THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The bar is different for these four area college football teams

Every new season in any sport usually brings excitement.

Even in the Palouse, this year.

At least in football.

Washington State weathered its Coach Covid debacle last season, and fans are looking forward to a full season under the leadership of coach Jake Dickert.

Meanwhile, 9 miles away, Idaho has a new coach in Jason Eck, and fans are hoping the Vandals will finally return to their winning ways.

Eastern Washington has had stellar quarterback play for more than a decade — which coincides with the Eagles’ dominance in the Big Sky, and two trips to the FCS title game. With Eric Barriere gone, will that continue?

Down in Boise, the Broncos have been “stuck” in the rut of still being a really good college football team, but one that hasn’t made much noise in the bowl season since the hook and lateral, the statue of liberty and the proposal.

With all that in mind, here’s a look at how we think these four area college football teams might fare this year:

Idaho: Since returning to the Big Sky in 2018, the Vandals have gone 4-7, 5-7, 2-4 (during the COVID-shortened spring 2021 season) and 4-7.

That’s not the kind of consistency Vandal fans have been looking for.

Since Eck was hired, there’s been an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm from boosters, even more so than the usual excitement when a new coach is hired.

While we’d also like to see this enthusiasm translate into wins — after all, good football is more fun to cover than bad football — Eck and the Vandals are going to have to prove it.

If the Vandals win a few more games, and recruit a few more local kids who turn into key contributors, that will be a couple steps in the right direction.

We’ll give them one more win for a 5-6 season (presuming they can beat a Drake team that was 2-9 last season), and call it progress.

Washington State: Cougar Nation, as it were, is excited not only about their coach, but also about this year’s Quarterback of the Year, Incarnate Word transfer Cam Ward.

With Idaho, Wisconsin and Colorado State as their first three games, the Cougars could be 3-0 before hosting Oregon in their “Future Big Ten West” opener.

WSU has an offense seemingly capable of scoring on anybody, which REALLY bodes well when the Cougs enter conference play.

Losing to a MAC school in a bowl game, then blaming it on lack of depth due to injuries didn’t seem a good luck for a team coming from a “better” conference.

Hopefully the Cougs have moved past that this year.

After trouncing the Huskies last year, WSU figures to be a rare favorite in the Apple Cup for a second straight year, and 8-4 wouldn’t be a bad year.

Eastern Washington: The coaches and media both picked the Eagles to finish sixth in the 12-team Big Sky — a bit low, it seems, but perhaps wishful thinking, at least on the coaches’ part.

The Eags still have a bevy of talented receivers and backs, but yes, the person who gets them the ball is kinda important.

Coach Aaron Best said Gunner Talkington, a sixth-year senior who turns 24 next Sunday, is the No. 1 QB heading into this season.

Road trips to Oregon and Florida in the first four weeks will help the school’s bank account, if not its record.

And who knows, Eastern’s game at Idaho on Nov. 5 could be for a spot in the FCS playoffs — for either team.

Could be a 6-5 season in Cheney this year, on the fringe of a postseason berth.

Boise State: Granted, “worst” is relative in this case.

But the Broncos’ 7-5 record in football last year was BSU’s worst since 1998, when the Broncos went 6-5 in their third season in the Big West after leaving the Big Sky for what was then called Division I-A.

Boise State will benefit from a soft non-conference schedule — when Oregon State is your toughest test …

The Broncos’ last four seasons have ended with a dud — twice their bowl game was canceled, once due to weather, once due to COVID-19. BSU opted not to play in a bowl during their COVID-shortened 5-2 season in 2020. And the one time they did play in a bowl game, the Huskies, coached by former BSU head man Chris Petersen, pounded them 38-7.

If the Broncos really want to move up to a more prestigious conference, it’s time to start dominating where they are now. A 10-2 record would be an improvement over 2021, but BSU should be able to do better than that.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.