THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A weekend of defeats, some more startling than others

So, you’re a Vandals fan for life.

Suggestions: Don’t get down 17-0 in the second quarter to a decent team like Montana.

Don’t get sucked into a play-action shot right off the bat, this one a 76-yard TD from Clifton McDowell to Junior Bergen.

Don’t lose a fumble and two interceptions, along with seven penalties, or you’ll walk off with a 23-21 loss in a game you dominated for decent stretches, and probably should have won.

C’mon, get it together.

There is still an FCS national championship up for grabs.

(Note: More on Idaho football later this week — from lost on the Palouse to a No. 3 ranking heading into that Montana showdown.)

SO, YOU remain a diehard Wazzu fan.

Suggestions: Scheme up a way to deal with a three-man rush and eight defenders in the secondary.

And when things go wrong, don’t quit.

Find a Plan B.

UCLA strangled the Cougs by rushing three against Cam Ward a week ago, and then Arizona absolutely embarrassed WSU 44-6 on Saturday night — leaning heavily on that same defense against Ward’s passing game.

Wazzu might want to figure out how to run the ball, which can take a defense out of that three-man front in a hurry.

Seriously, whatever you thought would work against the Wildcats … junk it.

Arizona planned to stop the pass at all costs, and yet the Cougs could NOT find a way to run the ball.

That total of 35 yards on 22 carries looks like a misprint.

Top two running backs Nakia Watson and Jaylen Jenkins combined for eight yards on nine carries.

Arizona has been getting better each week (frosh QB Noah Fifita threw for 342 yards), but this was ridiculous.

Believe it or not, the Cougs led this game 6-0 after a 75-yard drive to open the first quarter.

Unfortunately, they managed just nine first downs the rest of the game.

WSU’s 10 possessions after that first drive included four punts, three turnovers on downs, two interceptions and a lost fumble.

Ugh!

Hopefully, it cannot get any worse.

This is a good coaching staff, and Ben Arbuckle is a sharp offensive coordinator.

Surely, they can find some answers.

You can’t leave even a good defense on the field forever, and expect anything but a blowout.

SO, YOU remain a Seahawks fan.

I’m guessing you screamed so loud, you’ve damaged your vocal cords.

Trying to reach Geno Smith with your feelings, were you?

I’ve had this theory ever since Geno became the starting QB, and that needless 17-13 loss at Cincinnati pretty much proved what had been worrying me.

The guy is a good passer.

He can really fire the thing.

Unfortunately, he needs lots of grass out there, so that the Seahawks corps of receivers can get some separation on their routes.

What Geno can NOT do is produce touchdowns once he reaches the red zone.

Defenses get crowded, targets are tougher to find, and Geno tends to bail and roll out under pressure.

Or.

Roll backwards, as he did when taking a 15-yard sack with the ball on the Bengals’ 5-yard line.

Seattle had so many chances to win that game, it became laughable.

Over and over, they got into touchdown distance, and from there, Geno looked lost.

That last series of the game, when a TD would have won it, was absurd.

Honestly, the Hawks would have been better off running the ball four times and hoping for the best.

This was a critical test, too.

If the Seahawks had beaten Cincinnati with the defense looking so damn solid, you could picture a really good season starting to unfold.

YET NOW you start to fear the worst.

The schedule gets tougher, and teams have seen plenty of tape, showing how to put the squeeze on Geno Smith.

Let’s tell the truth.

Seattle will need a new quarterback to become a legit Super Bowl challenger.

Naturally, Pete Carroll defended Smith, even though his quarterback failed to see DK Metcalf and then Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone.

“We missed a real opportunity,” Carroll said.

No kidding.

Seattle held Joe Burrow and the Bengals to 214 total yards and 15 first downs (the Hawks had 381 and 24), but Smith managed to get touchdowns on just one of five trips into the red zone.

“The focus goes to Geno because he’s got the ball in his hands, but he had a lot of stuff going on with the pressure coming,” Carroll said.

“We missed a big play, I think you guys probably found the one — we missed a big play to Jaxon when we had him wide open.

“That was the play that we were really waiting on all game long, and a couple guys flashed on Geno and he took off with the ball and ran with it -- but man, that was the touchdown to put us ahead right there so we missed that opportunity.”

This loss was a gut punch.

And I’m sorry, because Geno is a great guy and all that.

But they need a new QB1.

End of story.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”