1931 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1931 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1931 college football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Leo Calland, and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus in Moscow at MacLean Field, with none in Boise this season.

1931 Idaho Vandals football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record3–4 (1–4 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumMacLean Field
Seasons
← 1930
1932 →
1931 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 USC $ 7 0 0 10 1 0
California 4 1 0 8 2 0
Oregon 3 1 1 6 2 2
Washington State 4 3 0 6 4 0
Washington 3 3 1 5 3 1
Stanford 2 2 1 7 2 2
Oregon State 1 3 1 6 3 1
Idaho 1 4 0 3 4 0
UCLA 0 3 0 3 4 1
Montana 0 5 0 1 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Dickinson System

Idaho compiled a 3–4 overall record and lost all but one of its five games in the PCC. The Vandals were led on the field by undersized sophomore quarterback Wee Willie Smith, then known as "Little Giant" Willis Smith of Boise.[1][2] Three years later in 1934, he was a backup in the NFL with the New York Giants in their championship season.[3]

In the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, the Vandals suffered a fourth straight loss, falling by one point at Rogers Field in Pullman on November 7.[4][5] Idaho's most recent win in the series was six years earlier in 1925 and the next was 23 years away in 1954.

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26Whitman*W 32–7[6]
October 3at OregonL 0–910,000[7]
October 10Montana
W 21–19[8]
October 17at WashingtonL 7–3810,000[9]
October 31Gonzaga* 
W 7–65,000[1][10]
November 7at Washington StateL 8–910,000[11]
November 14at CaliforniaL 0–1815,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming

All-conference

edit

No Vandals were named to the All-Coast team; honorable mention were center Arthur Spaugy, guard Elmer Martin, and sophomore quarterback Willis Smith.[13][14]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Idaho takes Bulldogs in hard-fought battle". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 2, 1931. p. 12.
  2. ^ "Prospects point to first close Cougar-Vandal battle for four long years". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 6, 1931. p. 25.
  3. ^ McLemore, Henry (December 7, 1934). "Hank interviews "Little Giant" Smith of Idaho". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). United Press. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Vandals nearly slough Cougars". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 8, 1931. p. 7.
  5. ^ "Vandals, Cougars give wild-eyed crowd thrill". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. November 9, 1931. p. 12.
  6. ^ "Whitman defeated by Idaho, 32 to 7". Statesman Journal. September 27, 1931. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Oregon barely defeats Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. October 4, 1931. p. 7.
  8. ^ "Vandals victors". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. October 11, 1931. p. 7.
  9. ^ "Washington wins from Idaho 38-7". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. October 18, 1931. p. 8.
  10. ^ "Idaho defeats Gonzaga 7 to 6". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 1, 1931. p. 9.
  11. ^ "Field goal in last two minutes of play gives Washington State 9–8 win over Idaho". The Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1931. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Golden Bears defeat Idaho on home field". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. November 15, 1931. Retrieved June 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Five Trojans selected on first, three on second 1931 All-Pacific Coast eleven". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 3, 1931. p. 16.
  14. ^ Newland, Russell J. (December 4, 1931). "Schwegler only Northern player on All-Pacific Coast star team". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 11.
edit