The1980 Idaho Vandals football team represented theUniversity of Idaho in the1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coachJerry Davitch and were members of theBig Sky Conference. They played their home games at theKibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus inMoscow, Idaho.

With freshman transfer quarterbackKen Hobart running theveer offense,^[4][5] the Vandals were6–5 overall and4–3 in the Big Sky to tie for second. Idaho lost torivalBoise State for the fourth straight year. BSU won the Big Sky title in 1980 and competed in the four-teamDivision I-AA playoffs; the Broncos won the finals over defending championEastern Kentucky.

It was the first winning season for the Vandals since1976 and only the fourth winning record for the football program in overfour decades.^[6] In early October at 3–1, Idaho wasranked ninth in their first-ever appearance in a national Associated Press poll.^[7]

Transfer quarterbackKen Hobart fromKamiah was a four-year starter. He quickly adjusted from an option quarterback in the veer under Davitch to a prolific passer under new head coachDennis Erickson in1982. He led the Vandals to a 9–4 record in1982 and an 8–3 record in1983 as a fifth-year senior, when he was a Division I-AAAll-American. Hobart played a season in theUSFL withJacksonville in 1984 and several in theCFL.

Sophomore linebackerSam Merriman fromTucson, Arizona,^[8] was selected in theseventh round (177th overall) of the1983 NFL draft by theSeattle Seahawks. A four-year starter for the Vandals, he played five seasons with Seattle, primarily onspecial teams.^[9][10][11] He was a probable starter in1988, but a serious knee injury in a preseason game (on a punt return in overtime) ended hisplaying career.^[12][13][14]

Glen White was the Vandals' leading rusher during his junior season in1979,^[15] the best season by a UI running back in the 1970s.He missed theopener,^[16] but gained 889 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry in the final ten games as the team finished at 4–7.^[17]

While in off-season training in February, White felt weakness and was sent toSeattle for further testing.^[18] Diagnosed withaplastic anemia, he battled it for several months until his death from complications on August 9 at anOklahoma City hospital, near his parents' homeatFort Sill.^[19] White, age 22, was posthumously designated an honorary team captain for all eleven games,^[20] and the Vandals wore his number 32 on the left side of their helmets during the1980 season.^[21][22]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	7:30 pm	atPacific (CA)*		Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton CA	L 13–24	15,000	[23][24][25][26]
September 20	7:30 pm	Simon Fraser*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 56–16	11,500	[27][28]
September 27	12:30 pm	atMontana		Dornblaser Field Missoula, Montana (Little Brown Stein)	W 42–0	8,535	[29][30]
October 4	7:30 pm	Portland State*		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 37–27	13,000	[31][32]
October 11	6:30 pm	atBoise State	No. 9	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	L 21–44	21,812	[33][34]
October 18	1:30 pm	Montana State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 14–6	15,000	[35][36][37]
October 25	7:30 pm	atSan Jose State*		Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	L 10–32	7,263	[38][39]
November 1	7:30 pm	Weber State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 31–6	11,000	[40][41][42][43]
November 8	7:30 pm	Idaho State		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID (rivalry)	L 21–28	12,000	[44][45][46][47]
November 15	7:30 pm	Northern Arizona		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 14–7	10,000	[21][48][49][50]
November 22	12:00 pm	atNevada		Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 7–38	9,000	[51][52]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inPacific time

Source:^{[3][49][53][54][55][56]}

Tackle Bruce Fery was the only Vandal on the first team;^[57][58] second team selections were running back Russell Davis, defensive end Larry Barker, linebackerSam Merriman, cornerback Carlton McBride, and placekicker Pete O'Brien.^[59] Honorable mention picks included quarterbackKen Hobart, tight end Tom Coombs, defensive end Jay Hayes, safety Kelly Miller, and punter Chris Brockman.^[58][59]

No Vandals were selected in the1981 NFL draft, which lasted 12 rounds (332 selections). Two Vandal juniors were later selected in the1982 NFL draft,^[60][61][62] also 12 rounds (334 selections).

• Gem of the Mountains: 1981 University of Idaho yearbook – 1980 football season
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1980 editions

• 1980 Big Sky Conference football season
• Idaho Vandals football seasons
• 1980 in sports in Idaho

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