2023 Idaho Vandals football team

2023 Idaho Vandals football
FCS Quarterfinal,
L 22–30 vs. Albany
ConferenceBig Sky
Ranking
STATSNo. 8
FCS CoachesNo. T–4
Record9–4 (6–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLuke Schleusner (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread option
Defensive coordinatorRob Aurich
(2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumKibbie Dome
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Montana $^   7 – 1     13 – 2  
No. 8 Idaho ^   6 – 2     9 – 4  
No. 9 Montana State ^   6 – 2     8 – 4  
Northern Arizona   5 – 3     5 – 6  
No. 24 UC Davis   5 – 3     7 – 4  
No. 13 Sacramento State ^   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Portland State   4 – 4     5 – 6  
Weber State   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Eastern Washington   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Idaho State   3 – 5     3 – 8  
Cal Poly   1 – 7     3 – 8  
Northern Colorado   0 – 8     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Jason Eck, the Vandals were 8–3 (6–2 in Big Sky, 2nd) in the regular season, and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals drew an average home attendance of 11,737 in 2023.

Seeded fourth in the 24-team FCS playoffs, Idaho received a bye in the first round and hosted two games, but fell in the quarterfinals to Albany to finish at 9–4 (.692).

Preseason

[edit]

Polls

[edit]

On July 23, 2023, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Vandals were predicted to finish fifth in the Big Sky by the coaches and second by the media.[1]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana State 120 (10)
2 UC Davis 96 (1)
3 Sacramento State 94 (1)
4 Weber State 91
5 Idaho 89
6 Montana 84
7 Eastern Washington 52
8 Portland State 45
9 Northern Arizona 44
10 Northern Colorado 37
11 Cal Poly 25
12 Idaho State 15
Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Montana State 447 (26)
2 Idaho 410 (8)
3 Montana 359 (2)
4 Sacramento State 334 (3)
5 UC Davis 330
6 Weber State 320
7 Eastern Washington 216
8 Northern Arizona 178
9 Portland State 167
10 Northern Colorado 109
11 Cal Poly 103
12 Idaho State 69

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 315:00 pmat Lamar*No. 8
ESPN+W 42–17  5,321
September 94:00 p.m.at Nevada*No. 7
KNSN-TVW 33–619,852
September 161:00 p.m.at California*No. 5
P12NL 17–3136,810
September 231:00 p.m.No. 4 Sacramento StateNo. 7
ESPN+W 36–27  9,433
September 301:00 p.m.at No. 19 Eastern WashingtonNo. 4
ESPN+W 44–36  8,347
October 75:00 p.m.at Cal PolyNo. 3
ESPN+W 42–14  6,028
October 147:30 p.m.No. 16 MontanadaggerNo. 3
ESPN2L 21–2314,218
October 281:00 p.m.No. 2 Montana StateNo. 9
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID
ESPN+W 24–2113,073
November 412:00 p.m.at Northern ColoradoNo. 3
ESPN+W 27–13  3,608
November 1112:00 p.m.at Weber StateNo. 4
ESPN+L 29–31  8,741
November 184:00 p.m.Idaho StateNo. 6
ESPN+W 63–21  9,854
December 27:00 p.m.No. 14 Southern Illinois*No. 4
ESPN2W 20–17 OT  9,224
December 97:00 p.m.No. 9 Albany*No. 4
  • Kibbie Dome
  • Moscow, ID (FCS Quarterfinal)
ESPN+L 22–30  9,372
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

[2]

Game summaries

[edit]

at Lamar

[edit]
See also: 2023 Lamar Cardinals football team
No. 8 Idaho Vandals (0–0) at Lamar Cardinals (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 8 Vandals 14 14 7742
Cardinals 0 0 31417

at Provost Umphrey Stadium • Beaumont, TX

  • Date: August 31, 2023
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 97 °F (36 °C) • Wind: E 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 5,321
  • Referee: Craig Hesler
  • TV: ESPN+
Game information

at Nevada

[edit]
See also: 2023 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
No. 7 Idaho Vandals (1–0) at Nevada Wolf Pack (0–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 7 Vandals 14 3 10633
Wolf Pack 3 3 006

at Mackay Stadium • Reno, NV

  • Date: September 9, 2023
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 19,852
  • TV: KNSN-TV

at California

[edit]
See also: 2023 California Golden Bears football team
No. 5 Idaho Vandals (2–0) at California Golden Bears (1–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 5 Vandals 10 7 0017
Golden Bears 0 14 14331

at California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA

  • Date: September 16, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 36,810
  • TV: Pac-12 Network
Game information

vs No. 4 Sacramento State

[edit]
See also: 2023 Sacramento State Hornets football team
No. 4 Sacramento State (3–0) vs No. 7 Idaho Vandals (2–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Hornets 3 7 71027
No. 7 Vandals 3 10 14936

at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID

  • Date: September 23, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, Indoors
  • Game attendance: 9,433
  • Referee: Jake Iverson
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Play-by-Play: Dennis Patchin • Analysis: Ryan Phillips
Game information

at No. 19 Eastern Washington

[edit]
See also: 2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football team
No. 4 Idaho Vandals (3–1) at No. 19 Eastern Washington (2–2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Vandals 7 14 101344
No. 19 Eagles 7 14 7836

at Roos Field • Cheney, WA

  • Date: September 30, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 8,347
  • TV: ESPN+

at Cal Poly

[edit]
See also: 2023 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
No. 3 Idaho Vandals (4–1) at Cal Poly Mustangs (2–3) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Vandals 7 21 7742
Mustangs 0 7 0714

at Mustang Memorial Field • San Luis Obispo, CA

  • Date: October 7, 2023
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 6,028
  • TV: ESPN+

vs No. 16 Montana

[edit]
See also: 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team and Little Brown Stein
No. 16 Montana Grizzlies (5–1) vs No. 3 Idaho Vandals (5–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 16 Grizzlies 10 10 0323
No. 3 Vandals 0 7 01421

at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID

  • Date: October 14, 2023
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 14,218
  • TV: ESPN2

vs No. 2 Montana State

[edit]
See also: 2023 Montana State Bobcats football team
No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (6–1) vs No. 9 Idaho Vandals (5–2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 2 Bobcats 0 0 14721
No. 9 Vandals 3 7 01424

at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID

  • Date: October 28, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 13,073
  • TV: ESPN+

at Northern Colorado

[edit]
See also: 2023 Northern Colorado Bears football team
No. 3 Idaho Vandals (6–2) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–8) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Vandals 3 7 71027
Bears 0 7 0613

at Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO

  • Date: November 4, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game attendance: 3,608
  • TV: ESPN+

at Weber State

[edit]
See also: 2023 Weber State Wildcats football team
No. 4 Idaho Vandals (7–2) at Weber State Wildcats (4–5) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 4 Vandals 3 10 8829
Wildcats 0 14 14331

at Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT

  • Date: November 11, 2023
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 8,741
  • TV: ESPN+

vs Idaho State

[edit]
See also: 2023 Idaho State Bengals football team and Idaho–Idaho State football rivalry
Idaho State Bengals (3–7) vs No. 6 Idaho Vandals (7–3) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bengals 0 0 71421
No. 6 Vandals 28 28 0763

at Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID

  • Date: November 18, 2023
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 9,854
  • TV: ESPN+

Rankings

[edit]
See also: 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS875 (1)74331093464
Coaches13121010533885484

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Montana State Tabbed Preseason Football Favorites". July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 Idaho Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
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