PULLMAN, Wash. -- The only thing that surpasses Gabe Marks' wit is his ability to go get the football.

So when he speaks, people listen. One of his favorite topics and targets, albeit in a good-natured way, is his record-setting quarterback at Washington State, Luke Falk. They’ve assaulted the Wazzu record books together, and the Cougars are off to their best start in Pac-12 play in school history.

“He’s in control, man, and it’s really nice to watch,” said Marks, a wide receiver who’s not above needling his quarterback. “I call him the ‘CEO,’ but that one didn’t stick. So I’m going with the ‘Messiah’ now, and he hates that. So we’ll push that one. He’s a great player, but I can’t let him think that he’s too special.”

Then again, over the past three games, Falk has been better than special. He’s been out of sight. His numbers in those three games are a 77.1 completion percentage, 1,099 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception. For the season, Falk is first nationally in completion percentage (73.9 percent), second nationally in passing yards (3,610) and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (33).

And, oh yeah, nobody in the Pac-12 owns a better league record over the past 15 games than the Cougars, who are 13-2 during that stretch. The 6-foot-4, 216-pound Falk has been the one driving that train, even though his Heisman Trophy-esque numbers for some reason haven’t landed him in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Maybe it’s because he plays out on the West Coast, and a lot of people have gone to bed by the time he starts lighting up opposing defenses. Maybe it’s because he’s so accurate, so consistent and so precise that he’s almost boring. And maybe it’s because Falk is about a whole lot more than simply numbers.

“The polls and all those things are for the fans,” Falk told ESPN.com in a wide-ranging interview. “I’m not really interested in that, and that’s not why I came here, to get attention or anything like that. I came here to play football, to go out there every day and get better and to help change the culture around here.

“Everything else will take care of itself.”

Falk is the antithesis of a born-on-third-base quarterback. The story of how he got to Washington State has been well chronicled by now. He lost his junior year of high school after leaving football powerhouse Oaks Christian in Thousand Oaks, California, and moving back to his hometown of Logan, Utah. His options were limited following his senior year and he was considering accepting an offer to play at Cornell, but he held out hope for Washington State after flooding the Wazzu coaching staff with tape and making a visit to Pullman on his own dime to state his case personally.

Finally, an invitation to walk on at Washington State came, and Falk never blinked. He’d always wanted to be a Pac-12 quarterback, and after he'd spent the past two years compiling a 17-5 record as the Cougars’ starter, Falk’s coach and a guy who knows a thing or two about quarterbacks, Mike Leach, says matter-of-factly that Falk is the Pac-12’s best quarterback.

“Look at his completion percentage. Look at his touchdowns and how many times he’s exposed as far as throwing the ball, and Luke is a great manager, too,” Leach said. “Look at all the attempts, and yet his completion percentage is still what it is. He’s one of the steadiest quarterbacks I’ve had, and I mean really being the same guy every day. He does a really good job of being the same guy every day and has been able to stay real focused when a lot of people can’t.

“He’s the best quarterback in the league. There’s no question, and he has a chance to get a lot better.”

Cougars coach Mike Leach is convinced Luke Falk is the best quarterback in the Pac-12. AP Photo/Young Kwak

That’s a debate that may resurface in two weeks when Jake Browning and Washington come to town, and some of the folks at USC may have something to say about that with the way Sam Darnold has revitalized the Trojans.

Of course, the only thing that matters to Falk is that the Cougars are the Pac-12’s only unbeaten team in conference play, with a chance to win their first Pac-12 championship since 2002. That’s what drives him, along with the obstacle-ridden path he had to take to get here.

“It makes you appreciate the moments even more, every Saturday running out there and having the opportunity to go out and play,” Falk said. “At times, I never knew if I’d get out there on the field. You’re the seventh quarterback on the depth chart. You’re a walk-on. You’re paying your own way. A lot of things have gone my way up here and fallen into place. I’ve had a great support system. It’s been a group effort, and I’m thankful for my teammates who’ve helped me through it, and the coaches.

“But, yes, I appreciate the little things more, like going to swipe my card for lunch or dinner. I didn’t get my dinner the first year here. I had to sit outside the cafeteria and have [offensive tackle] Cole Madison get me some of the good stuff and bring it out. So I don’t take anything for granted, and looking back, I wouldn’t change anything.”

Falk watched his two sisters, Natalee and Alexa, make a similar climb in the country music world. They’re singer-songwriters in a two-woman band called “Falk” that is quickly making a name for itself in country music hotbed Nashville, Tennessee. The younger sister, Natalee, used to double as Falk’s receiver when they were kids and Falk needed a throwing partner.

“Like that industry, you’ve got to compete every day, and there are a bunch of setbacks,” Falk said. “When they were young, they had opportunities to get record deals and they’d fall through. They’ve faced a lot of adversity and kept believing. I’m proud of them. I love that they followed their passion. A lot of people don’t go after what they really love.”

Falk listens to their music, although he jokes that he couldn’t get away with listening to it in the Washington State locker room, where rap is a staple.

Quipped Marks: “He’d get destroyed if he tried.”

Luke Falk's favorite receiver is Gabe Marks, who has 68 catches for 709 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Falk’s football inspiration is Tom Brady, and not just because Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Falk has studied the way Brady prepares and how he’s constantly looking for an edge. It’s the reason why Falk is so regimented off the field, from the eight to nine hours of sleep he gets every night, to what he eats (and doesn’t eat), to his relatively boring lifestyle.

“I want to put myself in the best position to play at a high level,” Falk said. “I didn’t come here to party or do anything like that. That’s all going to be there. I don’t want to be a ‘gee-iffer,’ as our athletic director, Bill Moos, calls them, the people that are always saying, ‘Gee, if I’d only done more of this or less of that.'"

Something else that resonates with Falk about Brady is the path Brady took to the NFL.

“He was a sixth-round pick. He split time in college with somebody else,” Falk explained. “That’s why I like him so much -- all the stuff he went through and his mindset. He feels like he’s got to earn it every day, and that’s the way I’ve tried to approach it.”

Even though Brady’s stardom came in the NFL, the last thing on Falk’s mind right now is the NFL. A recent report suggested that Falk, a redshirt junior, was leaning toward turning pro following this season. But he told ESPN.com recently that he expected to be back on the Palouse next season.

“I’m not really focused on [the NFL], but if I had to decide right now, I love college ball, love this atmosphere and love Pullman, so I think I’d be back,” Falk said. “My main deal is that I want to change this program around here. I don’t see why I’d make a change right now. I’m having so much fun. You’re only in college once. Why rush to get out? If people leave early, it’s usually a money decision. I’ve never played football for money or anything like that. I’ve always just played because I love the game.

“I came in here with a great class of guys and I want to leave with that class of guys.”

Preferably with a championship of some sort.

“That would be awesome, something we all have our eyes on,” Falk said. “But for now, it’s just getting one week better.”

It’s the same “boring” script Falk has followed from his walk-on days and sitting outside the Wazzu training table and hoping for some leftovers to becoming one of college football’s best and most polished quarterbacks.