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Washington State Football: Luke Falk lacking praise for Cougars’ turnaround

By Collin Wieder

Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) runs with the ball during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Qualcomm Stadium. Minnesota won 17-12. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) runs with the ball during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Qualcomm Stadium. Minnesota won 17-12. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington State football was one of the worst programs in the country during the 2000s. With help of Mike Leach and Luke Falk, it is much improved.

When you think of Washington State football now, fans get images of passes littering the skies and head coach Mike Leach. As much as Leach’s system is credited with a brilliant turnaround of WSU, quarterbacks always were the key ingredient.

This seems like an obvious answer in a pass-oriented offense, but it was taken for granted at Texas Tech. It seemed that any quarterback could put up big numbers with the Red Raiders.

For the most part, that belief was true, but Tech was an establish program. WSU was a bottom feeder when Leach arrived. He quickly turned the Cougars into a fun passing attack. However, his first few seasons Leach’s offense took some bumps and bruises.

Jeff Tuel would become a future NFL quarterback, but he couldn’t stay healthy and he was inconsistent in 2012. Connor Halliday played pretty well, but his high turnover rate hurt his ability to rise to an elite level. The results were just a 12-25 record and one bowl game in three seasons.

Fortunately for Washington State and Leach, Luke Falk came along. The tall, strong passer gave the Cougars more than just a stat cruncher but also a winner. In two seasons, the Cougars have gone 17-9 including their first bowl win since 2003.

Unfazed Falk

The offense became much more efficient under Falk as well. In two years, he’s thrown for 9,029 yards, 76 touchdowns and just 19 interceptions while completing 69.6 percent of his passes. The numbers mind-boggling even for a Leach offense.

The low interceptions and near perfect completion percentage separate him even more from Leach’s past disciples. When you throw 1,277 passes over a two-year span a lot of quarterbacks would see higher interception numbers.

A lot of that has to do with his skill set. Although many of the so-called system quarterbacks lack true arm strength, Falk has an extremely, strong arm. He can sling the ball around the field and pick defenses apart with his accuracy in the short passing game. The soon-to-be senior signal caller may not be fleet of foot, but he can create some plays with his legs. Falk gives Leach his best NFL-ready quarterback during his head coaching career.

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It seemed unlikely he’d be back due to his high draft stock, but he came back for his senior season. Falk’s return gives the Cougars a chance to reach double-digits for the first time in more than 13 years.

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