1986 Idaho Vandals football team

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.

1986 Idaho Vandals football
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 7–27 at 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 ^	8	–	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

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	Source
September 6	6:30 pm	Portland State*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 42–10	8,500	[6]
September 13	10:00 am	at Central Michigan*		Perry Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 21–34	18,201	[7]
September 20	1:00 pm	Cal State Fullerton*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 25–17	12,500	[8]
September 27	1:00 pm	at No. 6 Eastern Washington*		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 27–10	7,835	[9]
October 4	6:30 pm	Idaho State	No. 17	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (rivalry)	W 38–26	9,500	[10]
October 18	1:00 pm	at No. 1 Nevada	No. 12	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 17–23	13,825	[11]
October 25	6:30 pm	Northern Arizona	No. 15	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	L 0–24	10,600	[12]
November 1	12:00 pm	at Montana		Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MY (Little Brown Stein)	W 38–31	7,303	[13]
November 8	6:30 pm	Montana State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 44–17	8,200	[14]
November 15	6:30 pm	Weber State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 31–17	5,917	[15]
November 22	12:30 pm	at Boise State	No. 20	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	W 21–14	21,275	[16]
November 29	12:00 pm	at No. 1 Nevada*	No. 16	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 7–27	13,715	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA (Div. I-AA) All times are in Pacific time

^[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:^[18][19]

All-conference

Linebacker Tom Hennessey was a repeat selection to the all-conference team.^[20][21] 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.^[20]