1981 Idaho State Bengals football team

The 1981 Idaho State Bengals football team represented Idaho State University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. A charter member of the Big Sky Conference, the Bengals were led by second year head coach Dave Kragthorpe and played their home games at the ASISU MiniDome, later renamed Holt Arena, an indoor venue on campus in Pocatello, Idaho.

1981 Idaho State Bengals football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
Big Sky champion
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Ranking
APNo. 2
1981 record12–1 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumASISU Minidome
(Capacity: 12,000)
1981 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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 Poll

Led by senior quarterback Mike Machurek, the Bengals won the Big Sky championship with a 6–1 record, and were 9–1 overall in the regular season. In the eight-team NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, they won two home playoff games, then won their only national football championship to date in the Pioneer Bowl played in Wichita Falls, Texas. ISU defeated Eastern Kentucky, 34–23, to finish the season with a 12–1 record.[1]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12Eastern Washington*
W 34–108,005
Sep 19at Boise State
W 21–1020,486
Sep 26NevadaNo. 3
  • ASISU Minidome
  • Pocatello, ID
W 23–79,883
October 3Northern ArizonaNo. 3
  • ASISU Minidome
  • Pocatello, ID
W 31–611,284
October 10at Portland State*No. 2
W 28–92,757
October 17at MontanaNo. 2
L 21–249,190
October 31at IdahoNo. 3
W 24–1410,500
November 7Montana StateNo. 2
  • ASISU Minidome
  • Pocatello, ID
W 31–310,468
November 14Utah State*No. 2
  • ASISU Minidome
  • Pocatello, ID
W 50–2412,008
November 21Weber StateNo. 2
  • ASISU Minidome
  • Pocatello, ID[2]
W 33–30 3OT13,444
December 5Rhode Island*No. 2
W 51–012,153
December 12No. 3 South Carolina State*No. 2
W 41–1212,300
December 19vs. No. 1 Eastern Kentucky*No. 2
ABCW 34–2311,002
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[3][4]

The regular season finale against Weber State went to triple overtime.[2]
The Big Sky introduced overtime for conference games the previous season, and this was its first-ever usage.[5]

Roster
1981 Idaho State Bengals football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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 Dwain Wilson Sr
FL Charles Ewing Sr
SE Jerry Bird Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
PK, P 3 Case deBruijn Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt
Source:[6]

NFL Draft

Two Bengal seniors were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (334 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Mike MachurekQB6th154Detroit Lions
Case deBruijnP, PK8th214Kansas City Chiefs

References
  1. "Bengals ride like the wind". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 20, 1981. p. 2D.
  2. "ISU clinches title, Boise wants berth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 23, 1981. p. C4.
  3. "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via ncaa.org.
  4. "Idaho State Bengals 1981 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  5. Kasper, John (September 25, 2013). "No. 48 Big Sky Innovation". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  6. "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. October 31, 1981. p. 3C.
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