1980 Idaho Vandals football team

1980 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record6–5 (4–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Tripp (3rd season)
Offensive schemeVeer
Defensive coordinatorLeland Kendall [1][2][3] (1st season)
Base defense5–2
CaptainGlen White (posthumous)
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Boise State $^ 6 1 0 10 3 0
Idaho 4 3 0 6 5 0
Nevada 4 3 0 6 4 1
Idaho State* 4 4 0 6 5 0
Weber State* 4 4 0 4 7 0
Montana State 3 4 0 4 6 0
Northern Arizona 3 4 0 5 6 0
Montana 1 6 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

The 1980 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Jerry Davitch and were members of the Big Sky Conference. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

With freshman transfer quarterback Ken Hobart running the veer offense,[4][5] the Vandals were 6–5 overall and 4–3 in the Big Sky to tie for second. Idaho lost to rival Boise State for the fourth straight year. BSU won the Big Sky title in 1980 and competed in the four-team Division I-AA playoffs; the Broncos won the finals over defending champion Eastern Kentucky.

It was the first winning season for the Vandals since 1976 and only the fourth winning record for the football program in over four decades.[6] In early October at 3–1, Idaho was ranked ninth in their first-ever appearance in a national Associated Press poll.[7]

  1. ^ "Idaho names two assistants". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 22, 1980. p. 14.
  2. ^ "Kendall, Groth join UI staff". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 25, 1980. p. 3C.
  3. ^ Stewart, Chuck (September 3, 1980). "Stop 'em". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 23.
  4. ^ Emerson, Paul (March 23, 1980). "Davitch gets second chance at Hobart". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 11D.
  5. ^ Missildine, Harry (September 10, 1980). "Idaho's 'Kamiah Kid': He could be an uncommon football story". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  6. ^ "Idaho Vandals: yearly totals". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "Rating pleases Davitch". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 9, 1980. p. 40.