This Cougar football unit had been touted as the most talented since Head Coach Mike Leach’s hiring. Despite this, they lost their home opener to a Big Sky Conference team, which hasn’t happened since 1947.

WSU kicked off its fourth season under Leach with a 24-17 loss to Portland State, the same team they beat 59-21 last year.

In a game many had pegged as a sure WSU win; the Vikings (1-0) played confidently and bamboozled the Cougars (0-1) with an improbable victory. The Vikings were slated to have a 2.4 percent chance of beating the Cougars, according to ESPN.

“We haven’t had a practice that was worse than that game,” Leach said following the loss.

WSU players seemed to share Leach’s sentiments, saying their game play didn’t match up with that of their practice field efforts.

Redshirt senior lineman Gunnar Eklund said the team didn’t play like they did any of their practices or scrimmages and didn’t do their job.

Senior linebacker Jeremiah Allison said their commitment to the game didn’t match Portland State’s, though they felt ready for the challenge.

“We prepared for (their offense) in practice,” Allison said. “We just gotta get better.”

According to the players, it was poor weather conditions and weak communication that cost the Cougars their first game of the season.

“Guys were dropping balls,” senior wide receiver Gabe Marks said. “It wasn’t the best situation and we didn’t make plays, and that’s how you lose the game.”

The receiver corps wasn’t the only group pained by the adverse conditions. Running back Gerard Wicks said players weren’t used to the rain, slipping on the turf and choosing not to remove their gloves.

“Running backs didn’t get the call… just a lot of stuff going on,” Wicks said.

Even with the wet surfaces and shortcomings by the team’s respective units, WSU commanded the first half of the game. They gained 274 yards compared to the Vikings’ 66 and did so through 23 of the game’s first 30 minutes.

The second half, though, was a different story. Entering the half at a 10-0 deficit, Portland State would manage 17 unanswered points, winning the line of scrimmage and effectively attacking WSU’s weak quarterback coverage.

Viking quarterbacks Alex Kuresa and Paris Penn combined for almost 150 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Leach said tackling the quarterback was the team’s biggest challenge Saturday. He said once the Vikings saw the opportunity, they ran the quarterback more and WSU suffered because of it.

Allison, who had 12 tackles in Saturday’s game including a few to stop the run-happy quarterbacks, said the team needs to improve their level of focus.

“You envision things going the way you want them to go,” Allison said. “But sometimes they don’t go the way you want them to go.”

WSU has lost each of their first games since Mike Leach was hired as head coach. They are 12-26 since.

The Cougars will head out onto the road next weekend to face Rutgers at 12:30 p.m. PST Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium.