1983 Idaho Vandals football team

1983 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record8–3 (4–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDan Cozzetto (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorJohn L. Smith (2nd season)
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Nevada* $^ 6 1 0 10 4 0
No. 12 Idaho State ^ 5 2 0 8 4 0
Idaho 4 3 0 8 3 0
Boise State 4 3 0 6 5 0
Weber State 3 4 0 6 5 0
Montana 3 4 0 4 6 0
Northern Arizona 2 5 0 4 7 0
Montana State 1 6 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Nevada was given a win on the Fremont Cannon after UNLV was forced to forfeit the game after an investigation found that ineligible players had participated in the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

The 1983 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by second-year head coach Dennis Erickson, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Led by senior quarterback Ken Hobart, the Vandals finished 8–3 in the regular season and 4–3 in the Big Sky to tie for third with rival Boise State, whom they defeated in consecutive years for the first time. It was Idaho's first win in Moscow in the series in six tries, and was the second of twelve straight over the Broncos, through 1993.

The Vandals won four of five home games in 1983, losing to Nevada for the fifth year in a row.[1] They also lost to conference runner-up Idaho State;[2][3] both of whom were selected for the 12-team I-AA playoffs.[1] Idaho won all four of its non-conference games, but three were against Division II and NAIA opponents.

Although Idaho missed the postseason, 1983 marked the first time in 45 years that the Vandals had consecutive winning seasons in football, last accomplished in 1938 under head coach Ted Bank.[4] After just two seasons, Erickson's seventeen victories placed him sixth in career wins among Vandal head coaches.[5]

  1. ^ a b Stalwick, Howie (November 21, 1983). "Nevada-Reno, Idaho State in playoffs; Vandals are out". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. C2.
  2. ^ Stalwick, Howie (September 26, 1983). "McMonigle can't celebrate record". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 17.
  3. ^ Stalwick, Howie (November 15, 1983). "Is there still life for the Vandals?". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 18.
  4. ^ College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine – Idaho Vandals – yearly totals – accessed 2011-10-02
  5. ^ Ramsdell, Paul (November 28, 1983). "Vandals post an 8-3 record and hope for more". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.