1941 Idaho Vandals football team

1941 Idaho Vandals football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record4–5 (0–4 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumNeale Stadium
Seasons
← 1940
1942 →
1941 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 12 Oregon State $ 7 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Washington 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
No. 19 Washington State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Stanford 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Oregon 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
UCLA 3 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
California 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
USC 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Montana 1 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Idaho 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1941 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1941 college football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Francis Schmidt,[1] and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference.

Idaho was ranked at No. 103 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.[2]

Home games were played on campus in Moscow at Neale Stadium, with one game in Boise at Public School Field.

Schmidt, age 55, was a longtime college football head coach, most recently in the Big Ten Conference at Ohio State University (1934–1940),[3][4][5] where he was followed by a 32-year-old high school coach named Paul Brown.[6] Schmidt was hired at Idaho in March to succeed six-year head coach Ted Bank.[7][8][9][10]

The Vandals were 4–5 overall in 1941 and 0–4 in conference play. They did not play any of the four teams from California teams or Washington.

Idaho opened with a homecoming loss to Utah and then played Friday night road games in consecutive weeks, their first under the lights in nine years (last at UCLA in 1932). They split these two, both with the same score (21–7), losing at Oregon[11][12] and winning at Gonzaga.[13][14][15] Not known at the time, it was the last-ever game against Gonzaga, as the Bulldogs put their football program on hold after this season due to World War II and never resumed it. The teams had played nearly every year for three decades.

In the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, the Vandals suffered a fourteenth straight loss, falling 26–0 at Rogers Field in Pullman on November 8.[16][17][18] Idaho's most recent win in the series was a sixteen years earlier in 1925 and the next was thirteen years away, in 1954.

The next week, Idaho's losing streak to Montana in the Little Brown Stein rivalry was extended to a rare three years with a 16-point shutout at Moscow.[19][20] While Montana was in the PCC (through 1949), the loser of the game was frequently last in the conference standings. The final game seven days later was also a shutout, a 39–0 victory over Montana State in Boise.[21]

  1. ^ "Oregon meets deceptive Idaho team of tricky coach Smith". Eugene Register-Guard. September 28, 1941. p. 6.
  2. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 26, 1941). "Gophers Grid Kings Over 6-Year Span: Tennessee 2d, Pitt 3d Over Period Litkenhous Ratins Are Published". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Howell, Fritz (December 17, 1940). "Schmidt, entire Ohio State grid coaching staff resign". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 22.
  4. ^ Newman, Larry (December 17, 1940). "Schmidt and staff quit at Ohio State". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). International News Service. p. 26.
  5. ^ "Francis Schmidt steps down at Ohio State". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 17, 1940. p. 14.
  6. ^ Howell, Fritz (January 15, 1941). "Brown prepares to select assistants". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 19.
  7. ^ "Schmidt named coach at Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 17, 1941. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Schmidt gets job at Idaho". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. March 17, 1941. p. 9.
  9. ^ "Francis Schmidt is signed as new Idaho grid mentor". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 17, 1941. p. 12.
  10. ^ "Francis Schmidt, formerly of Ohio State, is chosen head football coach at Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. March 17, 1941. p. 6.
  11. ^ Strite, Dick (October 3, 1941). "Oregon-Idaho grid skirmish tonight". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1.
  12. ^ ""Touchdown Twins" pace Oregon's easy win over Idaho, 21-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 4, 1941. p. 6.
  13. ^ "W.S.C. fullback outlook better; Idaho, Gonzaga primed". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 10, 1941. p. 11.
  14. ^ Stark, Charles R. Jr. (October 11, 1941). "Idaho outplays Gonzaga before 8000 fans and wins football game". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 9.
  15. ^ Ashlock, Herb. "Schmidt's improving Idaho eleven defeats Gonzaga, 21-7". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 9.
  16. ^ "WSC is host to Idaho team". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 8, 1941. p. 10.
  17. ^ Small, Collie (November 9, 1941). "Last half splurge wins for WSC, 26-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. p. 6.
  18. ^ "Twelve yard gain by Vandal halfback goes for naught". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (photo). November 10, 1941. p. 11.
  19. ^ "Montana takes lead of 13 to 0 over Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 15, 1941. p. 1.
  20. ^ Stark, Charles R. Jr. (November 15, 1941). "Montana gains muddy win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  21. ^ "Idaho easily wins grid game". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 23, 1941. p. 7, sports.