Rush LB Frankie Luvu led the assault on Colorado QBs with 2 sacks

IT MIGHT NOT have been the definitive statement performance some would want to see following Washington State’s ugly outing at California, but there were enough bright spots on a wet, windy Saturday night in Martin Stadium to yield a satisfying win for the No. 15/18 Cougars.

Washington State’s defense posted its first shutout against a league opponent in 23 years, the Cougars ran the ball for a season-high 194 yards and Luke Falk threw for 197 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-0 win over Colorado.

The last time Washington State shutout a Pac-12/10 opponent was 1994, when the Cougars blanked UCLA 21-0.

The Cougars (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) moved into a first-place tie with Stanford in the Pac-12 North, and became the league’s first team to hit the seven-win mark this season. WSU’s last 7-1 start came in 2003.

Falk now stands alone by a quarterback in Washington State history with 25, surpassing Jason Gesser, who has 24.

Falk has had better games, but he did enough to jump start a Cougar offense that struggled with the wind and rain during the first quarter. Falk, who threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to stake WSU to a 14-0 halftime lead, completed 17 of 34 passes.

The Cougar defense bounced back in a big way from its California showing, holding Colorado to 174 offensive yards. The Buffaloes (4-4, 1-4) never had much of a passing game between quarterbacks Steven Montez, Sam Noyer and Cas Marksberry, combining to complete 13 of 34 for 94 yards. Colorado was 1 of 17 on third down conversions.

Frankie Luvu led the assault on Colorado’s quarterback with a pair of sacks. It was Washington State’s second shutout of the season. The Cougars blanked Montana State 31-0 in the season opener.

Washington State ran the ball 34 times to accumulate its season high for rushing yardage. Jamal Morrow had 11 carries for 173 yards and one touchdown to lead the way. The Cougars picked a good time to turn to the run, as Colorado had given up a combined 693 rushing yards in its previous two games against Oregon State and Arizona.

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Cougars took the lead for good four minutes into the second quarter when Falk hit Tay Martin, running a crossing route, with a 50-yard touchdown pass.

The Cougars made it 14-0 on their next possession of the quarter, when Falk threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Arconado.

The touchdown receptions were college career firsts for Martin and Arconado. Martin’s touchdown was Washington State’s first in more than six quarters.

WSU added to its 14-0 halftime lead on its first possession of the third quarter, a nine-play, 75-yard march that ended with 9-yard touchdown run by Morrow. The Cougars capped their scoring late in the fourth quarter on a Falk-to-Renard Bell touchdown pass of 5 yards.

Next up for Washington State is its third road contest in four games as the Cougars travel to Tucson to play Arizona next Saturday.

NOTABLE NOTES:

+Washington State left guard Cody O’Connell left the game during the second quarter with an apparent lower leg injury, but returned to play on the first series of the third quarter.

+Colorado suffered a blow when left tackle Jeromy Irwin was tossed during the second quarter for targeting. Irwin, who has started 32 consecutive games for the Buffaloes, leveled WSU linebacker Derek Moore as he was chasing Colorado quarterback Steven Montez.

+Falk inched closer to the Pac-12 career record for passing yardage of 13,600, held by Oregon State’s Sean Mannion. After a 197-yard performance, Falk needs 225 yards to break the league mark.

Stay tuned, we’ve got complete coverage coming up on Cougfan.com!



