Luke Falk’s right arm always gets a workout in Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense at Washington State, but the sophomore had never thrown this much.
Falk set national season highs with 50 completions on 74 passes in Saturday’s 45-38 double-overtime win at Oregon.
Falk’s 505 yards through the air were the second most in the country this season behind Hayden Moore’s 557 for Cincinnati against Memphis on Sept. 24. Falk’s five touchdown passes tied for fourth most in a game this season, and he also ran for a score.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Falk is in his first full season as the Cougars’ starter. He walked on out of Logan, Utah, in 2013 and was put on scholarship at the start of last season.
Falk’s 50 completions bettered the 47 he had against Rutgers, the 37 he had against Wyoming and the 35 he had against California. All rank among the top nine single-game completion totals nationally.
The Cougars’ total of 75 attempts against the Ducks was the fourth-most in Leach’s four seasons at Washington State. Their single-game high is 89 against Oregon in 2013.
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Some other notable statistics:
HIGH-SCORING BAYLOR: Baylor is on its way to leading the nation in scoring for the third straight year. The Bears’ 66-7 win at Kansas bumped their average to 64.2 points a game. That’s 11.5 more than the next-closest team, Texas Tech. Baylor has scored no fewer than 56 points in any game.
ON THE RUN: LSU’s Leonard Fournette continues to lead the nation in rushing by a wide margin. Fournette, who ran for a season-low 158 yards against South Carolina, is averaging 204.4 a game. Florida State’s Dalvin Cook is running for 158.4. The week’s best performance was by Iowa’s Jordan Canzeri, who carried 43 times for 256 yards against Illinois.
LONG BALL: Jaquez Johnson and Kamrin Solomon teamed for the longest pass play in the nation this year — and longest play from scrimmage since Florida Atlantic started its program in 2001 — on a 94-yard touchdown against Rice. The TD tied the game 14-all in the second quarter, but Rice won 27-26.
KNOCKING ‘EM DOWN: Never mind Northern Illinois’ offensive outburst in a 59-41 win over Ball State, the Huskies’ pass defenders always seemed to be around the ball. They combined for 16 passes defended (15 breakups, 1 interception), tying Marshall for most in a game this season. Albert Smalls broke up four passes, and Shawun Lurry batted away three and picked off one.
PLAY AFTER PLAY: Tulsa got off 107 offensive plays against Louisiana-Monroe, most in the country this season. Tulsa’s Baylor-style attack generated 563 yards in its 34-24 win. The Golden Hurricane became the sixth team to run 100 or more plays in a game this season.
