THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: That team in Boise should be more like the Zags

Maybe I view Boise State differently than Boise State people view Boise State.

In football, anyway.

Twitter is a pretty hilarious read on Boise State football game days, especially when the Beloved Broncos are in a tight game, or … god forbid … losing.

“Bench the quarterback!”

“Fire the head coach!” (oh wait, they did that).

“We can’t defend anybody!”

And other various proclamations of gloom-and-doom from the fandom.

NOW, I get that Twitter is like that with most teams.

But Boise State fans work their way into a lather when the Broncos play, say, Utah State. 

Or Air Force.

Or Colorado State.

Now, to be fair, BSU is the most consistent team in the conference, usually in the conference title game, sometimes winning it.

That’s great, but …

In my opinion, Boise State should be running that league in football, dominating much like Gonzaga runs the West Coast Conference in men’s basketball. The Lovables almost always win the regular-season title, almost always win the conference tournament, and usually deliver beatdowns to their league brethren along the way.

They’re not getting worked up over games against, say, Santa Clara.

Boise State should be doing that in the Mountain West. Not eking out wins over the likes of Air Force, and hoping a computer spits out a number in its favor.

COME TO Boise, end up in the NFL, it seems. 

At the start of the season, Boise State had 11 players on NFL rosters — Leighton Vander Esch and DeMarcus Lawrence (Cowboys), Alexander Mattison and Ezra Cleveland (Vikings), Khalil Shakir (Bills) among them.

Others, like San Diego State and Wyoming, have similar numbers in the league — though some might think Josh Allen is the only Wyoming player in the NFL, and that San Diego State’s last NFL player was Marshall Faulk.

(Yes, I know the Seahawks had a running back from San Diego State recently. Had.)

I BRING this up because Boise State officials are in the midst of hiring a new football coach, after the last one lasted less than three seasons. 

BSU is doing a good job not turning this into a public search.

There’s a lot of sentiment inside the locker room for the current interim coach, a promoted assistant.

Jeff Choate, with ties to St. Maries and Post Falls, seemed to be in the mix during the last hire, but reportedly not so much this time around for the current Texas assistant.

You wonder how BSU would have done if it had hired Choate, who elevated Montana State to a national level in FCS during his time there.

But it sounds like we’ll never know, at least in Boise.

Whoever the hire turns out to be, their goal should be clear — make Boise State the absolute dominant football team in its conference. 

Not just one of the best every year — but the Zags basketball of Mountain West football.

Boise State fans like to make fun of Idaho — but the Broncos should be better than the Vandals, with more scholarships, and more resources.

(Though it might not be a bad game these days).

Still, BSU should strive to be better than that.

Yes, we all remember the days of the hook-and-lateral. The Statue of Liberty. The marriage proposal. Kellen Moore.

But those days were a long time ago.

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 X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.