 Dave Wiggum Jr
RT 76 Greg Kittrell Sr
LT 78 Wil Overgaard (C) Sr
TE 84 Rick Mayfield So
FL 88 Mike Hagadone So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
FS 24 Rick Linehan So
CB 26 Greg Coman Jr
SS 37 Barry Hopkins (C) Sr
CB 42 Bill Clark Jr
CB 43 Brian Charles Jr
DE 51 Chris Eads
LB 52 Bob Cafferty So
DE 55 Jeff Phister Sr
LB 58 Kjel Kiilsgaard Sr
LB 59 John Kirtland (C) Sr
NG 62 Tim Sanford Jr
DT 72 Joe Pellegrini Jr
NG, DT 73 Tom Eilertson Jr
DT 75 Lynn Rice
DE 85 Chris Tormey Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
PK, P 10 Ralph Lowe
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt
Source:[2][23][24][25]

NFL Draft

One Vandal was selected in the 1977 NFL Draft:

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
John YarnoCenter4th87Seattle Seahawks

References

  1. ↑ "Troxel claims defense key at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 7, 1977. p. 42.
  2. 1 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. 1 2 3 Payne, Bob (November 21, 1976). "Vandals clobber Northern Arizona". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1D.
  6. 1 2 English, Sue (November 22, 1976). "Year tabbed "great" by Idaho grid boss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 31.
  7. 1 2 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. ↑ "Leaky Vandals yield again; Hawaii rolls to 46-25 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 26, 1977. p. 15.
  23. ↑ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 2, 1976. p. 13.
  24. ↑ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 16, 1976. p. 15.
  25. ↑ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 13, 1976. p. 15.
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