FCS Portland is just what the doctor ordered for the struggling Cougs

Washington State's running backs combined for 60 rushing yards on 12 carries against Nevada. (AP)

Washington State vs. Portland State

Where: Martin Stadium
Kickoff: 5 p.m. Saturday
Radio: AM 770 KTTH
Line: Cougars by 21.5

What’s at stake: For the Cougars, it’s the first step toward salvaging the season after losses to Rutgers and Nevada.

Why the Cougs will win: For starters, they’re the supposedly superior team from a major Division I conference. But they lost to what is projected to be a straggler in the Big Ten in Rutgers and a so-so Mountain West team in Nevada.

When a team is favored by 21.5 points, it might not cover the spread, but it rarely loses. Then again, we are talking about the 2014 Cougs, who were favored by 7.5 over Rutgers and by 3.5 over Nevada.

Connor Halliday and his array of receivers should be more than enough to get it done against a Portland State team coached by former Husky Nigel Burton.

The Cougars will try to get a semblance of a running game going this week. Spokesman-Review writer Jacob Thorpe pointed out that Mike Leach’s most successful team at Texas Tech, the 2008 version of the Red Raiders, had two players who combined for 1,474 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.

Point being, it’s not throw-throw-throw all the time in the Air Raid even if it seems that way. Leach wants to run the ball, and it’s up to Halliday to pick the right situations to hand the ball off. It’s also up to the offensive line to create some room. All obvious things I’m saying here, but we’ve seen none of it so far.

It doesn’t appear to be a lack of talent at running back, where freshmen Jamal Morrow and Gerard Wicks have replaced incumbents Marcus Mason and Theron West.

Why the Cougars might lose: Portland State might be an FCS team, but the Vikings led Oregon State 14-13 at halftime in Corvallis two weeks ago before losing 29-14. If they were in the game with the Beavers, they can certainly be in it with the Cougars.

Portland State beat Division II Western Oregon 45-38 last Saturday and rushed for 285 yards, averaging 7.5 yards a carry. That could be a concern with a Cougars defense that has been susceptible to the run.

For me, the key is to get way ahead early to restore confidence and quickly snuff the Portland State feeling of “hey, we could beat these guys.” If the Vikings are hanging around with a chance to win in the fourth quarter, it could heighten their belief and rekindle a Washington State feeling of “here we go again.”

I never thought a game against Portland State would be pivotal in the Mike Leach era, but if the Cougs lose, they’ll be 0-3 and it would be hard to picture anything better than a 1-11 season.

But it’s hard to see the Cougs losing to a much-lesser opponent in their home opener. If it happens, pass the Fireball or the tequila or the rum or whatever you have handy.

Prediction: Cougars 48, Vikings 17.

Viewing party: Join the Go 2 Guy at the Magnolia Village Pub for a 710 ESPN Seattle Cougars viewing party Saturday at 5 p.m. There will be drink specials, ticket give-aways to the Oregon game, halftime contests and much, much more. Maybe even a WSU win.

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.