Wazzu Nation is not happy.

Since this is a family newspaper, I can’t actually use many of the terms that nearly blew up my laptop after the Cougs were disgraced 38-13 by Utah on Saturday night.

Let’s combine most of the phrases that have come zapping in over the past few days and put the WSU loyalists’ views into this one short sentence…

“I am #@%&# hacked off.”

Except that they didn’t write “hacked,” either.

So this was not, ah, a friendly exchange of views.

These fans are hot.

The weird thing is that the angry barrage of Wazzu complaints were scattered all over the place — at Mike Leach, at the players, at defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, or at some combination of them all.

To give you an idea of the frustration, a few people wanted to complain that Leach had gone too far by calling his athletes “babies,” claimed they pouted, and then described the squad in general as “fat, dumb, happy and entitled.”

MANY FOLKS, however, agreed with Leach and said they thought the Cougars had played exactly the way their coach had described.

“When we meet any adversity, we fold,” Leach had said in a quick assessment of the last two games.

To be candid, it’s hard not to reach some conclusion like that.

Coug supporters saw just what everyone else did — a team that looked almost like it quit.

WSU blew a 32-point lead at home to previously winless UCLA because the Cougars could not summon the proper level of mental strength and execution when it was needed to stem the tide.

It cost them a game that never, ever should have been lost.

The Utes were a different proposition, simply because they’re better than Wazzu, top to bottom.

A loss in Salt Lake City would not have been an embarrassment — except for the lack of poise, cohesion, and the ability to play any sort of defense that led to a pitiful result, thus prompting Leach’s blasts at everyone.

And yes, he included himself and his staff for not getting through to the players.

As for what he called “streetball” defense, Leach suggested that play calls were not getting from the press box (where Claeys observes and communicates), to coaches on the sidelines, and then out to the players.

Or perhaps the players aren’t hearing or listening to those calls.

Leach said they were running around like “free agents,” which wasn’t a stretch since Utah enjoyed remarkably wide-open receivers all night.

As for the offense, quarterback Anthony Gordon admitted he should have checked into better plays — especially more involving all-purpose star Max Borghi.

Leach, though, gave Gordon a backhanded compliment when asked to assess the QB’s play.

“He was just about like all the others,” Leach said, “but at least he didn’t pout.”

THE BIG question on the minds of most Cougar fans, I’m sure, is where things go from here.

Utah is almost certainly the best defense they’ll face (except maybe Cal), but the nightmare scenario is seeing all of the Pac-12’s decent offensive teams running up and down the field like sprinters in a track meet — while Wazzu defenders miss assignments, miss tackles, and/or just aren’t good enough to stop a weekly onslaught.

The doomsday scenario, with Arizona State, Oregon, California and Washington still to play on the road, obviously would be this bunch of Cougars not even qualifying for a bowl game after starting 3-0.

Winning at Cal might be possible if Bears quarterback and leader Chase Garbers remains out injured.

Playing without Garbers in the second half on Saturday night, Cal (at home and then a legit 4-0) was helpless to the point that the Bears couldn’t muster a fourth-quarter first down in their 24-17 loss to ASU — a game they appeared to have totally under control.

OTHER THAN some break like that, Wazzu will have to pull an upset at Arizona State, Oregon or, Lord help us, in the Apple Cup on Montlake — unless the Cougars can win out at home against Colorado, Stanford and Oregon State — maybe, but not with this level of play.

A record of 5-7 does not seem impossible.

Or even implausible.

By the way, among the other groups that underperformed at Utah was the previously solid offensive line, which occasionally failed to protect Gordon with five blockers against a three-man rush.

It crossed my mind then that Leach might turn to the more mobile passer Gage Gubrud, in hopes of buying time for receivers to get open.

And to shake things up, as well.

He didn’t.

No matter who plays, though, the Cougs now must regroup spectacularly if the season isn’t to become a complete shambles.

To pull it off, they can’t be babies, they can’t pout, they can’t fold at the first sign of resistance, and of course, they can’t be “fat, dumb, happy and entitled.”

Besides all that, however, Leach himself might want to quit ranting about the California legislature, or describing a game of “Survivor” among Pac-12 mascots.

It’s now time for the coach to…

Damn well coach.

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com