1974 Idaho Vandals football team
American college football season
The 1974 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season . The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference , then in Division II . They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium , an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho .[ 3]
Troxel was promoted to head coach in December 1973,[ 4] after seven seasons at Idaho as an assistant under three head coaches, and several years as head coach of the track team. Before his move north to Moscow in 1967 , he was very successful at the high school level at Borah in Boise .[ 5] Troxel had previously declined the job in 1970 and days earlier in 1973, but was persuaded to reconsider by player support.[ 4] [ 6] [ 7]
Season
With quarterbacks Dave Comstock, Dennis Ballock, and Ken Schrom running the veer offense,[ 1] [ 8] the Vandals were 2–8–1 overall and 2–2–1 in the Big Sky.[ 9] [ 10]
In the Battle of the Palouse , Idaho suffered a seventh straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8 , falling 17–10 at Martin Stadium in Pullman on September 21.[ 11] In the fourth game with new rival Boise State , the Vandals fell for the third time as the Broncos repeated as conference champions.[ 9] [ 12] Idaho did not schedule Northern Arizona until the following season and both played only five games in conference this year.
This was the last year the Vandals played outdoors on campus; its new Idaho Stadium opened in October 1971 in the same footprint as its predecessor, wooden Neale Stadium (1937 –1968 ), and neither venue had lights.[ 3] Artificial turf was installed in 1972 ; the 3M Tartan Turf was the first in the world produced in one continuous piece to allow it to be rolled up on a spool.[ 13] Following this season,[ 14] [ 15] an arched roof and end walls were constructed in ten months to enclose it and the inaugural indoor game at the renamed Kibbie Dome was played on September 27, 1975 .[ 16]
Notable players and coaches
Sophomore center John Yarno was a first-team AP All-American as a senior in 1976 ; he was selected in fourth round of the 1977 NFL draft and played six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks , the last five as a starter. Although quarterback Ken Schrom was projected as the starter for 1976 as a redshirt junior, he opted to pursue professional baseball after the 1976 baseball draft .[ 17] A pitcher , he was a major leaguer for seven seasons and an all-star as a reliever in 1986 .
Dennis Erickson , age 27, was in his first year as an offensive coordinator ,[ 2] [ 18] [ 19] and stayed for two seasons . He left for Fresno State and later San Jose State , then returned to the UI program in 1982 as head coach and the Vandals began a streak of fifteen consecutive winning seasons.
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 Source September 14 12:30 pm at Air Force * L 0–3732,364 [ 20]
September 21 1:30 pm at Washington State * L 10–1719,300 [ 11]
September 28 10:30 am at Villanova * L 7–15 9,857 [ 21]
October 5 7:00 pm at Idaho State W 28–912,000 [ 22]
October 12 1:30 pm West Texas State * L 6–2115,200 [ 23]
October 19 1:30 pm Montana T 35–3516,500 [ 24]
October 26 12:30 pm at Montana State L 21–36 6,117 [ 25]
November 2 12:30 pm Utah State * L 3–17 5,500 [ 26]
November 9 12:30 pm Weber State W 38–13 6,000 [ 27]
November 16 11:30 am at Northern Illinois * L 21–27 3,712 [ 28]
November 23 12:30 pm at Boise State L 29–5314,486 [ 9] [ 12]
Roster
1974 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
QB
10
Ken Schrom
Fr
QB
12
Dennis Ballock
Sr
QB
14
Dave Comstock
Jr
FL
20
Kirk Dennis
Sr
TE
21
Joe Dahlin
Fr
RB
23
Monty Nash
So
FL
25
Collie Mack
RB
30
Mark Fredback (C)
Sr
RB
33
Marshall Brantley
So
RB
Robert Brooks
Fr
RB
42
Rob Dean
FB
44
J.C. Chadband
Jr
TE
45
Kevin McAfee
So
OL
50
Randy Dorn
C
56
John Yarno
So
RG
51
Mike Kramer
Jr
LT
62
John Adams
Jr
LG
65
Kurt Nelson
Sr
OL
68
Clarence Hough
So
OL
72
Scott Callahan
RT
78
Wil Overgaard
So
TE
82
Steve Duncanson
Jr
SE
83
Tim Coles
Jr
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
FS , PK
11
Bill Keilty
Jr
FS
27
Chuck Love
Jr
CB
31
Bill Clark
So
S
37
Barry Hopkins
So
SS
38
Joe White (C)
Sr
CB
40
Johnny Sims
Jr
CB
43
Chris Mooney
LB
52
Kevin Robison
DT
53
Duke Minium
Sr
DE
55
Vince Howard
Sr
LB
58
Kjel Kiilsgaard
So
LB
59
John Kirtland
So
LB
61
Mike Siva
Jr
NG
63
Dave Gallick
Jr
NG
74
Jim Allen
DT
77
Craig Crnick
Jr
DE
81
Doug Fisher
Jr
DE
85
Chris Tormey
So
LB
87
Bill Kirtland
DE
88
Mark Hodges
Sr
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK , P
7
Steve Tanner
PK
16
Chuck Filippini
So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Source: [ 1] [ 29] [ 30] [ 31]
All-conference
Two Vandals were named to the Big Sky all-conference team: fullback J.C. Chadband and tight end Steve Duncanson.[ 32]
References
^ a b c d Payne, Bob (September 8, 1974). "Idaho has some bodies, now..." Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 6, sports.
