THE FRONT ROW with Mark Nelke Dec. 12, 2013
Nice to see that Chris Petersen has received the blessing of pretty much everybody in the Boise valley to leave Boise State and take the head football coaching job at the University of Washington.
Obviously the chance to coach in a BCS league was appealing. But maybe he also saw what the college football landscape was going to look like the next few years, and realized where Boise State was going to fit - a cute and cuddly team to plug into a few prime-time slots on ESPN. But unless the Broncos went 12-0 - or even if they did - the reward for winning the Mountain West title was going to be a pat on the head and a trip to Random Bowls 'R Us.
Boise State football and Gonzaga men's basketball have their similarities. Both are smaller programs that, with the right recruiting and good coaching, can compete with the nation's best.
But Gonzaga, though it has yet to make it to the Final Four during this run of 15 straight trips to the NCAA tournament, at least is in the bracket every year, so Bulldogs coach Mark Few doesn't need to look elsewhere - he can get there from GU. The way college football is set up, it's going to be hard for a team like Boise State to be selected for the four-team playoff that begins next season - even with an undefeated regular season.
Still, it wasn't like southern Idaho was screaming for Petersen's head after this year's 8-4 season - the 'worst' record in his eight seasons as Broncos head coach. He could have probably stayed in Boise forever, treated himself to all the thick bacon he wanted from JB's in Meridian, and no one would have minded. Besides, the man went 92-12 at BSU.
Kudos to him for, as he said earlier this week, stepping out of his comfort zone and taking on a new challenge.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results, as they like to say. And Petersen knows this better than anyone, watching how the coaches who preceded him in Boise fared at their next coaching stops.
A few 8-4 seasons in Seattle will probably give him lots of free time in the fall - though that record helped the previous coach land the gig at USC.
But, anything better than that, and the Huskies could be competing for Pac-12 titles and berths in big-time bowls, if not college football's version of the Final Four.
Could even be someone a Coug fan might pull for.
Silently, anyway.
* USA Today came out with all-state selections in each state in high school football.
In Idaho, Coeur d'Alene High quarterback Gunnar Amos was picked as Offensive Player of the Year.
He was joined on the all-state team by tight end Chase Blakley of Coeur d'Alene, offensive lineman Matt James of Coeur d'Alene, defensive lineman Gavan Rosteck of Lake City, linebacker Jackson Carlson of Coeur d'Alene, defensive back Ryan Walde of Coeur d'Alene, and kicker Cade Coffey of Lakeland.
The Idaho Statesman newspaper of Boise is scheduled to release its all-Idaho teams on Sunday.
* Congrats to senior defender Daniel McDevitt of Lakeland High, who was named to the 4A boys all-state team in high school soccer, as selected by the Idaho High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.