THE FRONT ROW with Steve Cameron: Vandals: FCS correct choice

It’s pretty darn cool that Idaho is playing in a bowl game.

Literally.

No, it isn’t even out of state, so Paul Petrino’s kids won’t have the fun of going someplace they can wear T-shirts and flip-flops, but if you’re the Vandals...

You take the Great Idaho Potato Bowl against Colorado State on Thursday down in Boise, and kiss it on the lips.

As Petrino has said many times, it’s a tribute to his staff and players that most of them have fought out from under the dung heap of one-win seasons in his first two years.

They scratched out a 4-8 record a year ago, then flipped that to 8-4 this time around – leading to Idaho’s third-ever bowl invitation.

OK, the first two (1998 and 2009) were also in Boise but, shoot, they were wins. The ’98 game was even a shocker, an upset over a talented Southern Mississippi bunch that was favored by 16 points.

The Vandals are 13 1/2-point underdogs this trip, as well, but what the heck?

Idaho has been fighting the odds for more than a hundred years.

THAT’S WHY, despite all the hoopla over this surprise season and the bowl reward to cap it off, the UI administration did the right thing with its decision to rejoin the Big Sky Conference in 2018.

If it was an admission that Idaho doesn’t belong in what used to be called Division I-A (now the College Bowl Subdivision), so be it.

And if the Vandal faithful felt slightly embarrassed at becoming the first program in history to drop a level voluntarily...

So be that, too.

There will always be fans and alums — and certainly a few potential recruits — who will look at this return to the Big Sky as some sort of failure.

But it’s not.

You’re simply seeing an admission that Idaho has neither the resources, the income nor even the fan base to play at the highest level.

Despite this season’s startling results and the occasional upset every decade or so, the Vandals have been thrashed by the big boys pretty much forever.

Consider: Only one Idaho coach, Robert Mathews from 1923-25, has beaten Washington State at least twice.

And no offense, but Wazzu isn’t exactly the benchmark for college football success.

Since 1929, just four of the Vandals’ 23 coaches have departed with winning records — and only Chris Tormey (33-23 from 1995-99) did it in Division I-A.

WHEN YOU are dismissed by the nearly anonymous Sun Belt, it’s time to take stock.

Sure, a few diehards keep asking: What about the Mountain West?

University President Chuck Staben wrapped up all such speculation with one painfully accurate analysis.

“To become successful enough to affiliate with any FBS conference would entail unjustifiable, unsustainable expenditures,” Staben said back in April when the bail-out announcement was made.

Translation: UI would have to spend big money to replace the Kibbie Dome, a 45-year-old Quonset hut with a capacity of just 16,000.

Look, this year’s exciting bowl team didn’t exactly pack the little place. Less than 12,000 came out to see the final home game.

History and common sense both scream out that Idaho cannot compete in the FBS without losing a boatload of money.

The Vandals have had losing records in the old Pacific Coast Conference, the Big West, the WAC and now the Sun Belt.

On the other hand, they’ve won the Big Sky 10 times and drawn similar crowds.

The decision was correct.

But hey, Petrino has a chance to take Idaho out of the FBS with a bang. Back-to-back bowl games, maybe?

Let’s settle for that.

Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press who has covered sports at all levels for more than three decades. Reach Steve at [email protected].