1995 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record6–5 (4–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Yarno (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorNick Holt[1] (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
(Capacity: 16,000)
Seasons
← 1994
1996 →
1995 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Montana $^ 6 – 1 – 0 13 – 2 – 0
No. 17 Idaho ^ 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
No. 21 Boise State 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
No. 22 Northern Arizona 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Idaho State 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Montana State 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Eastern Washington 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1995 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by first-year head coach Chris Tormey, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho finished the regular season at 6–4 and 4–3 in the Big Sky, their final season in the conference for more than two decades.

Idaho defeated rival Boise State for the thirteenth time in fourteen seasons.[2][3][4][5][6]

Since 1978,[7] the Vandals' football uniforms made prominent use of yellow gold (helmets, pants),[8][9][10] which continued through this season. With the move to up Division I-A in 1996, the shade of gold was changed to metallic.[11]

Division I-AA playoffs

After a slow start, the Vandals defeated the top teams in the conference to make the I-AA playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and the tenth time in eleven seasons under four head coaches.[12][13][14] For the second straight year, Idaho traveled to Louisiana to play McNeese State in the first round; the Cowboys were top-ranked this year and won again, this time by thirty points.[15][16][17] Conference champion Montana lost to Idaho in the Kibbie Dome in mid-season, then went on to win the national championship; it was the Vandals' first win over the Griz since 1990.

Notable players and coaches

Junior defensive end Ryan Phillips was a four-year starter;[18] he moved to outside linebacker as a senior in 1996,[19][20] and was selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played five seasons in the NFL, including Super Bowl XXXV in January 2001.

Future Idaho head coach Nick Holt stayed on the staff as defensive coordinator. New head coach Tormey was an alumnus from Spokane who played defense for the Vandals in the mid-1970s, and was the defensive line coach under Dennis Erickson in 1982 and 1983. He had spent the previous eleven seasons at Washington in Seattle under head coaches Don James and Jim Lambright. First-year offensive coordinator George Yarno moved over from neighboring Washington State, his alma mater, where he was the offensive line coach under Mike Price.[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21:00 pmat Oregon State (Div. I-A)*No. 14
L 7–1432,024[21]
September 163:05 pmSonoma State (Div. II)*No. 16
W 66–313,519
September 3011:07 amat No. 24 Idaho StateNo. 13
L 21–2611,127
October 711:05 amat Montana StateNo. 24
L 13–16  3,117
October 143:05 pmEastern Washingtondagger
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, Idaho
W 37–1014,824
October 213:05 pmNo. 6 Montana
W 55–4314,912[22]
October 2811:05 amat Weber State
L 19–25  8,128
November 45:05 pmat No. 13 Northern Arizona
W 17–1412,371
November 114:35 pmat No. 15 Northern Iowa*
W 16–1216,324
November 183:05 pmNo. 16 Boise StateNo. 25
W 33–1316,295[2][3][4][5][6]
November 255:00 pmat No. 1 McNeese State*No. 17
L 3–3315,736[15][16][17]

Roster

1995 Idaho Vandals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT Spencer Folau Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 96 Ryan Phillips Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt
Source:[23][24][25][26]

References

  1. ^ a b Meehan, Jim (January 25, 1995). "UI move big step for Yarno". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  2. ^ a b Sahlberg, Bert (November 18, 1995). "Playing for pride and..." Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  3. ^ a b Sullivan, Tim (November 18, 1995). "UI, BSU on recovery road". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington).
  4. ^ a b Sahlberg, Bert (November 19, 1995). "Emphatic enough?". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  5. ^ a b "Hisaw guides Idaho to win over Broncos". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 19, 1995. p. C1.
  6. ^ a b Sullivan, Tim (November 20, 1995). "Vandals bury Boise State". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
  7. ^ "Sports, classes combine". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1979. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Rags to riches". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1983. p. 182.
  9. ^ "Caught in the action". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1992. p. 129.
  10. ^ "BSU: Beating another dead horse". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1993. p. 100.
  11. ^ "'96 Vandals will sport new look". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 28, 1996. p. 6B.
  12. ^ Sahlberg, Bert (November 20, 1995). "UI gets invite to I-AA party". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Tim (November 20, 1995). "Vandals to meet playoff nemesis". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
  14. ^ Meehan, Jim (November 20, 1995). "Vandals get shot at No. 1". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
  15. ^ a b Sahlberg, Bert (November 26, 1995). "Run out of town". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  16. ^ a b Sahlberg, Bert (November 27, 1995). "Vandals were bait for those Bayou gators". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  17. ^ a b Sullivan, Tim (November 20, 1995). "MSU ropes Vandals – again". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1C.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Tim (August 18, 1994). "Vandals boast experience on talented defensive line". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1D.
  19. ^ Sullivan, Tim (August 28, 1996). "Linebacker life suits Idaho sack-master Phillips". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  20. ^ Sahlberg, Bert (April 19, 1997). "Idaho: Phillips' daredevil hobby catches recruiters' eyes". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  21. ^ Rodman, Bob (September 3, 1995). "OSU slips up but still beats Idaho". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1F.
  22. ^ Sahlberg, Bert (October 22, 1995). "Vandals tan Grizzlies' hide". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  23. ^ "Idaho at Oregon State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (probable starters). September 2, 1995. p. 5B.
  24. ^ "Idaho at Oregon State". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). (probable starters). September 2, 1995. p. 12D.
  25. ^ "Idaho at Montana State". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). (probable starters). October 7, 1995. p. 10D.
  26. ^ "Boise State at Idaho". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). (probable starters). November 17, 1995. p. 5E.

External links

Idaho Vandals football
1995 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Categories