Is the second of a 12-game college football season too early to be declaring a "must-win" game?

Not if you are the Washington State Cougars.

When you have won just once in 13 games against NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) opposition over two seasons and the remaining schedule holds few promising opportunities for a breakout, you have to gather the victories and marshal the hope where you can.

When you are the unanimous pick to finish at the bottom of the Pac-10 Conference and ranked 115th — or worse — among the 120 schools playing major college football, you need to seize the moments that present themselves.

Which is why Coug faithful have circled these next two weeks on their schedule expectantly, if not desperately.

After a 2-11 season, they see hope in Saturday's game against Hawai'i and the following week's game against Southern Methodist as win-or-else forks in the season.

They are the only two games where the Cougs will likely be within a touchdown or favored on the Las Vegas betting line. (UH is an early 6-point pick.)

Win those two and, maybe, there is hope for a turnaround this decade in the Palouse. But lose to the only two non-Bowl Championship Series guarantee conference opponents on the schedule and at home to boot and, well, 0-12 is a possibility if not a likelihood.

Half of the Cougs' six "home" games are played in September and one, Stanford, is already past. After the UH game in Seattle and SMU in Pullman, Wash., Wazzu's remaining home games are Arizona State (Oct. 10), UCLA (Nov. 14) and Oregon State (Nov. 21), none of which they figure to be favored in. The only remaining non-conference game after UH and SMU will be Notre Dame in San Antonio (Oct. 31).

Last year, only a 16-13 double overtime victory over cross-state rival Washington and a win over FCS (formerly Division I-AA) Portland State spared the Cougs the pain of a winless season that befell the Huskies at 0-12.

That was remarkable in itself for Wazzu, a team that lost 24-10 to UH last season and finished 119th in rushing defense, 118th in scoring and total offense, 118th in scoring defense and 119th in turnover margin.

The 39-13 loss to Stanford in Saturday's opener suggested things have not changed radically overnight. Instead, for Wazzu fans, the Stanford loss has sharpened the focus and raised the ante on these next two games.

So, here it is but the second game of a long season that threatens to become even longer for Washington State should victory elude it these upcoming weekends.