# 2021 Idaho Vandals football team

The 2021 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Paul Petrino, the Vandals were 4–7 (3–5 in Big Sky, ninth), and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
After the season, Petrino was fired with a cumulative record of 34–66 (.340); the 66 losses were the most in program history, fifteen more than Skip Stahley (1954–61).

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Vandals were predicted to finish eighth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (7) |
| 2 | Montana | (3) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (2) |
| 4 | Montana State | (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | (1) |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Cal Poly | |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (14) |
| 2 | Montana | (4) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (3) |
| 4 | Montana State | (3) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | |
| 13 | Cal Poly | |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Vandals had two players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 1:00 p.m. | Simon Fraser* | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | SWX/ESPN+ | W 68–0 | 5,214 |
| September 11 | 4:30 p.m. | at Indiana* | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | BTN | L 14–56 | 47,417 |
| September 18 | 12:30 p.m. | at Oregon State* | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | P12N | L 0–42 | 26,797 |
| October 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 8 UC Davis | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | L 20–27 | 11,622 |
| October 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Portland State | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | SWX/ESPN+ | W 42–35 | 7,034 |
| October 16 | 11:30 a.m. | at No. 2 Eastern Washington | Roos FieldCheney, WA | RTNW | L 21–71 | 5,380 |
| October 23 | 4:30 p.m. | No. 11 Montana | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID (Little Brown Stein) | SWX/ESPN+ | L 14–34 | 6,059 |
| October 30 | 1:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | SWX/ESPN+ | L 31–38 | 3,000 |
| November 6 | 1:00 p.m. | Southern Utah | Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID | ESPN+ | W 42–24 | 6,082 |
| November 13 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 3 Montana State | Bobcat StadiumBozeman, MT | SWX/ESPN+ | L 13–20 | 19,447 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID (rivalry) | ESPN+ | W 14–0 | |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Simon Fraser

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Simon Fraser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vandals | 21 | 19 | 21 | 7 | 68 |
at Kibbie Dome, Moscow, Idaho
* Date: September 4
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 5,214
* Referee: Jeff Rink
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | SFU | IDHO |
| First downs | 9 | 30 |
| Total yards | 127 | 593 |
| Rushing yards | 50 | 316 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 277 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 32:55 | 27:03 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Simon Fraser | Passing | Brandon Niksich | 9/16, 77 yards, INT |
| Simon Fraser | Rushing | Mason Glover | 16 rushes, 34 yards |
| Simon Fraser | Receiving | Dallas Dixon | 4 receptions, 37 yards |
| Idaho | Passing | C. J. Jordan | 7/12, 161 yards, 2 TD |
| Idaho | Rushing | Roshaun Johnson | 10 rushes, 87 yards, 3 TD |
| Idaho | Receiving | Hayden Hatten | 2 receptions, 106 yards, TD |

### At Indiana

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Hoosiers | 21 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 56 |
at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN
* Date: September 11, 2021
* Game time: 7:40 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 47,417
* Referee: Mark Klucyznski
* TV announcers (BTN): Mark Followill (play-by-play), Matt Millen (analyst)
* Sources: IUHoosiers.com
| Statistics | IDHO | IU |
| First downs | 13 | 20 |
| Total yards | 261 | 338 |
| Rushes/yards | 22–65 | 50–179 |
| Passing yards | 196 | 159 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 23–39–0 | 13–20–0 |
| Time of possession | 26:36 | 33:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Idaho | Passing | Mike Beaudry | 23/36, 196 yards, 2 TD |
| Idaho | Rushing | Nick Romano | 4 carries, 20 yards |
| Idaho | Receiving | Hayden Hatten | 10 receptions, 94 yards, 2 TD |
| Indiana | Passing | Jack Tuttle | 2/4, 91 yards, TD |
| Indiana | Rushing | Stephen Carr | 22 carries, 118 yards, TD |
| Indiana | Receiving | A. J. Barner | 1 reception, 76 yards, TD |

### At Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beavers | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
* Date: September 18, 2021
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); Rain
* Game attendance: 26,797
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (P12N): Rich Burk (play-by-play), Nigel Burton (analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – Tyjon Lindsey 18 Yd pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes Kick), 7:47. Oregon State 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 3:42.
OSU – B. J. Baylor 4 Yd Run (Everett Hayes Kick), 1:36. Oregon State 14–0. Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 4:13.
Second quarter
OSU – Deshaun Fenwick 9 Yd Run (Everett Hayes Kick), 11:05. Oregon State 21–0. Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 2:37.
OSU – Teagan Quitoriano 2 Yd pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes Kick), 1:16. Oregon State 28–0. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 4:55.
Third quarter
OSU – Champ Flemings 30 Yd pass from Chance Nolan (Everett Hayes Kick), 10:51. Oregon State 35–0. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:09.
OSU – B. J. Baylor 2 Yd Run (Everett Hayes Kick), 5:39. Oregon State 42–0. Drive: 8 plays, 63 yards, 3:15.
Fourth quarter
None
Top passers
IDA – Mike Beaudry – 6/9, 47 yards
OSU – Chance Nolan – 14/19, 175 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
IDA – C. J. Jordan – 14 rushes, 55 yards
OSU – B. J. Baylor – 11 rushes, 69 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
IDA – Terez Traynor – 5 receptions, 38 yards
OSU – Luke Musgrave – 3 receptions, 40 yards :

### At No. 8 UC Davis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| No. 8 Aggies | 3 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 27 |

### Portland State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| Vandals | 21 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 42 |

### At No. 2 Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| No. 2 Eagles | 29 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 71 |

### No. 11 Montana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Grizzlies | 7 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
| Vandals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Vandals | 7 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 31 |

### Southern Utah

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Thunderbirds | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Vandals | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |

### At No. 3 Montana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 3 Bobcats | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |