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The 1953 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1953 college football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Raymond A. Curfman and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with two games in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
| 1953 Idaho Vandals football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Pacific Coast Conference |
| Record | 1–8 (0–3 PCC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Neale Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 UCLA $ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Stanford | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Led on the field by quarterback George Eidam, Idaho compiled a 1–8 record and were winless in their three PCC games.
The Vandals suffered another loss in the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, falling, 30–13, at Neale Stadium on October 17.[1][2] It ran the winless streak against the Cougars to 27 games, a record of 0–25–2 since taking three straight from 1923 to 1925; the Vandals broke the streak the next year in Pullman under new head coach Skip Stahley.[3]
In the rivalry game with Montana at Missoula two weeks earlier, the Vandals ran their winning streak over the Grizzlies to three and retained the Little Brown Stein.[4] Idaho scored twenty unanswered points to win 20–12,[5] in their sole victory of the season.[6][7][8][9]
Curfman made headlines in 1953 as his overmatched Vandals struggled in conference play in the PCC,[10] and was under fire from alumni and boosters after a disappointing season.[6][7][8][9] Following his resignation in December,[11][12][13] he was hired as the business manager for the Spokane Indians minor league baseball team in January 1954.[14]
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| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 18 | 7:00 pm | at San Jose State* | L 6–34 | 12,000 | [15][16] | |
| September 26 | 7:00 pm | at Utah* | L 0–21 | 17,361 | [17][18][19] | |
| October 3 | at Montana* | W 20–12 | [4][5] | |||
| October 10 | 1:00 pm | vs. BYU* | L 14–20 | 8,600 | [20][21] | |
| October 17 | 2:00 pm | Washington State | L 13–30 | 10,880 | [1][2] | |
| October 24 | 2:00 pm | Oregon State |
| L 0–19 | 9,200 | [22][23] |
| November 7 | 1:30 pm | at Oregon | L 6–25 | 10,000 | [24][25][26] | |
| November 14 | 1:30 pm | Pacific (CA)* |
| L 0–33 | 3,000 | [27][28] |
| November 21 | 1:00 pm | vs. Utah State* |
| L 7–19 | 5,000 | [29][30][31] |
| ||||||
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- Chuck Gottfried, line
- Dixie B. White, backs
- Mack Flenniken, ends
- Clem Parberry, freshmen
No Vandals were on the All-PCC team; fullback Flip Kleffner was named to the second team and center Mel Bertrand was honorable mention.[32][33][34]
One senior from the 1953 Vandals was selected in the 1954 NFL draft:[35]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Mel Bertrand | C | 29th | 349 | Detroit Lions |
One junior was selected in the 1955 NFL draft:[36]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
| Burdette Hess | G | 15th | 178 | San Francisco 49ers |
- Often incorrectly listed as a UI Vandal, tackle Norm Hayes (1954 draft, #217) played at the College of Idaho in Caldwell.[37]
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