THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Thursday, July 23, 2015

By Year 3 in a program, a team should be making some semblance of progress — especially a team that has been down for most of its recent past.

The first year is usually a get-to-know-you year — a new coach presiding largely over someone else’s recruits, working with the ones who choose to stick around and buy in with the new regime, weeding out those who aren’t interested in a new voice — or just want a fresh start themselves.

In the second year, the new coach is able to bring in a few more of “his guys,” and by the third year is able to bring in even more players who fit what he wants to do.

So imagine the complete and utter lack of respect given to the Idaho Vandals last week by the rest of the Sun Belt Conference football coaches.

In their preseason poll, the Sun Belt coaches picked Idaho to finish 11th in the conference this fall.

11th. There’s only 11 football-playing teams in the conference.

So ... last.

REALLY?

Idaho was picked to finish behind … well, everybody, but especially New Mexico State, the Vandals’ former conference-mate in the WAC through 2012, then brother in independence in 2013, then reunited last year in the Sun Belt.

In 2014, the Vandals were picked to finish ninth — ahead of Georgia State and New Mexico State. Idaho then went out and beat New Mexico State for its only win last year, 29-17 at the Kibbie Dome.

And this is the thanks they get?

This year, New Mexico State was picked to finish 10th — one spot ahead of Idaho.

Imagine the hype when Idaho and New Mexico State meet Oct. 31 in Las Cruces, N.M. They should call it the “I’ll Show You” Bowl.

Idaho and New Mexico State tied for ninth in the Sun Belt last year at 1-7. Georgia State was last. Idaho did not play Georgia State last year; New Mexico State beat Georgia State 34-31 in Week 2 last year.

Then Idaho showed New Mexico State who’s boss six weeks later.

Oh, the injustice!

SURE, PRESEASON polls should be taken with a grain of salt -- they’re usually just educated guesses (and sometimes, not-so-educated guesses) by coaches and media, who usually look at how a team did last year, what do they have coming back, did they lose a lot of key players, and go from there.

But still, football coaches being the type that will look for anything for motivation, it doesn’t get much easier than this — “Look, guys, you were picked to finish last -- LAST! In the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt, for goodness sakes.”

Idaho can also draw inspiration from last year, when Georgia Southern was picked eighth in the preseason poll -- then went on to win the darn league.

This year, the Vandals play host to Georgia Southern (picked to finish first this year), Louisiana-Monroe (tied for seventh last season, picked seventh this year), Appalachian State (third last year, picked third this year) and Texas State (tied for fourth last year, picked fifth this year), and travel to Arkansas State (tied for fourth last year, picked third this year), Troy (tied for seventh last year, picked eighth this year), New Mexico State (tied for ninth last year, picked 10th this year) and South Alabama (tied for fourth last year, picked sixth this year).

But truthfully, you couldn’t expect the coaches to pick Idaho too much higher this season. Ninth probably would have been about right.

All optimism aside, the reality is the Vandals won just one game each of the past two seasons. Yes, the losses in 2014 weren’t as one-sided as they were in 2013, so how about a little credit for that?

However, as one famous coach once said, you are what your record says you are. Even if the Vandals showed improvement from their 1-11 season in 2013 to their 1-10 campaign in 2014, there are usually no qualifiers placed in front of such teams, like, Idaho was a “much-improved” 1-10 last season.

But still … last?

Bring on those Aggies on Halloween!

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