1976 Idaho Vandals football team

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1976 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record7–4 (5–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJohn McMahon (1st season)
Offensive schemeVeer
Defensive coordinatorAndy Christoff (3rd season)
Base defense5–2[1]
Captains
  • Barry Hopkins (SS)
  • John Kirtland (LB)
  • Wil Overgaard (OT)[2]
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
Seasons
← 1975
1977 →
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

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 116:30 pmat Boise State
W 16–920,549
September 187:30 pmat Pacific (CA)*
W 31–2811,769
September 2511:30 amat Ohio*
L 0–3513,710
October 21:30 pmat Washington State*
L 6–4520,000
October 98:00 pmNew Mexico State*
W 33–610,166
October 168:00 pmWeber Statedagger
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
W 45–1715,607
October 2312:30 pmat No. 7 Montana State
L 14–295,400[7]
October 307:00 pmat Idaho State
W 6–39,625
November 612:00 pmat Colorado State*
L 14–3117,536
November 138:00 pmMontana
W 28–199,396
November 208:00 pmNorthern Arizona
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
W 31–147,160[5][6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Roster[edit]

1976 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
SE 6 Ron Loveall
SE 11 Jett 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 Imelio
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
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt
Source:[2][25][26][27]

All-conference[edit]

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.[28][29]

NFL Draft[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ "Troxel claims defense key at Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. September 7, 1977. p. 42.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c Payne, Bob (November 21, 1976). "Vandals clobber Northern Arizona". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1D.
  6. ^ a b English, Sue (November 22, 1976). "Year tabbed "great" by Idaho grid boss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 31.
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 2, 1976. p. 13.
  26. ^ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 16, 1976. p. 15.
  27. ^ "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 13, 1976. p. 15.
  28. ^ "Big Sky all-stars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1976. p. 27.
  29. ^ "Six Vandals on Sky stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 25, 1976. p. 112.

External links[edit]

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