Washington State Football: 3 things we learned from Boise State win

1. Mike Leach’s offense is struggling

Mike Leach-coached teams are often notorious for their ability to score points and put up prolific numbers in the passing game, but in Washington State’s Week 2 game against Boise State, the offense failed to live up to expectations.

In the first half, Luke Falk, now Washington State’s all-time passing yards leader, only threw for 116 yards on 12 completions with no touchdowns. His team never really got into a rhythm offensively and only scored a touchdown on Mata’afa’s strip sack.

The one time Washington State’s offense got even remotely close to the red-zone, it ended up having to kick a 34-yard field goal.

While Washington State did fare slightly better in the second half than the first, finishing regulation with  367 yards passing on 41 receptions, this game seemed like a golden opportunity for the Washington State Cougars to put up huge numbers against an under-powered foe and really stake a claim for their place atop the Pac-12, but Leach’s squad may have left more questions than answers.

Falk was seemingly under pressure for the entirety of the night, sustaining a pair of sacks over the course of the game before ultimately leaving the game with an apparent head injury early in the fourth quarter on a strip sack that was returned for a score.

While Falk wasn’t particularly effective in the second game of his senior season, if he misses any serious playing time due to injury it will be absolutely devastating for Leach’s offense.

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Even though second-string quarterback Tyler Hilinski was able to lead his team back to a 31-31 tied at the end of regulation, this is Falk’s team. And if his Cougars are going to make a run at the Pac-12 North in 2017, it will need to be behind the arm of Falk.