American college football season
The 1981 Idaho State Bengals football team represented Idaho State University in 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 (now 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. The sole loss was at Montana, when Machurek remained in Pocatello with mononucleosis, and backup Dirk Koetter filled in; the Griz kicked a late field goal to win by three points in Missoula.
In the eight-team Division I-AA playoffs, Idaho State easily won two home playoff games, then secured their only national championship in the Pioneer Bowl at Wichita Falls, Texas. The Bengals defeated Eastern Kentucky 34–23 in the title game to finish with a 12–1 record, just two years removed from a winless season.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 12 | Eastern Washington* | | | | W 34–10 | 8,005 | |
September 19 | at Boise State | | | | W 21–10 | 20,486 | |
September 26 | Nevada | No. 3 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID
| | W 23–7 | 9,883 | |
October 3 | Northern Arizona | No. 3 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID
| | 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 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID
| | W 31–3 | 10,468 | |
November 14 | Utah State* | No. 2 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID
| | W 50–24 | 12,008 | |
November 21 | Weber State | No. 2 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID
| | W 33–30 3OT | 13,444 | |
December 5 | Rhode Island* | No. 2 | | | W 51–0 | 12,153 | |
December 12 | No. 3 South Carolina State* | No. 2 | - ASISU Minidome
- Pocatello, ID (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)
| | W 41–12 | 12,300 | |
December 19 | vs. No. 1 Eastern Kentucky* | No. 2 | | ABC | W 34–23 | 11,002 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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- The regular season finale against Weber State went to triple overtime; the Big Sky introduced overtime for conference games the previous season, and this was its first-ever usage.
Roster
1981 Idaho State Bengals football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
- Injured
- Redshirt
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- Source:
All-conference
Five Bengals were named to the all-conference team: quarterback Mike Machurek (unanimous), tight end Rod Childs, linebacker Dave Walser, defensive back Matt Courtney (sophomore), and punter Case de Bruijn. The second team included linebacker Lem Galei (sophomore) and de Bruijn at placekicker. Honorable mention were wide receivers Jerry Bird and Charles Ewing, tackle Steve Anderson, tailback Dwain Wilson, and linebacker Bill Snapp.
NFL Draft
Two Bengal seniors were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds with 334 selections.
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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College Division / Division II | |
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I-AA/FCS |
- Northern Arizona (1978)
- Montana State (1979)
- Boise State (1980)
- Idaho State (1981)
- Montana, Idaho, & Montana State (1982)
- Nevada (1983)
- Montana State (1984)
- Idaho (1985)
- Nevada (1986)
- Idaho (1987)
- Idaho (1988)
- Idaho (1989)
- Nevada (1990)
- Nevada (1991)
- Idaho & Eastern Washington (1992)
- Montana (1993)
- Boise State (1994)
- Montana (1995)
- Montana (1996)
- Eastern Washington (1997)
- Montana (1998)
- Montana (1999)
- Montana (2000)
- Montana (2001)
- Montana, Montana State, & Idaho State (2002)
- Montana State, Montana, & Northern Arizona (2003)
- Montana & Eastern Washington (2004)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Montana (2005)
- Montana (2006)
- Montana (2007)
- Weber State & Montana (2008)
- Montana (2009)
- Montana State & Eastern Washington (2010)
- Montana State & Montana (2011)
- Eastern Washington, Montana State, & Cal Poly (2012)
- Eastern Washington (2013)
- Eastern Washington (2014)
- Southern Utah (2015)
- Eastern Washington & North Dakota (2016)
- Southern Utah & Weber State (2017)
- Eastern Washington, UC Davis, & Weber State (2018)
- Sacramento State & Weber State (2019)
- Weber State (2020)
- Sacramento State (2021)
- Montana State & Sacramento State (2022)
- Montana (2023)
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National championships in bold |
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1980s | |
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1990s | |
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2000s | |
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2010s | |
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2020s | |
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Champion – Idaho State Bengals |