CALDWELL, Idaho — Editor's note: The video above this article was published May 3, 2023.
Last year, the College of Idaho football team took a share of the Frontier Conference title, the fourth season in a row they have done so. However, Carroll College won the regular season tiebreaker and took the automatic bid to the NAIA playoffs.
The celebration was short-lived for the Yotes. In fact, the team saw it as falling short. College of Idaho has been motivated since last fall to take the next step in 2023.
"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," fourth-year junior wide receiver Brock Richardson said in May. "So, we're really trying to get in there and take it for our own."
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 with a stale taste – as hinted by Richardson – losing to Carroll 21-6 at home in the season finale.
Following a pair of live scrimmages and camp this spring, Yotes head coach Mike Moroski told KTVB his team is "determined" to stand alone atop the conference this round.
"It's impossible to not address. They have the exact right way, from a coach's perspective, the way you want them to feel," Moroski said. "I think the guys are very excited, very determined, and we look forward to hopefully getting another opportunity in similar circumstances."
With the return of most of their starters on offense, the unit is primed to have more success come September than a year ago, but the defense is a little less experienced.
Moroski said despite the youth on defense, C of I was locked in throughout spring camp and at least 25 players could find roles in regular-season action. The players fighting for starting jobs have bought into the idea of '100 little things,' getting better each day.
"They almost make it hard and annoying to line up one-on-one, like press now, because they're really learning, they're getting better everyday," Richarson said last month. "It's really exciting to get those guys going and I hope that they have phenomenal fall."
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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