THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Vandals vs. Boise State, an all-North girls final, and other stuff

What. 

Took. 

So. 

Long? 

First of all, kudos to Boise State for finally allowing it happen — Idaho vs. Boise State in football, scheduled for Sept. 6, 2031 in Boise. 

It will be the first time the Vandals and Broncos have met on the gridiron since the 2010 season, when both were members of the FBS Western Athletic Conference.

Boise State didn’t have to do this. The Broncos should now at least be in contention for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff every year, so style points matter — even in choosing nonconference opponents. 

And they didn’t need the money — the Broncos come close to selling out their 36,387-seat stadium for every home game, no matter who they play. 

So, after 2010 when Boise State left for the Mountain West Conference, the Broncos didn’t need to schedule Idaho during the Vandals’ final seven seasons in FBS.  

And it especially wasn’t going to happen as long as Idaho insisted that it had to be a home-and-home series — why would Boise feel like it needed to come to Moscow, and play in its less-than-16,000-seat dome? 

And it especially wasn’t going to happen after then-BSU president Bob Kustra complained about the “nasty, inebriated” culture of Vandal fans, and then-Broncos coach Chris Petersen told the media Boise State should never travel to Moscow again. 

But it was harder for Boise State to defend not playing Idaho — other than to say yeah, we’re Boise State and you’re not — when the Broncos were scheduling home games against other FCS schools, including Idaho State ... twice! during that span. 

Whether this is a one-off, or the start of a renewed rivalry ... who cares, for now? Maybe not every year, but maybe they could play every few seasons, like Idaho and Washington State do. 

And who knows what the landscape of college football will be like five years from now, anyway? 

To those who say Idaho vs. Boise State in football is good for the state ... well, duh! But college football is big business — this arrangement wasn’t made for the “good of the state.” 

Though, at least, the money will stay in the state — Boise State will pay Idaho a reported $450,000 for the game. 

Still, no matter the reason, the warm and fuzzy feeling emanating statewide from Thursday morning’s announcement was still quite welcome. 

THE REST of FCS — including the Big Sky Conference — would like to thank North Dakota State for trading in its status as one of the top teams in that division of football for a chance to play in the big-boy division (FBS), albeit in the new-look Mountain West Conference. 

North Dakota State dominated FCS for more than a decade, winning nine national championships in 11 seasons (2011-21). 

But the FCS began to catch up to the Bison in recent years — relatively speaking. 

North Dakota State lost to South Dakota State in the title game following the 2022 season, then lost at Montana in double overtime in the semifinals in 2003. 

The Bison bounced back — as it were — to win the national title in 2024, beating Montana State. 

But this past season, Illinois State (who?) knocked out North Dakota State in the FCS quarterfinals, and nearly beat (maybe probably should have beat?) Montana State in the championship game. 

Maybe the Bison will end up like James Madison, which won the FCS championship in 2016, moved up to FBS in 2023 and reached the College Football Playoff this past season. 

Maybe, instead of getting one shot against an FBS program every season, the Bison find it’s a little different lining up against those teams every week. 

Maybe it works out ... maybe it doesn’t. 

Maybe North Dakota State just traded in a chance to win an FCS championship every year for a bunch of trips to the Las Vegas Bowl or the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. 

Whatever, what North Dakota State does this coming season and beyond will be watched closely by the FCS and FBS crowd. 

One thing’s for sure — the top teams in the Big Sky, and elsewhere in the FCS — are happy there’s one less obstacle on their road to a national title. 

JUST LIKE after it won its first Super Bowl (still two words; stop spelling it Superbowl) 11 years ago, that professional football team in Seattle is built to be a problem for the rest of the NFL for years to come. 

A young, aggressive team, especially on defense, with an offense that can move it a little bit too. 

What’s this? Getting to the quarterback with just a four-man rush? Blitzers actually running past the blockers and hitting the passer  ? 

Hopefully, we took notes. 

And to think it was only a few months ago when Lumen Field was half-filled with 49ers fans, a game the visitors won despite not playing their best. 

Now, if the Seahawks don’t mess it up, like they did after the last time ... 

In the meantime, it could be the first of three parades this year for Pacific Northwest teams. 

AND FINALLY ...

I'm old enough to remember when Sandpoint last played in an all-North Idaho high school girls basketball championship game.

It was only ... 42 years ago, when Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene squared off in that overtime thriller in Coeur d'Alene High's old gym — now called Elmer Jordan Court — a classic won by Coeur d'Alene.

Some would say that was the game that put girls basketball on the map in the state of Idaho.

In any event ...

This year, it wouldn't be in North Idaho, but with Lakeland's girls seeded No. 1 in 5A and Sandpoint seeded No. 2 entering the state tournament this week, how cool would it be to see another all-North Idaho title game, on Saturday night at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa?

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.