Associated Press
STANFORD, Calif. — Luke Falk threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns to lead Washington State to a second straight win over one of the Pac-12’s recent powers, 42-16 against No. 15 Stanford on Saturday night.
Falk connected with Tavares Martin Jr. twice in the first half and added second-half TD passes to Gabe Marks and River Cracraft to help the Cougars (3-2, 1-1) follow up last week’s 51-33 win over Oregon by ending an eight-game losing streak to Stanford (3-2, 2-2). The Ducks and Cardinal have combined to win the past seven conference titles.
That streak is in serious jeopardy this year as the Cardinal got blown out for the second straight game, losing in back-to-back weeks for the first time in six seasons under coach David Shaw. Stanford lost 44-6 at Washington last week. The Ducks are 0-3 in conference play.
Making matters worse for the Cardinal was the fact that last year’s Heisman runner-up Christian McCaffrey went to the locker room in the second half with an apparent injury and didn’t return to the game. McCaffrey came back to the sideline and had his helmet on, but didn’t re-enter the game. There was no immediate word on his health.
The takeaway
Washington State: After opening the season with losses to Eastern Washington and Boise State, the Cougars have stepped up their play in the conference season. They hadn’t beaten a team ranked in the top 15 since knocking off No. 5 Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl. Falk stepped up in key spots, connecting on a 29-yard score to Martin on fourth-and-7 to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. After letting Stanford back into the game with an interception that Frank Buncom returned for a TD, Falk hit Marks for a score on third-and-goal from the 17 to make it 28-10.
Stanford: The Cardinal offense struggled to do anything as the offensive line was dominated in the trenches and Ryan Burns missed on chances for a few big plays. McCaffrey was held to 35 yards on eight carries and one catch for 5 yards. Stanford allowed four sacks after giving up eight last week and the only big play came on a 44-yard pass to Michael Rector on the final play of the first half. Even the usually reliable Conrad Ukropina missed two field goals.
Poll implications
Stanford should plummet again after dropping eight spots last week in the AP poll .
Up next
Washington State: The Cougars return home to host UCLA.
Stanford: The Cardinal take a break from conference play to travel to struggling Notre Dame (2-4).
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
