The 1925 Idaho Vandals football team represented the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

as a member of the

Northwest Conference The Northwest Conference (NWC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in the states of Oregon and Washington. It was known as the Pacific Northwest Conference from 1926 t ...

and the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

(PCC) during the

1925 college football season The 1925 college football season ended with no clear national champion. At the close of the season, noted sports writer Billy Evans described the championship contest as "a dead heat" among Dartmouth, Tulane, Michigan, Washington, and Alabam ...

. Led by Robert L. Mathews in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Vandals compiled an overall record of 3–5. Idaho had a record of 2–3 in Northwest Conference play, tying for fourth place, and 2–3 against PCC opponents, tying for sixth. The team played home games on campus, at

MacLean Field MacLean Field was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The venue opened in 1914 and closed in 1966; its uses included football, baseball, track, and ...

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

. Idaho defeated neighbor

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

for the third straight year in the

Battle of the Palouse The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the ...

, and the second consecutive win at Rogers Field in Pullman. Since this

three-peat In sports (especially in North America), a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships or tournaments. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Ass ...

of , Idaho has won only five games in the rivalry, the next victory came 29 years later in 1954.

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

came north in late October and met Idaho in Moscow for the only time in history, and won 51–7 on a Friday afternoon. The next day in nearby Pullman, Washington State hosted

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, decades before the rivalry became known as the

Apple Cup The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both were members of the Pac-12 Conferen ...

. A special train from Boise brought up football fans from southern Idaho to watch both games for a package fare of fifty dollars for the four-day jaunt. Idaho opened the season with three wins, but dropped its final five games. After the season, Mathews left for

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

and was succeeded by

Charles F. Erb Charles Freeman Erb Jr. (December 8, 1902 – March 7, 1952) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Nevada, Reno in 1924, the University of Idaho from 1926 to 1928, and Humbold ...

, a former all-PCC quarterback at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Schedule

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1926 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1925 football season
Go Mighty Vandals
– 1925 football season
Scout.com: Idaho
– Idaho vs. USC – The 1920s Series (Part III) an
Part IV
– student newspaper – 1925 editions {{Idaho Vandals football navbox

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Idaho Vandals football seasons

Idaho Vandals football The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Cham ...