# Gonzaga–Idaho football rivalry

The Gonzaga–Idaho rivalry was the football game between Gonzaga University and the University of Idaho. The respective campuses, in Spokane, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, are approximately ninety miles (145 km) apart.
The football teams met 28 times from 1910 to 1941 and Idaho held a slight advantage at 16–10–2 (.607). For the last twenty meetings, from 1921 on, the rivalry was exactly even at 9–9–2 (.500), and the final ten were split at five wins each. They did not meet in 1912, 1917, or 1926, and Idaho did not have a varsity team in 1918. Idaho joined the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) in 1922, while Gonzaga remained independent.
Gonzaga's dominating wins in 1939 and 1940, both shutouts, were led by halfback Tony Canadeo, a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With Canadeo in the NFL, Idaho rebounded in 1941 to win 21–7 in Spokane in what was the final game in the series.
During World War II, Gonzaga did not field a team after 1941, while Idaho played in 1942 and went on hiatus in September 1943. After the war, Idaho resumed football for the 1945 season, but Gonzaga opted not to, as its program had been in financial difficulty before the war.

## Game results

    Gonzaga victoriesIdaho victoriesNo.DateLocationWinnerScore1 October 15, 1910 Moscow, ID Idaho 46–62 October 14, 1911 Moscow, ID Idaho 22–03 October 11, 1913 Spokane, WA Idaho 54–34 October 10, 1914 Moscow, ID Idaho 5–35 November 13, 1915 Spokane, WA Idaho 6–36 October 14, 1916 Moscow, ID Gonzaga 21–67 November 15, 1919 Spokane, WA Idaho 13–78 November 27, 1920 Spokane, WA Idaho 10–79 November 19, 1921 Spokane, WA Idaho 6–010 November 25, 1922 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 14–711 November 3, 1923 Moscow, ID Idaho 23–012 October 4, 1924 Spokane, WA Tie0–013 October 24, 1925 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 12–314 November 26, 1927 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 13–015 October 6, 1928 Spokane, WA Tie6–6No.DateLocationWinnerScore16 November 16, 1929 Moscow, ID Gonzaga 20–1417 November 1, 1930 Spokane, WA Idaho 26–018 October 31, 1930 Moscow, ID Idaho 7–619 October 8, 1932 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 20–720 November 30, 1933 Spokane, WA Idaho 20–1221 October 6, 1934 Moscow, ID Gonzaga 24–2022 October 5, 1935 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 7–623 October 31, 1936 Spokane, WA Idaho 18–024 November 13, 1937 Spokane, WA Idaho 6–025 October 15, 1938 Moscow, ID Idaho 26–1226 October 13, 1939 Spokane, WA Gonzaga 19–027 October 12, 1940 Moscow, ID Gonzaga 25–028 October 10, 1941 Spokane, WA Idaho 21–7Series: Idaho leads 16–10–2
    Source:
* The only one to serve as head coach for both programs was Matty Mathews, who was 1–2–1 while with Idaho (1922–1925), and won during his only season with Gonzaga in 1929.
* Idaho's 1918 team was non-varsity, composed of Student Army Training Corps (SATC) players. After the Armistice ended World War I on November 11, they played a limited schedule; the first two games were against Gonzaga. The opener in Moscow on November 16 was a 13–7 Idaho win, and the next week in Spokane was a 7–7 tie.

## Coaching records

From 1919 through 1941; Idaho 11–9–2 (.545)

### Gonzaga

    Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct. William HigginsGonzaga11919010.000 Gus DoraisGonzaga51920–1924131.300 Clipper SmithGonzaga41925–1928201.833 Matty MathewsGonzaga119291001.000  Ray FlahertyGonzaga11930010.000 Mike PecarovichGonzaga81931–1938350.375 Puggy Hunton Gonzaga 31939–1941210.667

