1992 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1992 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals, led by fourth-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the Big Sky Conference and played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.

1992 Idaho Vandals football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
1992 record9–3 (6–1 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorScott Linehan (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCraig Bray [1] (3rd season)
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
1992 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Idaho $^ 6 –1 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 14 Eastern Washington ^ 6 –1 –0  7 –4 –0
Weber State 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Montana 4 –3 –0  6 –5 –0
Boise State 3 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Northern Arizona 2 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Montana State 2 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Idaho State 1 –6 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll

Regular season

Led by junior quarterback Doug Nussmeier, Idaho finished the regular season at 9–2 and 6–1 in the Big Sky. The Vandals were co-champions with Eastern Washington, whom they defeated 38–21 in Cheney in mid-October.[2] Idaho began the season at ninth in the I-AA rankings,[3] and won its first six games, including a win at Division I-A Colorado State of the WAC.[4][5] After the win at EWU, they climbed to second in the rankings.[6]

Five days later, Idaho lost by one point at top-ranked Northern Iowa,[7] then lost the Little Brown Stein at home to unranked Montana two weeks later.[8][9] In the regular season finale with rival Boise State,[10] the Vandals won for the eleventh consecutive year, 62–16, for their sixth straight victory at Bronco Stadium.

This is Idaho's most recent Big Sky football title. They moved up to Division I-A in 1996, but are scheduled to return to the conference for football in 2018.

Division I-AA playoffs

After missing the postseason the previous year for the first time since 1984,[11] the Vandals returned to the 16-team I-AA playoffs and were ranked fifth in the regular season's final poll.[12] They hosted in the first round,[13] but lost to #11 McNeese State of Louisiana.[14]

Notable players and coaches

Junior quarterback Nussmeier, a four-year starter (1990–93), was the conference offensive player of the year, an All-American, and won the Walter Payton Award in 1993.[15][16] He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 1994 NFL Draft and played several seasons as a reserve prior to starting his career as a coach. Also a four-year starter, senior defensive end Jeff Robinson was an All-American and a two-time Big Sky defensive player of the year.[17] Selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL Draft, Robinson was later a tight end and played in the NFL through 2009, extending his career as a long snapper. He was a member of the St. Louis Rams for Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVI. Junior placekicker Mike Hollis, a junior college transfer, had a seven-year career in the NFL, which included a Pro Bowl.

Former Vandal quarterback Scott Linehan,[11][18] a future NFL head coach, was the offensive coordinator and two future Vandal head coaches were on the staff: Nick Holt (defensive line) and Paul Petrino (receivers).

With the win over Boise State, Smith became the winningest head coach in school history at 33–14, passing his former boss Dennis Erickson.[19] He stayed another two seasons and remains the Vandals' all-time leader with 53 wins, followed by Erickson at 36 (an additional season in 2006), and Chris Tormey at 33.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:05 pmSt. Cloud State (Div. II)*No. 9
W 42–97,750
September 1211:05 amat Colorado State (Div. I-A)*No. 9
W 37–3418,573
September 191:05 pmWeber StateNo. 6
W 52–2411,400
October 31:05 pmCal State Northridge (Div. II)*No. 5
W 30–76,700
October 101:05 pmIdaho StateNo. 4
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, Idaho [24]
W 49–1814,500
October 171:05 pmat No. 16 Eastern WashingtonNo. 3
W 38–216,879
October 244:30 pmat No. 1 Northern Iowa*No. 2
KHQL 26–2716,324
October 311:05 pmNorthern ArizonaNo. 3
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, Idaho [25]
W 53–14
November 711:05 amat MontanaNo. 2
PSNL 29–4710,331
November 141:05 pmMontana StateNo. 6
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, Idaho [26]
W 28–79,300
November 2111:05 amat Boise StateNo. 5
PSNW 62–1622,472
November 281:05 pmNo. 11 McNeese State (LA)*No. 5
L 20–236,000

NFL Draft

One Vandal senior was selected in the 1993 NFL Draft, which was eight rounds (224 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Jeff RobinsonDE4th98Denver Broncos

One Vandal junior was selected in the following year's draft in 1994, which was seven rounds (222 selections).

PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Doug NussmeierQB4th116New Orleans Saints

References
  1. "College Football; WSU hires Bray; UI moves Holt to D coordinator". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. May 4, 1994. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. Sahlberg, Bert (October 18, 1992). "Vandals Sky over Eagles". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  3. "Division I-AA preseason poll". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. Associated Press. August 24, 1992. p. 2C.
  4. Jacobson, Bryan (September 14, 1992). "Weekend road sweep". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  5. Meehan, Jim (September 14, 1992). "Vandals celebrate comeback victory". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C6.
  6. "UI rises to No. 2". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. October 20, 1992. p. 1B.
  7. Sahlberg, Bert (October 25, 1992). "No. 1 just one point better than Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  8. Jacobson, Bryan (November 9, 1992). "Vandals face underachieving Grizzlies". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1D.
  9. Jacobson, Bryan (November 9, 1992). "Vandals embarrassed at Montana". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  10. Jacobson, Bryan (November 21, 1992). "Vandals look too strong for Broncos". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1D.
  11. Meehan, Jim (August 27, 1992). "Vandals in a rush to win games". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  12. "I-AA poll". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. Associated Press. November 23, 1992. p. 2C.
  13. Jacobson, Bryan (November 23, 1992). "Vandals get surprise and open playoffs in Dome". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 3C.
  14. Jacobson, Bryan (November 30, 1992). "End of the line". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  15. Sahlberg, Bert (December 13, 1993). "Nussmeier wins Payton award". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  16. Miedema, Laurence (December 13, 1993). "Nussmeier wins highest honor". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  17. "Vandals pull down Big Sky MVPs". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 4, 1992. p. 1B.
  18. Jacobson, Bryan (August 22, 1992). "Back in the fold". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1D.
  19. Meehan, Jim (November 26, 1992). "UI wants to reward Smith before he's wooed away". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C4.
  20. Sahlberg, Bert (October 4, 1992). "UI storms by St. Cloud State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  21. Sahlberg, Bert (September 20, 1992). "Shootout turns into massacre". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  22. Jacobson, Bryan (September 21, 1992). "Romp in the Dome". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  23. Sahlberg, Bert (October 4, 1992). "No sweat, no spark". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  24. Sahlberg, Bert (October 11, 1992). "Vandals go by Murphy's Law". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
  25. Jacobson, Bryan (November 2, 1992). "Vandals soar, Cougars crash". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
  26. Jacobson, Bryan (November 16, 1992). "UI sails over MSU". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Idaho-Washington. p. 1C.
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