1981 Idaho State Bengals football team

The 1981 Idaho State Bengals football team represented Idaho State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Bengals were led by second-year head coach Dave Kragthorpe and played their home games at the ASISU Minidome (now Holt Arena), an indoor venue on campus in Pocatello, Idaho.

1981 Idaho State Bengals football
NCAA Division I-AA champion Big Sky champion
Division I-AA Championship Game, W 34–23 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 2
Record	12–1 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Dave Kragthorpe (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	ASISU Minidome
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Idaho State $^	6	–	1	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Boise State ^	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	3	–	0
Montana	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Nevada	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Weber State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Montana State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Idaho	0	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Committee poll

Quarterbacked by senior Mike Machurek, the Bengals won the Big Sky championship with a 6–1 record and were 9–1 overall in the regular season. The sole loss was at Montana, when Machurek remained in Pocatello with mononucleosis, and backup Dirk Koetter filled in;^[1][2] the Griz kicked a late field goal to win by three points in Missoula.^[3]

In the eight-team Division I-AA playoffs, Idaho State easily won two home playoff games, then secured their only national championship in the Pioneer Bowl at Wichita Falls, Texas. The Bengals defeated Eastern Kentucky 34–23 in the title game to finish with a 12–1 record,^[4] just two years removed from a winless season.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Eastern Washington*		ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 34–10	8,005	[5]
September 19	at Boise State		Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		W 21–10	20,486	[6]
September 26	Nevada	No. 3	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 23–7	9,883	[7]
October 3	Northern Arizona	No. 3	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 31–6	11,284	[8]
October 10	at Portland State*	No. 2	Civic Stadium Portland, OR		W 28–9	2,757	[9]
October 17	at Montana	No. 2	Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT		L 21–24	9,190	[1][3]
October 31	at Idaho	No. 3	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID		W 24–14	10,500	[10]
November 7	Montana State	No. 2	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 31–3	10,468	[11]
November 14	Utah State*	No. 2	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 50–24	12,008	[12]
November 21	Weber State	No. 2	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID		W 33–30 3OT	13,444	[13]
December 5	Rhode Island*	No. 2	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		W 51–0	12,153	[14]
December 12	No. 3 South Carolina State*	No. 2	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		W 41–12	12,300	[15]
December 19	vs. No. 1 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game—Pioneer Bowl)	ABC	W 34–23	11,002	[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[17][18]

• The regular season finale against Weber State went to triple overtime;^[13] the Big Sky introduced overtime for conference games the previous season, and this was its first-ever usage.^[19]

Roster

1981 Idaho State Bengals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class LT Dan Taylor Jr LG Ken Noel Sr C Jim Lane Jr RG Ken Bacon Jr RT Steve Anderson Sr TE Rod Childs Sr QB 19 Mike Machurek Sr QB 12 Dirk Koetter Sr FB Rick Ambrosi Sr TB Dwaine Wilson Sr FL Charles Ewing Sr SE Jerry Bird Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LDT Chuck Wiefels Jr NG George Semons Sr RDT John Naut Sr SOLB John Olivia Jr SILB Lem Galeai Sr WILB Bill Snapp Jr WOLB Dave Walser Sr LCB Matt Courtney So SS John Berry So FS Reggie Chapman Jr RCB Willie Allen Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK, P 3 Case deBruijn Sr	Head coach Dave Kragthorpe (2nd year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim Koetter – (QB, WR) Marvin Lewis – (LB) Mike Sheppard – (assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:^[20]

All-conference

Five Bengals were named to the all-conference team: quarterback Mike Machurek (unanimous), tight end Rod Childs, linebacker Dave Walser, defensive back Matt Courtney (sophomore), and punter Case de Bruijn. The second team included linebacker Lem Galei (sophomore) and de Bruijn at placekicker.^[21][22][23] Honorable mention were wide receivers Jerry Bird and Charles Ewing, tackle Steve Anderson, tailback Dwain Wilson, and linebacker Bill Snapp.^[22][23]

NFL draft

Two Bengal seniors were selected in the 1982 NFL draft, which lasted 12 rounds with 334 selections.^[24]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
6	154	Mike Machurek	Quarterback	Detroit Lions
8	214	Case deBruijn	Punter/Kicker	Kansas City Chiefs