### Idaho

    Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct. Ralph HutchinsonIdaho119191001.000  Thomas KelleyIdaho21920–19212001.000  Matty MathewsIdaho41922–1925121.375 Charles ErbIdaho21926–1928011.250 Leo CallandIdaho61929–1934330.500 Ted BankIdaho61935–1940330.500 Francis SchmidtIdaho11941–19421001.000

## Other sports
### Men's basketball

Idaho holds the overall lead at 70–64 (.522), but Gonzaga has won the last nine, most recently 80–46 in November 2008 at home in the McCarthey Center. The score at halftime was 47–11 and it was the third consecutive non-competitive game in the series.
Prior to both teams joining the new Big Sky Conference as charter members in 1963, Idaho had a large lead in the series at 55–21 (.724). As conference foes, they met two or three times per season and Gonzaga led at 22–13 (.629), plus two wins in tournaments. After sixteen years in the Big Sky, Gonzaga left for the WCAC in the summer of 1979, but the rivalry continued as an annual game (and occasionally biannual). In the next fifteen games through 1990, Idaho went 10–5, but Gonzaga has since dominated at 14–2 (.875). The last seven games in the series have been played on the Gonzaga campus; the last in Idaho was in early 2000. The Vandals' most recent win was 27 years ago in January 1998 at home, and they last won in Spokane in December 1989.
After more than a decade, the teams were scheduled to meet in December 2020 in Spokane, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.

#### Game results

Since December 1979, Gonzaga leads 19–12 (.613), all non-league
    Gonzaga victoriesIdaho victoriesNo.DateLocationWinnerScore1 December 21, 1979 Moscow Idaho 50–492 December 6, 1980 Spokane Idaho 73–693 January 2, 1982 Moscow Idaho 65–574 January 8, 1983 Spokane Idaho 54–515 January 7, 1984 Moscow Gonzaga 59–526 January 2, 1985 Spokane Gonzaga 56–547 December 14, 1985 Spokane Gonzaga 72–618 January 4, 1986 Moscow Idaho 61–609 December 5, 1986 Moscow Idaho 62–5510 November 27, 1987 Spokane^ Idaho 64–6011 December 22, 1987 Spokane Gonzaga 77–5712 November 26, 1988 Spokane^ Idaho 80–72$^{OT}$13 January 3, 1988 Moscow Gonzaga 66–6314 January 5, 1989 Spokane Idaho 67–4715 January 4, 1990 Moscow Idaho 70–6616 December 22, 1991 Spokane Gonzaga 80–62No.DateLocationWinnerScore17 December 21, 1992 Moscow Idaho 82–6418 December 21, 1993 Spokane Gonzaga 76–6919 December 6, 1994 Moscow Gonzaga 64–5820 January 3, 1995 Spokane Gonzaga 75–5521 December 6, 1997 Spokane Gonzaga 76–6022 January 5, 1998 Moscow Idaho 71–6423 December 22, 1998 Spokane Gonzaga 94–5524 January 4, 2000 Moscow Gonzaga 60–4925 November 25, 2000 Spokane Gonzaga 92–4226 November 21, 2003 Spokane Gonzaga 84–6327 November 24, 2004 Spokane Gonzaga 88–7428 November 18, 2005 Spokane Gonzaga 69–6029 November 26, 2006 Spokane Gonzaga 76–5130 November 13, 2007 Spokane Gonzaga 80–4331 November 18, 2008 Spokane Gonzaga 80–46Series: Gonzaga leads 19–12
    ^ Two games were played at the Spokane Coliseum (Nov 1987, Nov 1988), both won by Idaho
    Source:

### Baseball

In the eleven seasons of baseball in the Big Sky (1964–74), Idaho and Gonzaga each won four league titles. The Vandals were champions in 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1969, while Gonzaga won in 1965, 1971, 1973, and 1974.
Baseball was one of five sports that the Big Sky stopped sponsoring in 1974, so both moved to the new Nor-Pac in 1975, and continued as conference foes until Idaho dropped its program in May 1980. The last eleven seasons of the baseball rivalry (1970–80) saw the Bulldogs dominate at 33–5 (.868).