1974 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1974 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by first-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at new Idaho Stadium, an unlit outdoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.^[3]

1974 Idaho Vandals football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	2–8–1 (2–2–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Ed Troxel (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Dennis Erickson (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Veer[1][2]
Defensive coordinator	Andy Christoff (1st season)
Base defense	5–2[1]
Captains	Mark Fredback (RB) Joe White (SS)
Home stadium	Idaho Stadium
Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Boise State $^	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Montana State	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Idaho	2	–	2	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Montana	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Northern Arizona	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Idaho State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AP small college poll

Troxel was promoted to head coach in December 1973,^[4] after seven seasons at Idaho as an assistant under three head coaches, and several years as head coach of the track team. Before his move north to Moscow in 1967, he was very successful at the high school level at Borah in Boise.^[5] Troxel had previously declined the job in 1970 and days earlier in 1973, but was persuaded to reconsider by player support.^[4][6][7]

Season

With quarterbacks Dave Comstock, Dennis Ballock, and Ken Schrom running the veer offense,^[1][8] the Vandals were 2–8–1 overall and 2–2–1 in the Big Sky.^[9][10]

In the Battle of the Palouse, Idaho suffered a seventh straight loss to neighbor Washington State of the Pac-8, falling 17–10 at Martin Stadium in Pullman on September 21.^[11] In the fourth game with new rival Boise State, the Vandals fell for the third time as the Broncos repeated as conference champions.^[9][12] Idaho did not schedule Northern Arizona until the following season and both played only five games in conference this year.

This was the last year the Vandals played outdoors on campus; its new Idaho Stadium opened in October 1971 in the same footprint as its predecessor, wooden Neale Stadium (1937–1968), and neither venue had lights.^[3] Artificial turf was installed in 1972; the 3M Tartan Turf was the first in the world produced in one continuous piece to allow it to be rolled up on a spool.^[13] Following this season,^[14][15] an arched roof and end walls were constructed in ten months to enclose it and the inaugural indoor game at the renamed Kibbie Dome was played on September 27, 1975.^[16]

Notable players and coaches

Sophomore center John Yarno was a first-team AP All-American as a senior in 1976; he was selected in fourth round of the 1977 NFL draft and played six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the last five as a starter. Although quarterback Ken Schrom was projected as the starter for 1976 as a redshirt junior, he opted to pursue professional baseball after the 1976 baseball draft.^[17] A pitcher, he was a major leaguer for seven seasons and an all-star as a reliever in 1986.

Dennis Erickson, age 27, was in his first year as an offensive coordinator,^[2][18][19] and stayed for two seasons. He left for Fresno State and later San Jose State, then returned to the UI program in 1982 as head coach and the Vandals began a streak of fifteen consecutive winning seasons.

Division I

Through 1977, the Big Sky was a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA in 1978. Idaho maintained its upper division status in the NCAA by playing Division I non-conference opponents (and was ineligible for the Division II postseason).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	12:30 pm	at Air Force*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 0–37	32,364	[20]
September 21	1:30 pm	at Washington State*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	L 10–17	19,300	[11]
September 28	10:30 am	at Villanova*	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	L 7–15	9,857	[21]
October 5	7:00 pm	at Idaho State	ISU Minidome Pocatello, ID	W 28–9	12,000	[22]
October 12	1:30 pm	West Texas State*	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	L 6–21	15,200	[23]
October 19	1:30 pm	Montana	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID (Little Brown Stein)	T 35–35	16,500	[24]
October 26	12:30 pm	at Montana State	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 21–36	6,117	[25]
November 2	12:30 pm	Utah State*	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	L 3–17	5,500	[26]
November 9	12:30 pm	Weber State	Idaho Stadium Moscow, ID	W 38–13	6,000	[27]
November 16	11:30 am	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 21–27	3,712	[28]
November 23	12:30 pm	at Boise State	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	L 29–53	14,486	[9][12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

