Stanford Cardinal vs Washington State Cougars Box Score on Nov 04, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 4, 2017

Washington State quarterback Luke Falk became the Pac-12's career passing leader while leading the No. 25 Cougars to an important 24-21 Pac-12 victory over No. 21 Stanford on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.

Washington State, which finished unbeaten at home (7-0) for the first time in program history, improved to 8-2 and 5-2 in the Pac-12 North, while Stanford fell to 6-3 and 5-2. The Cougars control their destiny, with a game at division-leading Washington looming at the end of the regular season.

Falk, who was benched in the first half last week in a 58-37 loss at Arizona, became the Pac-12's career passing leader with 13,806 yards. He broke the record of 13,600 yards held by former Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion.

Falk completed 34 of 48 pass attempts for 337 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception.

He started against Stanford and was efficient until he threw an interception that was returned 52 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Bobby Okereke with 2:37 left in the third quarter, giving the Cardinal a 21-17 lead.

After two three-and-out possessions, Falk finally got on track again, engineering an 11-play, 94-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jamire Calvin with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter, putting the Cougars ahead 24-21.

Stanford had three consecutive three-and-out possessions after Okereke's interception. The Cardinal's last possession ended with quarterback K.J. Costello being picked off by linebacker Frankie Luvu.

After a scoreless first quarter, Stanford running back Bryce Love -- out last week against Oregon State because of an ankle injury -- broke loose for a 52-yard run, breaking two tackles in the process, to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead with 14:06 left in the second quarter.

Love's 10 rushes of 50 or more yards this season ties Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (2014) for most in the last 10 years.

Aside from the 52-yard run, Love had nowhere to run, finishing with 69 yards on 16 carries. He was tackled six times behind the line of scrimmage. The Cougars had 11 tackles for loss, led by linebacker Justus Rodgers' 2.5.

NOTES: Stanford senior CB Alijah Holder will not return this season after sustaining an undisclosed injury against Oregon State in the previous game. He started seven games and has a team-high three forced fumbles. ... Washington State QB Luke Falk is the NCAA's active career leader in passing yards (13,806), touchdown passes (115) and yards per game (336.7). ... Washington State DT Hercules Mata'afa leads all active Pac-12 players with 39.5 career tackles for loss and 18.5 career sacks. ... Stanford junior RB Bryce Love (1,456 yards) is one of five Cardinal players ever with more than 1,300 yards rushing in a season (Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Christian McCaffrey).