The WSU football team entered this season with high expectations, and a possibility to qualify for a major bowl game this season. After a 0-2 start with losses to Rutgers and Nevada, the defense has been the most glaring weakness for the team thus far.

Head Coach Mike Leach has expressed great disappointment regarding the team’s slow start.

“We gotta expect more out of ourselves, and we gotta get more out of ourselves,” Leach said in an interview with wsucougars.com. “And it starts with the coaches.”

As a defense, the team has appeared mentally weak and has consistently crumbled during tough moments in the team’s first two games. When Rutgers and Nevada both scored a big play, things got worse before they got better, and at times the defense appeared to give up.

With a young secondary that returned only two starters from last season, the lack of experience has been exploited mightily during the team’s first two games. The defensive backs often looked lost in their receiver assignments, and have failed to capitalize on forcing turnovers and playing tight coverage on receivers.

The Cougars’ front seven has appeared soft and weak so far this season, by missing easy tackles and consistently being pancaked by the opposing team’s offensive line. Nevada’s rushing attack exploited the Cougars’ defensive front by rushing for a total of 214 yards, according to espn.com.

The Rutgers offensive linemen and running backs bullied the WSU defense in the season opener, with Rutgers running back Paul James rushing for 173 yards and three touchdowns against WSU, according to sports-reference.com. The Cougars have allowed a total of 419 rushing yards in their first two games this season, according to ESPN.com.

It is apparent that defensive coordinator Mike Breske and his position coaches haven’t set up their players for success. Former WSU running back Teondray Caldwell, listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 197 pounds on the team’s website, started the season as the team’s strong safety, a questionable move which proved costly in the season opener.

While Caldwell didn’t start in Friday’s game against Nevada, his replacement, true freshman Darius Lemora, looked incredibly rattled under the bright lights. The safety position was a staple for the defense with former WSU safety Deone Bucannon last season, but so far this season it is more of a weakness than a strength.

Senior leadership has also been a disappointment on defense for the Cougars. Senior cornerback Tracy Clark and senior linebacker Darryl Monroe haven’t played up to their potential, and have made more mistakes than positive plays for the Cougars.

The beginning of the Cougars’ schedule appeared easy in difficulty when the schedules were first released, but the Cougars have failed to execute defensively as Pac-12 conference play quickly approaches.

If the poor effort on defense continues, the Cougars will struggle mightily against the explosive offenses in the Pac-12 conference such as Oregon, Arizona State and USC.

If the Cougars don’t correct their defensive mishaps soon, their season will be all but lost.