Roster

1974 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Ken Schrom Fr QB 12 Dennis Ballock Sr QB 14 Dave Comstock Jr FL 20 Kirk Dennis Sr TE 21 Joe Dahlin Fr RB 23 Monty Nash So FL 25 Collie Mack RB 30 Mark Fredback (C) Sr RB 33 Marshall Brantley So RB Robert Brooks Fr RB 42 Rob Dean FB 44 J.C. Chadband Jr TE 45 Kevin McAfee So OL 50 Randy Dorn C 56 John Yarno So RG 51 Mike Kramer Jr LT 62 John Adams Jr LG 65 Kurt Nelson Sr OL 68 Clarence Hough So OL 72 Scott Callahan RT 78 Wil Overgaard So TE 82 Steve Duncanson Jr SE 83 Tim Coles Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS, PK 11 Bill Keilty Jr FS 27 Chuck Love Jr CB 31 Bill Clark So S 37 Barry Hopkins So SS 38 Joe White (C) Sr CB 40 Johnny Sims Jr CB 43 Chris Mooney LB 52 Kevin Robison DT 53 Duke Minium Sr DE 55 Vince Howard Sr LB 58 Kjel Kiilsgaard So LB 59 John Kirtland So LB 61 Mike Siva Jr NG 63 Dave Gallick Jr NG 74 Jim Allen DT 77 Craig Crnick Jr DE 81 Doug Fisher Jr DE 85 Chris Tormey So LB 87 Bill Kirtland DE 88 Mark Hodges Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK, P 7 Steve Tanner PK 16 Chuck Filippini So	Head coach Ed Troxel (1st year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Dennis Erickson (OC) Andy Christoff (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:^{[1][29][30][31]}

All-conference

Two Vandals were named to the Big Sky all-conference team: fullback J.C. Chadband and tight end Steve Duncanson.^[32]

References

1. Payne, Bob (September 8, 1974). "Idaho has some bodies, now..." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 6, sports.
2. "UI's Erickson 'knows'". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 24, 1974. p. 15.
3. Barrows, Bob (November 2, 1974). "Aggies, with 'Sweet Louie,' invade Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 11.
4. Shelledy, Jay (December 20, 1973). "'Trox' changes mind, accepts Vandal grid challenge". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
5. "Vandals name Ed Troxel as defensive line coach". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 24, 1967. p. 12.
6. "Troxel motivated by players' pleas". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. December 20, 1973. p. 27.
7. Emerson, Paul (January 17, 1974). "Idaho AD eyes '75 for 'doming' Idaho Stadium". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 17.
8. "Vandals vs. Cougars: rosters". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 21, 1974. p. 12.
9. "Boise State rips Idaho in shootout". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 24, 1974. p. 1, sports.
10. "Troxel hopes conqueror captures playoff honors". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 25, 1974. p. 17.
11. Brown, Bruce (September 23, 1974). "WSU's potential stays dormant". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 15.
12. Emerson, Paul (November 24, 1974). "Boise State roars past Vandals, 53-29". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
13. "Football field rolls up". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau. Associated Press. February 22, 1973. p. 12.
14. "Idaho Stadium roof near reality as 'gift' aids project approval". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 9, 1974. p. 11.
15. Martin, Vicki (November 9, 1974). "Regents okay stadium roof". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 9.
16. Emerson, Paul (September 28, 1975). "Early ISU burst brings down roof on Vandal debut". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
17. Barrows, Bob (October 25, 1980). "Ken Schrom glad he switched to baseball". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 5B.
18. "Knecht only UI aide to return". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. January 17, 1974. p. 18.
19. "Idaho hires grid coaches". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. UPI. January 18, 1974. p. 6.
20. Payne, Bob (September 15, 1974). "Falcons rip fumbly Idaho". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
21. "Safety big help; Villanova winner". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. September 29, 1974. p. 64.
22. Drosendahl, Glenn (October 6, 1974). "Early-striking Vandals sack Idaho State 28-9". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 15.
23. Emerson, Paul (October 13, 1974). "Buffaloes control Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 15.
24. Drosendahl, Glenn (October 20, 1974). "Idaho, Montana race to 35-35 tie". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 13.
25. Barrows, Bob (October 27, 1974). "MSU spurt spells Idaho loss, 36-21". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 13.
26. Barrows, Bob (November 3, 1974). "Utah St. raps Vandals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 17.
27. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 10, 1974). "Vandals flex muscles, beat Weber 38-13". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 17.
28. Emerson, Paul (November 17, 1974). "Idaho rallies, but not enough". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
29. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 21, 1974. p. 12.
30. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 12, 1974. p. 14.
31. "Rosters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 19, 1974. p. 12.
32. "Boise, Montana players MVPs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 28, 1974. p. 1B.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1975 University of Idaho yearbook – 1974 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1974 editions