1981 Idaho State Bengals football team
The 1981 Idaho State Bengals football team represented Idaho State University as a member of 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, later renamed Holt Arena, an indoor venue on campus in Pocatello, Idaho. 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. In the eight-team NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, they won two home playoff games, then won their only national championship to date in the Pioneer Bowl played in Wichita Falls, Texas. Idaho State defeated Eastern Kentucky, 34–23, in the title game to finish the season with a 12–1 record.[1]
| 1981 Idaho State Bengals football | |
|---|---|
NCAA Division I-AA champion Big Sky champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, W 34–23 vs. Eastern Kentucky | |
| Conference | Big Sky Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 2 |
| 1981 record | 12–1 (6–1 Big Sky) |
| Head coach |
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| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Home stadium | ASISU Minidome (capacity: 12,000) |
| 1981 Big Sky Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | Eastern Washington* | W 34–10 | 8,005 | ||||
| September 19 | at Boise State | W 21–10 | 20,486 | ||||
| September 26 | Nevada | No. 3 |
| W 23–7 | 9,883 | ||
| October 3 | Northern Arizona | No. 3 |
| W 31–6 | 11,284 | ||
| October 10 | at Portland State* | No. 2 | W 28–9 | 2,757 | |||
| October 17 | at Montana | No. 2 | L 21–24 | 9,190 | |||
| October 31 | at Idaho | No. 3 | W 24–14 | 10,500 | |||
| November 7 | Montana State | No. 2 |
| W 31–3 | 10,468 | ||
| November 14 | Utah State* | No. 2 |
| W 50–24 | 12,008 | ||
| November 21 | Weber State | No. 2 |
| W 33–30 3OT | 13,444 | [2] | |
| December 5 | Rhode Island* | No. 2 |
| W 51–0 | 12,153 | ||
| December 12 | No. 3 South Carolina State* | No. 2 |
| W 41–12 | 12,300 | ||
| December 19 | vs. No. 1 Eastern Kentucky* | No. 2 | ABC | W 34–23 | 11,002 | ||
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Source:[6]
NFL Draft
Two Bengal seniors were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds (334 selections).
| Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
| Mike Machurek | QB | 6th | 154 | Detroit Lions |
| Case deBruijn | P, PK | 8th | 214 | Kansas City Chiefs |
References
- "Bengals ride like the wind". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 20, 1981. p. 2D.
- "ISU clinches title, Boise wants berth". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 23, 1981. p. C4.
- "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via ncaa.org.
- "Idaho State Bengals 1981 Schedule". cfbinfo.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- Kasper, John (September 25, 2013). "No. 48 Big Sky Innovation". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. October 31, 1981. p. 3C.