1938 Idaho Vandals football team

1938 Idaho Vandals football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record6–3–1 (2–3–1 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumNeale Stadium
Seasons
← 1937
1939 →
1938 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 USC + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 14 California + 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
UCLA 4 – 3 – 1 7 – 4 – 1
Oregon State 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Oregon 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Washington 3 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1
Idaho 2 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Stanford 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Washington State 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Montana 0 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1938 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1938 college football season. The Vandals were led by fourth-year head coach Ted Bank and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus in Moscow at Neale Stadium, in its second season.

Led on the field by passing halfback Hal Roise, Idaho compiled a 6–3–1 overall record and were 2–3–1 in the PCC.

After an opening win at Oregon State,[1] the Vandals went to Husky Stadium in Seattle and tied Washington,[2][3] breaking a 13-game losing streak to the Huskies. The teams previously tied in 1907 and Idaho's only wins came in 1900 and 1905; the Huskies have won all 19 games in this series since, all in Seattle, last meeting in 2016.

Late October marked the 25th game with Montana and the first for the Little Brown Stein trophy. With the 19–6 win in Missoula on homecoming,[4] Idaho extended its series advantage over the Grizzlies to 19–5–1 (.780).

In the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, the Vandals suffered an eleventh straight loss,[5] falling 12–0 in the snow at homecoming on November 12.[6][7] It was the Cougars' first visit to and Idaho's first loss in Neale Stadium, which opened the previous year; the Vandals had won the first five games played there. The next win over Washington State came in 1954.

Idaho finished the season with a two-game road trip to the state of Utah.[8] Using their second string, the Vandals won 14–0 over Utah State of Logan in Ogden;[9] five days later they won 16–0 over undefeated Mountain States conference champion Utah in Salt Lake City on Thanksgiving.[10]

The six wins were the most for the UI program and was not improved upon for 33 more years, until the 8–3 season in 1971 under Don Robbins. It was also the only winning season for a quarter century, until Dee Andros' 1963 team posted a 5–4 mark. In between, three teams had even .500 records: 1947, 1952, and 1957. This was the last season in which the Vandals recorded two PCC wins; the conference disbanded in the spring of 1959. They did not have consecutive winning seasons again until 1983, the second of fifteen straight.

Future coaches (and administrators) that played on this team included seniors Steve Belko, Tony Knap, and Lyle Smith.

  1. ^ "Idaho dumps Staters". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 25, 1938. p. 11.
  2. ^ "Washington held to 12-12 deadlock by fighting Idaho grid team". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 2, 1938. p. 10.
  3. ^ "Idaho and Washington struggle to 12 to 12 score". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 2, 1938. p. 1, sports.
  4. ^ "Idaho spoils Montana home-coming contest, 19 to 6". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 30, 1938. p. 1, sports.
  5. ^ "Washington State has edge over Vandals in grid wins". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 11, 1938. p. 12.
  6. ^ "Light fall of snow brings warmer weather for the football game at Moscow". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 12, 1938. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Washington State springs grid surprise by defeating Idaho, 12 to 0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 13, 1938. p. 1, sports.
  8. ^ "Utah football fans are eager". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 19, 1938. p. 15.
  9. ^ "Idaho second-stringers roll up yardage and defeat Utah State, 14-0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 20, 1938. p. 1, sports.
  10. ^ Warden, Al (November 25, 1938). "Idaho machine rolls over Utah". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 11.