Stanford will be tested by pass-happy Cougars

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There probably isn’t a greater contrast between two offenses than the ones fans will see Saturday night when No. 8 Stanford visits resurgent Washington State.

It’s Smash-mouth against Air Raid. The Cardinal run to set up the pass. The Cougars pass to set up more passes.

Put it this way: Stanford’s Kevin Hogan has attempted 159 passes. Washington State’s Luke Falk has attempted 186 — in the last three games; 387 all season.

Falk leads the Pac-12 in passing yards (412.1) and touchdown passes (26). Those totals are respectively second and fourth in the nation.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore from Logan, Utah, has stepped very nicely into the shoes of record-setter Connor Halliday. Cal fans will remember Halliday for the national-record 734 passing yards he dropped on the Bears in a 60-59 Cal win last year.

In head coach Mike Leach’s fourth season in Pullman, the Cougars (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) have shaken off a head-scratching opening loss to Portland State. They have poured points on Oregon (45), Oregon State (31) and Arizona (45) in the past three weeks and are in second place in the North Division behind the Cardinal (6-1, 5-0). That makes this game the key conference game of the Halloween weekend.

Stanford head coach David Shaw didn’t want to delve into a comparison of Falk with Halliday except to say Falk is a little bigger. What “jumps off the film is the play-making, the consistency and the positive yardage,” he said. “It’s something to watch now.”

Stanford and WSU have completely different pass-run ratios with their play selection this year. Figuring in pass plays that wound up as sacks (which are recorded as running plays), Stanford tries to pass 37 percent of the time, Washington State 73 percent.

The Cardinal, of course, are one of the few teams in college football whose first preference is to run. The overwhelming trend is toward high-paced passing offenses that love spread formations and eschew huddles.

Washington State’s Luke Falk is averaging more than 55 passes per game this season. Washington State’s Luke Falk is averaging more than 55 passes per game this season. Photo: Rick Scuteri, Associated Press Photo: Rick Scuteri, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Stanford will be tested by pass-happy Cougars 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Stanford’s creative offense sets up play-action passes with runs and, increasingly, sets up screen passes with its downfield passes. The Cardinal remain an anomaly in their run-first approach with their multiple-tight-end and extra-offensive-linemen formations.

Shaw’s background in the NFL explains his approach. He was on the coaching staffs of two NFL teams — the Raiders and the Ravens — that led the league in rushing.

“It works,” he said Tuesday. “It’s always worked. If you do it well and you execute it right and put guys in position to make plays, it works.

“I know other people have gone in different ways. A lot of times there’s a lot of stat-chasing out there — ‘If we go faster, we get more yards.’ That stuff never really appeals to me.

“I want to do whatever it takes to win a football game. I like winning time of possession, but it doesn’t equate to wins. But when you combine that with being good on third down and good in the red zone, then it does. You limit the other team’s opportunities with the ball.”

Briefly: WSU fans were disappointed that ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew won’t travel to Pullman for the first time Saturday. Instead, it will be in Philadelphia for Notre Dame-Temple. WSU fans have shown the school flag, Ol’ Crimson, on 171 consecutive “GameDay” shows in an effort to push ESPN to visit Martin Stadium. ... Stanford’s game at Colorado will be televised on Pac-12 Networks beginning at 10 a.m. Nov. 7.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald