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The Washington State Cougars are enjoying their most successful season in a decade, currently sitting at 7-3, tied for second in the Pac-12 North, and making their first foray into the AP poll since 2006 (at No. 24). The Cougars are coming off arguably one of their biggest wins in recent memory, a last-second 31-27 win on the road against the then-No. 18 UCLA Bruins and have emerged as a legitimate winner in the Pac-12 thanks in no small part to the play of sophomore quarterback Luke Falk.
Falk has stepped into his role as a leader of this offense with toughness and elite playmaking ability. Fans saw a glimpse of what he could do at the end of last season when Falk stepped in for an injured Connor Halliday over the final four games of the season, throwing for 1,859 yards, including 471 yards against the Oregon State Beavers and 601 against the Arizona State Sun Devils, with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The former walk-on has blossomed in his first year as the No. 1 quarterback in Mike Leach‘s Air-Raid system as he leads the nation in passing, averaging 406.7 yards per game while completing 70.3 percent of his passes with 35 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. His biggest leap from last year to now is the way that he’s able to push the offense up the field with his strong arm while making smart decisions to avoid turnovers. Interceptions have plagued this Washington State team in recent years the really kept the Cougars from taking that next step under Leach but Falk has avoided those pitfalls and WSU has reaped the benefits.
But Falk’s most impressive performance came in the win against UCLA where the Cougars surrendered a late lead when Josh Rosen ran for the go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute to play. Despite getting battered all night long by the Bruin defense, Falk stepped up and led a scoring drive down the field, hitting Gabe Marks on a 21-yard touchdown with three seconds to play, capping a 331-yard, two-touchdown performance that had WSU’s starting QB in the locker room for a major part of the second quarter. It was a gutsy and impressive performance that personified the mental strength this team has developed this season.
Luke Falk has proven to be the perfect fit for Leach’s system and has elevated the Cougars towards the upper echelon of the conference. With a young and talented core around Falk, the team’s 2015 success might only be the beginning of big things returning to the Palouse.
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
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