THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A look into the crystal (foot)ball with Idaho, EWU, WSU and Boise State

OK, maybe we’re a week late with this. 

Or Idaho and Eastern Washington were a week early. 

Whatever, we were thinking about how this college football season might turn out for our local/regional teams. 

Idaho and Eastern Washington have been conference rivals — again — since 2018. 

Washington State and Boise State are now in the same conference, though the Pac-12 Conference is not the same league it once was. 

But, not much we can do about that now. 

Idaho: The Vandals should be better than last year’s 4-8 squad ... but how good? 

For argument’s sake, say the losses are at Utah, vs. Montana State and at Montana for starters. That’s 8-4 at best. 

But there’s a lot of swing games — the Vandals are home against Lamar and Abilene Christian, both FCS playoff teams. In fact, Abilene Christian beat Lamar in the first round, before losing to Stephen F. Austin. 

Home games vs. Southern Utah, Eastern Washington and UC Davis could go either way. Then there’s the season finale at last year’s Big Sky darlings, Idaho State. 

Assuming Idaho wins four of those six, that puts them at 7-5 and on the fence for an FCS at-large berth. 

Granted, Idaho coaches went into Friday night’s opener blind, but giving up 38 points to Cal Poly was a bit concerning. 

An “upset” or two, and perhaps 8-4 is attainable. 

Eastern Washington: While the Vandals were disappointed with their season last year, the Eagles were encouraged after last year’s 5-7 finish — which is kinda weird, since EWU has been among the top teams in the Big Sky and FCS for the last decade, until falling off in recent years. 

Anyway, if Eastern’s defense continues to improve — it was not good in recent years, but got better last year — the Big Sky schedule sets up nicely for EWU. 

The Eags play Montana State AND Montana at home, in a three-week period with a bye week in between. They play Northern Colorado, Cal Poly, Portland State and Utah Tech — picked to finish 10 through 13 in the 13-team Big Sky. 

Swing games are at UC Davis and at Idaho. 

The Eags have a money game against the Huskies in Seattle, and pick ‘em FCS nonconference matchups vs. Northern Iowa and at South Dakota. 

Let’s say 7-5 for the Eags as well, on the fence for the 24-team FCS playoffs. 

Washington State: Coug fans are soooooo loyal. 

Especially after being put through soooooo much in recent years. 

After being left behind by the 10 legacy Pac-12 schools, you almost forget WSU was a bowl team last year, finishing 7-6 after beating Utah State in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise. 

WSU vs. Utah State is now a Pac-12 Conference game. Get used to it. 

I think WSU and Boise State should be fighting it out for the conference title on an annual basis, with San Diego State in the mix as well, and Oregon State dropping its head in there every few years. 

The Beavers seem to alternate between good stretches (25-14 from 2021-23) and stinky stretches (7-17 the past two seasons). 

Kirby Moore is WSU’s third head coach in three seasons, and the vibes are good around the former Boise State receiver (and, of course, brother of Kellen). 

The Apple Cup is now the season opener, because of course it is. But the Cougs won in Seattle two years ago, so ... 

A couple of you-gotta-be-kidding-me losses prevented WSU from perhaps a 9-4 season last year.  

I think the Cougs go 8-4 this year, beating Boise State at home. I don’t think WSU fears the Broncos the way most of the Mountain West Conference did. BSU vs. the rest of the Mountain West was not on the level of Zags basketball vs. the rest of the West Coast Conference, but you get the drift. 

Boise State: After reaching the College Football Playoff in 2024, the Broncos stumbled (by their standards) to a 9-5 season last year (post Ashton Jeanty), which included a 30-7 home loss to Fresno State. 

The other losses were to South Florida, Notre Dame, San Diego State and to the Huskies in the LA Bowl. 

After opening the season Saturday at No. 2 Oregon (which got all it wanted from Idaho in this situation two years ago), Boise State could run the table after that. 

Of course, we did say earlier that WSU would beat BSU in Pullman. Throw in a random stinker upset, and the Broncos could finish 9-3. 

But, shock the Ducks, escape the Palouse and avoid a stinker, another CFP berth is not out of the question. 

Unlikely all that will happen, but not out of the question. 

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.