In win, Cougs show the team they can be

PULLMAN – With a gutty final drive to beat Rutgers by a score of 37-34 on Saturday, Washington State showed it could push back and avoid a debilitating malaise from a bad loss.

The team’s slogan of looking only at the game ahead paid off and the Cougars appeared to be a completely different team than the one that lost to Portland State the week before.

With a good performance following a bad, the chart showing WSU’s season has a steep upward slope. It could still plunge, however, and though each game may be a discrete event, the Cougars must build upon each contest, even if they don’t acknowledge them once they’re over.

“They are all must-win games,” coach Mike Leach said. “This was a must-win game. Last week was a must-win game. We won this one, so we just try to win one game a week.”

WSU beat a team on its own turf Saturday. Now the Cougars get a second chance to bully an athletically inferior team in their house.

Wyoming (0-2) comes to Pullman licking its wounds after a surprising season-opening loss to North Dakota and a 48-29 beatdown last week by Eastern Michigan. In the second game, the Cowboys were without their top two quarterbacks and finished with just 32 yards passing.

When Wyoming hired Craig Bohl before last season, it was considered a good hire by a program that could be a power in the Mountain West.

Bohl’s program has yet to show its on a path to recapture the success he had at FCS North Dakota State, where he won three consecutive national championships before departing for Laramie.

Wyoming is 4-10 under Bohl, and while the Cowboys do recruit some talented players – three total selected in the past two NFL drafts – they are unlikely to match up with WSU.

The WSU team that just beat Rutgers on the road should have no problem beating the Cowboys and improving to 2-1, a respectable nonconference record considering the slate. The team that lost at home to Portland State? Well, they would struggle in this one.

Wide receiver Gabe Marks has been arguably the team’s most consistent playmaker through two games, and certainly its most energetic player. He’s the last player on the team you worry about coming out flat in this game, or any game.

After the win at Rutgers, Marks said, “This is the team that I know we can be. I’m really proud of all the guys and how we fought through adversity.”

It was the team the Cougars can be, but is it the team they will be? This week’s game against Wyoming will speak volumes.

Around the nation

• Rutgers suspends Carroo: Rutgers receiver Leonte Carroo was suspended indefinitely by the school Sunday after being involved in an incident outside the team’s stadium following the Scarlet Knights’ loss to WSU.

“Leonte Carroo has been suspended from our program as a result of an incident that happened last night outside of our stadium that is currently under investigation,” coach Kyle Flood said. “Until that investigation concludes, we will have no further comment.”

Rutgers police declined to comment on the incident, saying Sunday that detective bureau was closed until today.

Flood declined to give details of the incident, saying only it was under investigation.

• Top 25: Three Southeastern Conference teams fell out of the AP Top 25 and Auburn dropped 12 spots after the league that set a record for most teams in the college football rankings last week had a rough weekend.

Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi State all dropped out after losses Saturday. Auburn needed overtime to beat Jacksonville State of the FCS and slipped from No. 6 to No. 18.

The SEC was down to seven ranked teams, still the most of any conference.

Ohio State remains No. 1, but the Buckeyes are no longer unanimous. No. 4 Michigan State received two first-place votes from the media panel after beating Oregon 31-28. Alabama remains No. 2. TCU is 3.