1986 Idaho Vandals football team

1986 Idaho Vandals football
1986 Idaho Vandals football
Div. I-AA First Round, L 7–27 vs. Nevada
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	8–4 (5–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Keith Gilbertson (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Bill Diedrick (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Single-back spread
Defensive coordinator	Kent Baer (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Kibbie Dome
	Seasons ← 1985 1987 →

1986 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Nevada $^	7	–	0	–	0	13	–	1	–	0
No. 16 Idaho ^	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Montana*	4	–	4	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Boise State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Weber State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Montana State	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Idaho State*	1	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant * – Montana and Idaho State played twice. Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

The 1986 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coach Keith Gilbertson, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Continuing upon the success of the previous four seasons under Dennis Erickson, the Vandals were defending conference champions and finished the regular season at 8–3 and 5–2 in the Big Sky, tied for second. Led by senior quarterback Scott Linehan, Idaho qualified for the I-AA playoffs for the second straight season.^[1]

Notable games

The Vandals defeated rival Boise State for the fifth consecutive year, the fifth of twelve straight over the Broncos, but lost twice to Nevada, who were top-ranked in I-AA and undefeated in the regular season.^[2] Uncommon for a playoff team, the Vandals were shut out at home 24–0 by Northern Arizona in late October.^[3]

Division I-AA playoffs

The playoffs were expanded from 12 to 16 teams in 1986 NCAA Division I-AA football season, eliminating the first round bye for the top four seeds. Idaho and Big Sky champion Nevada were the only two teams selected from the West, and were paired up in the first round in Reno two days after Thanksgiving. In mid-October the teams played a close defensive game, and the Vandals came up short by four points.^[4] The rematch in the post-season was not close as the Wolf Pack prevailed 27–7,^[2] improving their record over Idaho to 8–1 since joining the Big Sky in 1979.

Notable players

The 1986 team included two future NFL head coaches: quarterback Scott Linehan^[5] and offensive lineman Tom Cable. Future NFL players with lengthy pro careers included guard Mark Schlereth (redshirt sophomore) and redshirt freshman John Friesz, a future collegiate hall of fame quarterback was Linehan's back-up in 1986. Friesz was a three-year starter (1987–89) and defeated Nevada-Reno all three seasons, including the first-ever victory in Reno in 1988.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 6	6:30 pm	Portland State (D-II)*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	W 42–10
September 13	10:00 am	at Central Michigan (Div. I-A)*		Perry Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, Michigan	L 21–34
September 20	1:00 pm	Cal State Fullerton (Div. I-A)*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho ^[6]	W 25–17	12,500
September 27	1:00 pm	at No. 6 Eastern Washington*		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 27–10	7,835
October 4	6:30 pm	Idaho State	No. 17	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho (rivalry)	W 38–26	9,500
October 18	1:00 pm	at No. 1 Nevada	No. 12	Mackay Stadium Reno, Nevada	L 17–23	13,825
October 25	6:30 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 15	Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	L 0–24
November 1	12:00 pm	at Montana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (Little Brown Stein)	W 38–31
November 8	6:30 pm	Montana State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	W 44–17
November 15	6:30 pm	Weber State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho	W 31–17
November 22	12:30 pm	at Boise State	No. 20	Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho (rivalry)	W 21–14	21,275
November 29	12:00 pm	at No. 1 Nevada*	No. 16	Mackay Stadium Reno, Nevada (Div. I-AA playoffs)	L 7–27	13,715
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA (Div. I-AA) All times are in Pacific time

Source:^[2]^[3]

Roster

1986 Idaho Vandals football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`10`	Scott Linehan	Sr
QB	`17`	John Friesz	Fr
RB		Freddie Lloyd	Sr
RB		Todd Hoiness	So
RB	`32`	Steve Jackson	Sr
WR	`33`	Brant Bengen	Sr
TE		Craig Robinson	Jr
TE		Chris Slater	So
TE, LB		Pete Wilkins	Jr
OT		Paul Taggert	Sr
G		Scott Katz	Jr
C		Phil Benson	Jr
G		Troy Wright	Fr
OT		Greg Hale	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
SS	`13`	Chris Able	So
FS	`16`	Mark Tidd	Sr
CB	`29`	Virgil Paulson	Jr
SS		Dan McCanna	Jr
LB	`38`	Tom Hennessey	Sr
DE, LB		Nolan Harper	Sr
LB		Mike Cox	Sr
LB		Dave Parker	Sr
LB		Shawn Nilsson	Sr
DT, OL	`60`	Mark Schlereth	So
DT		Craig Dowdy
DE		Kord Smith	Jr
DE		Troy Ballard	Sr
DT		Charlie Porter	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Brian Decicio	So
P	`7`	Darin Magnuson	Sr

Head coach

Keith Gilbertson (1st year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Bill Diedrick (OC)
Kent Baer (DC)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Source:^[7]^[8]

All-conference

Linebacker Tom Hennessey was a repeat selection to the all-conference team.^[9]^[10] Eight Vandals were included on the second team: safety Mark Tidd, linebacker Nolan Harper, defensive end Kord Smith, quarterback Scott Linehan, running back Steve Jackson, wide receiver Brant Bengen, and tackles Paul Taggert and Greg Hale.^[9]

References

^ Boling, Dave (December 3, 1986). "Dennis who?". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. D1.
^ ^a ^b ^c Stoffer, Jeff (December 1, 1986). "UI no obstruction for top-rated Reno". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 9.
^ ^a ^b "Idaho 1985-89". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
^ Boling, Dave (October 19, 1986). "Idaho fumbles a chance to beat Reno, 17-13". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
^ "Hennessey again on first team". Idahonian. Moscow. Associated Press. December 3, 1986. p. 8.
^ "Idaho 25, CS Fullerton 17". The Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1986. p. III-19. Retrieved February 12, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Starting line-ups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 20, 1986. p. 4B.
^ "Starting line-ups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 27, 1986. p. 3B.
^ ^a ^b "Hennessey honored in Sky". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). December 3, 1986. p. D3.
^ "Hennessey again on first team". Idahonian. (Moscow). Associated Press. December 3, 1986. p. 8.