The Sports Xchange
Nov 7, 2015
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk passed for 497 yards and five touchdowns, including a late 75-yard score to wide receiver Dom Williams, as the Cougars defeated Arizona State 38-24 on Saturday in Pullman, Wash.
Falk, who completed 36-of-55 passes with one interception, has thrown for 300-plus yards in each of his 12 career starts.
Washington State (6-3, 4-2 in the Pacific 12 Conference) is bowl eligible for the second time in coach Mike Leach's four seasons.
Arizona State (4-5, 2-4) pulled to within 31-24 on a 22-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez with 4:13 left, but Washington State scored on the next snap as Williams took a short pass and raced to the end zone.
Quarterback Mike Bercovici of Arizona State, who completed 27-of-44 passes for 229 yards, had a pass intercepted by defensive back Darrien Molton with 1:21 to go to seal the Sun Devils' fate.
Washington State rallied from an early 14-0 hole to take a 17-14 lead on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Falk to running back Keith Harrington with 7:57 to go in the third quarter.
Arizona State responded with a 17-play touchdown drive that was kept alive on a fake, as punter Matt Haack threw to receiver D.J. Foster for a 27-yard gain to the Washington State 13.
The Cougars scored the next 14 points, including on a 99-yard drive. Falk hit running back Jamal Morrow on a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 31-21 lead with 8:01 left.
Arizona State scored two touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the game and seemed ready to go up by more after safety Kareem Orr returned an interception 22 yards to the Washington 22.
But the Cougars came up with a stop on fourth-and-two from the three-yard-line, and the momentum turned from there.
The Cougars closed within 14-10 with 5:26 to go before halftime when they got to replay a failed fourth-and-five attempt from the Arizona State 11 because of an inadvertent whistle.
Falk then connected with Williams for a touchdown.