CALDWELL, Idaho — When the College of Idaho football team begins its 2023 campaign in less than a month, the Yotes will have a target on their back as the preseason favorites in the Frontier Conference.
In a poll compromised of the league's head coaches, the Yotes were picked to win the 2023 title on Wednesday. C of I took a share of the 2022 regular-season title, but Carroll College captured the tiebreaker and took the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs.
Up until the Nov. 12, 2022, loss to the Fighting Saints, College of Idaho was 8-1, with its lone defeat coming in a five-point loss at Montana Western. The Yotes finished last fall in brutal fashion, losing to Carroll 21-6 at home in the season finale.
According to Wednesday's poll, C of I is the heavy favorite to win the Frontier Conference this go-round. Out of nine votes from head coaches, the Yotes received five first-place votes. Coaches were unable to vote for their own team, meaning C of I's Mike Moroski picked either Montana Tech or Carroll College as his on-paper favorite.
Moroski's squad led the way with 57 total points, ahead of second-place Montana Tech (53 points) and No. 3 Carroll College (48 points). The Orediggers received three first-place votes, while the Saints earned one. First-place votes were worth eight points, second-place votes were worth seven points, and so on.
The Yotes have been at least co-champs in four-straight seasons, but they have not been outright champs since 2019. This spring, fourth-year junior wide receiver Brock Richardson told KTVB C of I is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to standalone on top of the Frontier Conference.
"We're dying of hunger. I mean, the last couple years we had a share of the Frontier Conference title and it feels like we lose every year," Richardson said. "So, we're really trying to get in there and take it for our own."
The Yotes kick off the 2023 season at Simplot Stadium against Lincoln University out of California on Saturday, Aug. 26. College of Idaho will square off against Carroll College on the road on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The full 2023 College of Idaho football schedule is included below, with home games listed in bold:
- Saturday, Aug. 26 (1 p.m.): vs. Lincoln University
- Saturday, Sept. 2 (1 p.m.): vs. Southern Oregon
- Saturday, Sept. 9 (1 p.m.): vs. Montana Western
- Saturday, Sept. 23 (2 p.m.): at Montana Tech
- Saturday, Sept. 30 (1 p.m.): vs. Rocky Mountain
- Saturday, Oct. 7 (TBA): at Arizona Christian
- Saturday, Oct. 14 (1 p.m.): vs. Montana State Northern
- Saturday, Oct. 21 (TBA): at Carroll College
- Saturday, Oct. 28 (1 p.m.) vs. Eastern Oregon
- Saturday, Nov. 11 (2 p.m.): at Southern Oregon
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