THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Idaho vs. EWU turning into a rivalry again

CHENEY — In the NBA, they say a playoff series isn’t a series until the road team wins.

As for rivalries in college football, that’s not entirely true.

More likely — a rivalry isn’t a rivalry unless both teams are good.

Until recently, Idaho and Eastern Washington have been separated by more than just the 77 miles between Roos Field in Cheney and the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

Eastern, last year’s three-win season notwithstanding, has been good for years, and now Idaho, an FCS power in the 1980s and early ’90s before moving up to FBS, is good again.

The Vandals, you may have heard, made the FCS playoffs last year for the first time since returning to the Big Sky Conference in 2018.

And EWU has bounced back from last season’s disappointment, and is playing more like the Eagles of old.

But Saturday, on the red turf in Cheney where the Eagles don’t lose much, Idaho bused into down and beat Eastern 44-26.

It’s the first time either team won on the other’s field since The Return. Idaho had lost three straight at Eastern — two by wide margins. EWU is 0-3 in Moscow of late, including last season’s 48-16 beatdown.

“Like I said going into this game, it’s better when we’re both better,” Best said. “Any two teams that are better, there’s more fanfare, more excitement, there’s buildup, there’s more banter back and forth. Coach Eck, they’ve done a great job; they’ve put a helluva run together, being 4-1 and winning where they’ve run. … at some point, it’s not about us; you’ve got to shake a man’s hand and say, ‘Good job. Well done. You beat us.’ And that was the case today. Certainly it’s better when we’re both better. I won’t miss some of those guys on offense, at some point when those careers end, that’s for sure.”

WATCHING JARED Taylor, pinch-hitting for the injured Kekoa Visperas at quarterback for the Eagles, was much like watching Zach Borisch play QB for the Vandals in a spring 2021 game at Eastern.

The difference — Borisch was a running back trying to play quarterback because, well, the Vandals had to snap the ball to SOMEBODY, and all their QBs were out.

Borisch rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns for Idaho, which had Eastern on the ropes before the Eags scored two late touchdowns to win 38-31.

Taylor gave the Vandals fits with his legs as well, running for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

“The team believed in me, so I just tried to make the most of it,” Taylor, a transfer from Feather River College in Quincy, Calif., after prepping at Lakewood (Wash.) High. “I didn’t throw as much as we usually do; at Eastern Washington we throw the football, so it was a little bit different.”

“Jared’s a warrior; you saw that today,” Best said. “I think everybody else found out what we already knew.”

“Any kid waits for their opportunity to play at this level,” Taylor said. “I’ve wanted it for a long time; I went JUCO and this was always my dream to be here. I got my chance today, and I tried to make the most of it.

Our whole team thinks we should have beat that team today. We didn’t, so we’ll learn from it and get better.”

THE CUP stays in Moscow.

Back in the day, Idaho and Eastern used to play for the Presidents Cup. But interest started to wane as Idaho started dominating the series, then left for FBS.

The actual cup, however, still remains. Eck found it last year and renamed it the “Che-Skow Cup,” an ode to Cheney and Moscow.

“It’s in the locker room; we celebrated with it,” Eck said. “I told the team we needed to win it because I don’t know if anybody else wanted it. Only us wanted that thing, so I’m glad we kept it. We need a fresh piece of athletic tape to put the score on for the ride home.”

Will it become an official trophy of the rivalry at some point?

“I don’t know if I have the power to do that,” Eck said. “I’m just trying to stay in my lane, so we made it an unofficial trophy, that we keep and have.”

LOOKING AHEAD, Idaho will play on the road for the fifth time in six weeks this Saturday at Cal Poly. The Vandals have home games upcoming with Montana, Montana State and, in the regular season finale, Idaho State.

Idaho also has road games left at Northern Colorado and Weber State.

With four wins already against Division I teams, Idaho (4-1, 2-0 Big Sky) is just three away from the “magic number” of at least seven wins to be considered for the 24-team FCS playoffs. But the Vandals, 7-5 last year, are looking for more than seven wins; they want to be a top-eight seed, earn a first-round bye, and host a quarterfinal playoff game.

Eastern (2-3, 1-1) has road games left in league at Idaho State, Portland State and Montana State, and home tilts against Weber State, Cal Poly and Northern Arizona.

If seven is the number, the Eagles are going to need to win five of their last six to have a shot at the playoffs.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.