WSU is a program at the crossroads heading into Week 2 against Rutgers

Luke Falk and the Cougars will have a shot to get the Air Raid on track against a depleted Rutgers secondary. (AP)

Can you think of one good reason why Washington State will bounce back from the worst loss in school history to beat Rutgers on the road this week?

I can’t either. Well, actually I can. The Scarlet Knights suspended five players recently, four for assaulting a group of people last April, and three were starting defensive backs.

If you have backup DBs trying to stop the Air Raid, you should have problems.

Rutgers also has a head coach who’s under fire for allegedly sending an email to a professor inquiring about a player’s grades. That’s an NCAA violation, and the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, Kyle Flood remains on the sideline and directed his team to a 63-13 thrashing of Norfolk State last week.

If rain bothered the Cougs last week, it could be an issue again Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. with a 60-percent chance of thunderstorms. But it will be 40 degrees warmer than it was at kickoff last Saturday in Pullman with an expected high of 83 degrees.

It’s hard to know what to expect from the Cougars. I could see us winning by 30 or losing by 30, and I admit that it’s much easier to see us losing by 30 than winning by 30.

Talk about a program at the crossroads. Lose this game and you’re really done for the year. Then what do you do with Mike Leach? Give him another year and see if he can turn us around in his fifth season? If not, it’ll cost nearly $5 million to buy him out.

But if we were to win this game – and oddsmakers think we have a chance, listing the Cougs as only 3 ½-point underdogs – Washington State would be in position to salvage the season. Next week’s opponent, Wyoming, lost to North Dakota last Saturday. A 2-1 start is probable with a win over Rutgers, and 3-1 is even in play with a trip to Cal in two weeks.

Will the Cougs use last week’s humiliating loss as motivation to get it together this week? Citing communication problems on both sides of the ball as a factor in the Portland State loss is lame. So was Leach’s contention that his players were too tight and needed to loosen up.

Good God, I don’t care if you had communication problems and were playing tight, you still should have beaten Portland State with your C game.

It suggests to me that there are much deeper issues with the program. Maybe he’s more encouraging to his players behind closed doors, but from what we hear and see publicly, I’ll take Pete Carroll’s upbeat style over Leach’s Eeyore style eight days out of the week at this point.

I have an idea – could we at least look like we’re having fun? You guys are playing football and getting your education paid for. You’re playing at a Division I school in the Pac-12. You’re kids, fercrisesakes, enjoy being teenagers and have a good time!

On my flat screen, it too often looks like drudgery for all involved. I know you can’t change who you are, but just one time I’d like to see Leach look like he’s enjoying what he’s doing.

Here’s what I don’t want to see – Leach screaming at his players during a timeout to “DO YOUR BLEEPING JOB!” I keep wondering when he’s going to do his. We’re 12-26 since he arrived. Oh, that’s right, he’s had Paul Wulff’s terrible players to work with, just like Wulff had Bill Doba’s terrible players to work with. But wait a minute, Leach is in his fourth year – these are HIS players now.

If we win this game, the dwindling group of Leach supporters will feel redeemed and inform the rest of us know-nothings that there’s still hope, we just need to trust in the process, that culture change takes time.

But if we lose, the Pirate will be closer than ever to the end of the plank.

Call me an idiot, call me a fool, I’m nonetheless going to take the Cougs in an upset, which makes no sense, which is why it will happen.

Prediction: Washington State 38, Rutgers 28

Season record against the spread: 0-1.

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.