1989 Idaho Vandals football team

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

1989 Idaho Vandals football
Big Sky champion
Conference Big Sky Conference
1989 record 9–3 (8–0 Big Sky)
Head coach John L. Smith (1st season)
Offensive coordinator Dan Cozzetto (1st season)
Defensive coordinator Gordon Shaw (1st season)
Home stadium Kibbie Dome
1989 Big Sky football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
#4 Idaho $^ 8 –0 –0  9 –3 –0
#6 Montana ^ 7 –1 –0  11 –3 –0
#19 Nevada 5 –3 –0  7 –4 –0
Boise State 5 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Eastern Washington 4 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
Northern Arizona 2 –6 –0  3 –8 –0
Montana State 2 –6 –0  4 –7 –0
Idaho State 2 –6 –0  3 –7 –0
Weber State 1 –7 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – Division I-AA playoff participant
  • Idaho earned automatic berth and
    Montana earned at-large berth in I-AA playoffs.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA poll
(released before playoffs)

The 1989 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

The Vandals won their third consecutive conference title (fourth in five years), and made the I-AA playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, under a third head coach. Led by senior All-American quarterback John Friesz, Idaho finished the regular season at 9–2 and 8–0 in the Big Sky.

Notable games

Following two non-conference road losses to open the season at Washington State and Portland State,[1][2] the Vandals won nine straight, which included an undefeated conference record of 8–0. It was the only time in school history that the football team has posted an unblemished conference record.

The Vandals defeated Montana, their only conference loss the previous season, on a Thursday night in the Kibbie Dome in late September, televised by ESPN.[3][4] Idaho beat long-time nemesis Nevada-Reno for the third straight year,[5] only the fourth time in the twelve meetings since the Wolf Pack joined the Big Sky in 1979. The Vandals defeated rival Boise State for the eighth consecutive year, the eighth of twelve straight over the Broncos before a record crowd of 17,600 in the Kibbie Dome.[6]

Division I-AA playoffs

For the fifth consecutive season, Idaho returned to the 16-team I-AA playoffs. The Vandals, on a nine-game winning streak, hosted Eastern Illinois at home but lost 21–38. The game was played before a sparse crowd at the Kibbie Dome two days after Thanksgiving and ended the Vandals' season at 9–3.[7]

Notable players

The 1989 team included John Friesz,[8] a future collegiate hall of fame quarterback as a three-year starter (1987–89). Friesz was the winner of the Walter Payton Award in 1989 and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 1990 NFL Draft. He was in the NFL for the next decade with four teams.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 2 2:00 pm at Washington State (Div. I-A)* No. 6 Martin Stadium • Pullman, Washington [9] (Battle of the Palouse) L    7–41   33,914
September 9 7:00 pm at No. 3 Portland State (Div. II)* No. 6 Civic Stadium • Portland, Oregon [1][2] L  20–29   13,359
September 16 7:00 pm No. 5 Sacramento State (Div II)* Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [10] W 45–3     9,100
September 23 6:00 pm at Weber State Wildcat Stadium • Ogden, Utah W 46–33    
September 28 5:00 pm Montana Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [3][4] (Little Brown Stein) ESPN W 30–24   13,000
October 7 3:00 pm at Northern Arizona No. 20 Walkup Skydome • Flagstaff, Arizona [11] W 41–31   10,842
October 14 1:00 pm at Montana State No. 15 Reno H. Sales Stadium • Bozeman, Montana [12] W 41–7   11,187
October 21 1:00 pm Eastern Washington No. 14 Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [13] W 41–34   12,500
October 28 1:00 pm Nevadadagger No. 9 Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [5] W 42–22   15,500
November 4 6:30 pm at Idaho State No. 7 Holt Arena • Pocatello, Idaho [14] W 47–31   10,380
November 18 7:00 pm No. 20 Boise State No. 5 Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [6] (Rivalry) W 26–21   17,600
November 25 1:00 pm No. 15 Eastern Illinois* No. 5 Kibbie Dome • Moscow, Idaho [7] (Div. I-AA First Round) L  21–38     6,025
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from NCAA (Div. I-AA). All times are in Pacific time.

Source:[15]

Roster

1989 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB Pat West
QB Steve Nolan Jr
QB 13 Doug Nussmeier  Fr
WR 16 Lee Allen Sr
QB 17 John Friesz Sr
FL 25 David Jackson So
RB 26 Devon Pearce So
WR 30 Kasey Dunn So
FL Michael Davis Sr
G 50 Mike Rice Jr
C 53 Steve Unger Sr
T 62 Shawen Smith So
T 63 Troy Wright Jr
G 66 Chris Hoff Jr
T Todd Neu Sr
TE 84 Scott Dahlquist Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
SS 3 Brian Smith Sr
FS 22 Kris McCall So
CB 23 Charlie Oliver Jr
CB 33 Terry Green So
LB 39 Jimmy Jacobs Jr
LB 43 Roger Cecil Jr
LB 58 John Rust Jr
DT 59 John Sirmon Fr
DT 74 Vince Mann So
DE 87 Jeff Robinson Fr
DE 93 Mike Zeller Sr
DE 97 Brian Cockrell Fr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 14 Thane Doyle So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Dan Cozzetto (OC)
  • Gordon Shaw (DC)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt
Source:[16][17]

NFL Draft

One Vandal senior was selected in the 1990 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (332 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
John FrieszQB6th138San Diego Chargers

References

  1. 1 2 Sahlberg, Bert (September 10, 1989). "Vandalized! Portland State stuns Idaho 29-20". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  2. 1 2 "Vandals' season off to scary start". Idahonian. Moscow. September 11, 1989. p. 1B.
  3. 1 2 Stalwick, Howie (September 29, 1989). "Idaho bags game Grizzlies". Spokane Chronicle. location. p. B1.
  4. 1 2 Schulte, Chris (September 29, 1989). "Friesz, defense help UI short-circuit Griz". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  5. 1 2 Schulte, Chris (October 30, 1989). "Blocked kick helps UI sack Pack". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  6. 1 2 Schulte, Chris (November 20, 1989). "Friesz shows he's human in UI win". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  7. 1 2 Schulte, Chris (November 27, 1989). "Idaho: Long day, short playoffs". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  8. ↑ "No surprise: Friesz cops Big Sky MVP". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 1, 1989. p. 1D.
  9. ↑ Grummert, Dale (September 3, 1989). "Cougars cruise past Idaho 41-7". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  10. ↑ Schulte, Chris (September 18, 1989). "Vandals' Friesz stings Hornets". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  11. ↑ Schulte, Chris (October 9, 1989). "UI whips, now roots for NAU". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  12. ↑ Schulte, Chris (October 16, 1989). "UI gets better, 'Cats get blasted". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  13. ↑ Schulte, Chris (October 23, 1989). "UI has best BSC start – barely". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  14. ↑ Schulte, Chris (November 6, 1989). "Idaho can wait to celebrate". Idahonian. Moscow. p. 1B.
  15. ↑ College Football Data Warehouse – Idaho 1985–89 – accessed 2016-10-12
  16. ↑ Sahlberg, Bert; Grummert, Dale (September 2, 1989). "Cougars heavy favorites as rivalry resumes today". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 4B.
  17. ↑ "Idaho at Portland State: probable starting lineups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 9, 1989. p. 5B.
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