^ a b "UI's Erickson 'knows' " . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). October 24, 1974. p. 15.
^ a b Barrows, Bob (November 2, 1974). "Aggies, with 'Sweet Louie,' invade Idaho" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 11.
^ a b Shelledy, Jay (December 20, 1973). " 'Trox' changes mind, accepts Vandal grid challenge" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 17.
^ "Vandals name Ed Troxel as defensive line coach" . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 24, 1967. p. 12.
^ "Troxel motivated by players' pleas" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. December 20, 1973. p. 27.
^ Emerson, Paul (January 17, 1974). "Idaho AD eyes '75 for 'doming' Idaho Stadium" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 17.
^ "Vandals vs. Cougars: rosters" . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. September 21, 1974. p. 12.
^ a b c "Boise State rips Idaho in shootout" . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. November 24, 1974. p. 1, sports.
^ "Troxel hopes conqueror captures playoff honors" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. November 25, 1974. p. 17.
^ a b Brown, Bruce (September 23, 1974). "WSU's potential stays dormant" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . Washington. p. 15.
^ a b Emerson, Paul (November 24, 1974). "Boise State roars past Vandals, 53-29" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 1B.
^ "Football field rolls up" . Southeast Missourian . Cape Girardeau. Associated Press. February 22, 1973. p. 12.
^ "Idaho Stadium roof near reality as 'gift' aids project approval" . Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. November 9, 1974. p. 11.
^ Martin, Vicki (November 9, 1974). "Regents okay stadium roof" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 9.
^ Emerson, Paul (September 28, 1975). "Early ISU burst brings down roof on Vandal debut" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 1B.
^ Barrows, Bob (October 25, 1980). "Ken Schrom glad he switched to baseball" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. p. 5B.
^ "Knecht only UI aide to return" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . Idaho. Associated Press. January 17, 1974. p. 18.
^ "Idaho hires grid coaches" . Ellensburg Daily Record . Washington. UPI. January 18, 1974. p. 6.
^ Payne, Bob (September 15, 1974). "Falcons rip fumbly Idaho" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
^ "Safety big help; Villanova winner" . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. September 29, 1974. p. 64.
^ Drosendahl, Glenn (October 6, 1974). "Early-striking Vandals sack Idaho State 28-9" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 15.
^ Emerson, Paul (October 13, 1974). "Buffaloes control Vandals" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 15.
^ Drosendahl, Glenn (October 20, 1974). "Idaho, Montana race to 35-35 tie" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 13.
^ Barrows, Bob (October 27, 1974). "MSU spurt spells Idaho loss, 36-21" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 13.
^ Barrows, Bob (November 3, 1974). "Utah St. raps Vandals" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 17.
^ Drosendahl, Glenn (November 10, 1974). "Vandals flex muscles, beat Weber 38-13" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 17.
^ Emerson, Paul (November 17, 1974). "Idaho rallies, but not enough" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 1B.
^ "Rosters" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). September 21, 1974. p. 12.
^ "Rosters" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). October 12, 1974. p. 14.
^ "Rosters" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). October 19, 1974. p. 12.
^ "Boise, Montana players MVPs" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). Associated Press. November 28, 1974. p. 1B.
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