2023 Idaho Vandals football
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
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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.

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

Polls

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

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

at Lamar

No. 8 Idaho Vandals (0–0) at Lamar Cardinals (0–0) – Game summary
Period 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 attendance: 5,321
  • TV: ESPN+

at Nevada

No. 7 Idaho Vandals (1–0) at Nevada Wolf Pack (0–1) – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 7 Vandals 0 0 000
Wolf Pack 0 0 000

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

No. 5 Idaho Vandals (2–0) at California Golden Bears (1–1) – Game summary
Period 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
First quarter
    Second quarter
      Third quarter
        Fourth quarter

          vs No. 4 Sacramento State

          No. 4 Sacramento State (3–0) vs No. 7 Idaho Vandals (2–1) – Game summary
          Period 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 attendance: 9,433
          • TV: ESPN+

          at No. 19 Eastern Washington

          No. 4 Idaho Vandals (3–1) at No. 19 Eastern Washington (2–2) – Game summary
          Period 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

          No. 3 Idaho Vandals (4–1) at Cal Poly Mustangs (2–3) – Game summary
          Period 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

          No. 16 Montana Grizzlies (5–1) vs No. 3 Idaho Vandals (5–1) – Game summary
          Period 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

          No. 2 Montana State Bobcats (6–1) vs No. 9 Idaho Vandals (5–2) – Game summary
          Period 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

          No. 3 Idaho Vandals (6–2) at Northern Colorado Bears (0–8) – Game summary
          Period 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

          No. 4 Idaho Vandals (7–2) at Weber State Wildcats (4–5) – Game summary
          Period 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

          Idaho State Bengals (3–7) vs No. 6 Idaho Vandals (7–3) – Game summary
          Period 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

          Ranking movements
          Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
          ( ) = First-place votes
          Week
          PollPre123456789101112Final
          STATS FCS875 (1)74331093464
          Coaches13121010533885484

          References

          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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