THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: State of the Vandals, Cougs ... and what is an upset?

First of all, kudos to Coeur d’Alene for having a moment of silence before last Friday’s home football game vs. Sandpoint to remember someone from the Sandpoint community who had died recently. 

Nice touch of class. 

• It’s a weird weekend with both teams on the Palouse, Idaho and Washington State, on a bye. 

WSU, we figured, might take a while to find its footing, with a new coach and 75 new players. 

Still, the 59-10 beatdown by North Texas is a bit of a head-scratcher, though the Mean Green is 5-0, and also on a bye this week before next Friday’s home game with South Florida, which handled Boise State 34-7 in the season opener. 

The Cougs will find out why “It just means more” next Saturday morning at Ole Miss, currently ranked No. 4 in the country.  

After that, the remaining games on WSU’s schedule are quite winnable, including a rare home-and-home with the winless Oregon State Beavers. 

AS FOR Idaho, the Vandals are way more reliant on their quarterback than in recent years. Their best offensive play so far is when Joshua Wood drops back to pass, then scrambles around and either takes off for a big gainer, or finds an open receiver in the madness for a big gainer. 

It’s exciting, but is it sustainable?

Montana and Montana State have established themselves as the top two teams in the Big Sky Conference. 

Idaho, 2-3 with two of the losses to FBS schools, can be right there, perhaps a notch below, but in the FCS playoff conversation. 

Injuries have limited Idaho's talented trio of running backs, though Ryan Jezioro, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, has been a pleasant surprise (20 receptions, three for touchdowns).

After this week’s bye, the next few games — vs. Northern Colorado, at Eastern Washington, vs. Portland State, at Northern Arizona and vs. UC Davis — should give us a clearer picture.  

• Is it still a big deal to beat Notre Dame in South Bend? 

I ask this after the folks in Boise wondered what a victory over Notre Dame on Saturday would mean for their beloved Boise State Broncos football team. 

Both made the 12-team College Football Playoff last season. 

One team won three games and played for the national championship. 

The other lost its first playoff game. 

So that means both have sat at the adult table — albeit at opposite ends. 

In recent years, Northern Illinois won in South Bend.  

So did Marshall. So did Stanford. So did Cincinnati. 

So would a Boise State win at South Bend be a major upset? A confirmation that the Broncos belong? Or both? 

As it turned out, Notre Dame posted a pedestrian 28-7 victory over the Beloved Broncos.

So I guess we'll have to wait until next time.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.