1951 Idaho Vandals football team
The 1951 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Raymond A. Curfman, the Vandals were 2–7 (0–3 in PCC, last). Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College and another at Memorial Stadium in Spokane, Washington.
| 1951 Idaho Vandals football | |
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| Conference | Pacific Coast Conference |
| Record | 2–7 (0–3 PCC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Split-T |
| Home stadium | Neale Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Stanford $ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 UCLA | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 California | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Washington State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Idaho was led on the field by quarterback Wayne Anderson and halfback Glen Christian; they suffered a close loss in the Battle of the Palouse with heavily favored neighbor Washington State, falling 9–6 on homecoming at Neale Stadium on November 10. The previous edition was also competitive, with a 7–7 tie in 1950 in Pullman, but the winless streak against the Cougars was up to 25 games, a record of 0–23–2 since taking three straight in from 1923 to 1925; Idaho finally won three years later in Pullman.
In the rivalry game with Montana at Missoula four weeks earlier, Idaho began an eight-game winning streak over the Grizzlies with a 12–9 win to regain the Little Brown Stein.
Prior to the season in late March, university president Jesse Buchanan requested and received the resignations of head coach Dixie Howell and two assistants, due to "lack of harmony" on the coaching staff. One of those assistants was Curfman, who was then asked by the administration to be the interim coach during the upcoming spring drills. He made a good impression and was re-hired as head coach in mid-April.