COUGARS HEAD TO BOISE STATE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT ESPN2 MATCHUP
The Cougars will hit the road for a nonconference showdown with Boise State University Saturday at 7:15 p.m. (PT) on ESPN2. It will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2001.

NEXT WEEK
The Cougars return to Martin Stadium to host the University of Idaho next Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Pac-12 Network. WSU will be hosting Hall of Fame Weekend, inducing seven new members.

COLLEGE GAMEDAY RECORD
Dating back to the beginning of the 2004 season, ESPN's College GameDay has had the WSU flag appear throughout the show. The streak is now at 179 after last week's appearance in Green Bay. Two flags – Ol' Crimson and Gray – have been flown in the background of the GameDay set by dozens of friends and alumni. The Gray flag was added in 2014 after Whitey was retired in honor of Steve Gleason's "No White Flags." WSU recognized the GameDay flag wavers in a pregame ceremony prior to the Montana State game in 2010. In addition to the flags that fly, there is a traveling flag signed by the holders after each episode. The traveling flag is retired after each season, the first of which is hanging in WSU's Alumni Center.

COUGAR QUICK HITS
TEAM
•  WSU saw 10 players made their debuts last week, seven on defense and five first-time starters on defense
•  WSU had 10 players record a catch last week, had 10+ players catch a pass in all 13 games last season
•  WSU's 9-4 record last season was its best mark since the 2003 team went 10-3
•  WSU returns 47 letterwinners including eight starters on offense and six on defense and three specialists
•  WSU led the country in passing offense (389.5) and red zone offense (95%) in 2015
•  WSU recorded a sell out in the season-opener, now owns eight sellouts since coach Mike Leach arrived at WSU in 2012, only one sellout in the five seasons prior

INDIVIDUAL
•  QB Luke Falk is the FBS active career leader in passing yards-per-game (360.2) and total offense (349.8)
•  WR Gabe Marks owns the WSU record for career receptions (237), eighth-most in Pac-12 history
•  Marks ranks third among all active FBS receivers in career receptions and second in career touchdowns
•  Marks led the Pac-12 in catches (104), TDs (15), catches per game (8.0) and second in receiving yards (1,192)
•  Marks owns seven career games with 10+ receptions, the most in WSU history
•  Last season, Marks caught 104 passes, 60 of those resulted in a WSU first down (58%)
•  Last week, WSU running backs combined for 208 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns (1 rec, 2 rush)
•  RB Jamal Morrow served as the game captain in week 1, he was the game captain the final nine games in 2015
•  DL Hercules Mata'afa recorded a sack in week 1, now owns a sack in each of his last four games
•  CB Marcellus Pippins recorded his fourth career INT last week, has tallied a turnover in each of  the last three games (INT at Washington, fumble recovery vs. Miami, INT - Eastern Washington)
•  WSU has three players with Boise connections, punter Zach Charme and linebacker Jon Baumgardner are both from Boise and running back Madigan Taulelei went to Boise High School
•  Boise State QB Brett Rypien is the nephew of WSU Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien

COUGARS AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN WEST, BOISE STATE
WSU owns a 7-4 record against Mountain West Conference opponents after beating Wyoming 31-14 in Pullman last season. Mike Leach owns a 8-3 career record against current Mountain West Conference members. The Cougars lead the all-time series with Boise State 4-0 including a pair of wins in Boise. The last meeting came in 2001, a 41-20 victory in Boise behind three touchdown passes from Jason Gesser and an impressive performance by the Cougar defense who tallied seven sacks and three interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.

FALK NAMED TO 2016 AWARD WATCH LISTS
Quarterback Luke Falk was named to the 2016 Davey O'Brien Award, Rotary Lombardi Award and the Maxwell Award Watch List. Falk is one of 30 quarterbacks named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and was also named to the Maxwell Award Watch List for America's Player of the Year. Falk, a redshirt-junior, was an All-Pac-12 first-team selection last season after leading the country in passing at 380.5 yards-per-game and guiding the Cougars to a 9-4 record capped by a Sun Bowl victory over Miami. The Logan, Utah native set a school record with 38 touchdown passes, good for fourth in the nation, and was second in school history with 4,566 yards. Falk tallied three Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and was Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention.

MARKS NAMED TO 2016 BILETNIKOFF, Maxwell AWARD WATCH LISTS
Wide receiver Gabe Marks was named to the 2016 Biletnikoff Award and Maxwell Award Watch Lists. The Biletnikoff Award recognizes the nation's most outstanding receiver each year and the Maxwell Award is presented to the nation's Player of the Year. Marks was one of 10 Biletnikoff Award semifinalists last season, earning All-Pac-12 First Team honors and tallied 104 receptions for 1,196 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns. Marks led the Pac-12 in receptions, touchdown catches and was second in receiving yards while also tallying four 100-yard games.

SORENSON NAMED TO 2016 RIMINGTON TROPHY WATCH LIST
Center Riley Sorenson was named to the 2016 Rimington Trophy Watch List. Sorenson, a senior from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., has started 21 games over the past two seasons and has been one of the anchors for a Cougar offensive line that helped WSU lead the nation in passing each of the last two years. Additionally, he was named a 2015 All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection. Sorenson also received the 2016 Pac-12 Sportsmanship Award for the strength of character and dedication to his team that he displayed throughout the 2015 season even while he and his family faced extreme personal challenges. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA Division I-A College Football.

AIR RAID LED THE COUNTRY ONCE AGAIN IN 2015
For the second straight season, the Washington State Air Raid offense led the country in passing (389.5) as Luke Falk paced all quarterbacks in passing (380.5) after recording ten 300-yard passing efforts in 12 games played. The Cougars also led the nation in red zone offense, scoring on 52-of-55 (95%) trips inside the 20 including 36 touchdowns.

COUGAR OFFENSE HEATED UP IN PAC-12 PLAY
The Washington State Air Raid offense took off to new levels over the final eight games (6-2) of Pac-12 play, averaging 496.5 yards in total offense, 410.9 yards passing while converting 42 percent on third downs, converting 75 percent on fourth down and scored in all 37 trips inside the red zone (26 TD). The Cougars averaged 34.5 ppg during that same stretch which included its first three-game conference winning streak since 2003 and scored 40+ points in three straight for the first time since 2001. Also during that span, Luke Falk threw for 2,807 yards with 26 touchdowns, six interceptions, averaged 401.0 passing yards-per-game and completed 69.7 percent of his passes while wideout Gabe Marks caught 11 touchdowns.

YOUNG COUGS TAKE THE FIELD
Washington State had 10 players make their debuts in last week's opener with seven players making their first career start including five on defense. Three players made their first career starts in the secondary including debuts by safeties Jalen Thompson and Robert Taylor. Last season, the Cougars saw 23 players make their debuts and 11 make their first career start while 14 freshmen contributed including seven true freshmen.

LEACH NAMED PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR, GEORGE MUNGER COACH OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST
Last season, Head Coach Mike Leach was named a semifinalist for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award and Pac-12 Conference Co-Coach of the Year. Leach shared the honor with Stanford's David Shaw. Leach guided the Cougars to an 9-4 record last season, 6-3 in Pac-12 play, both marks the best at WSU since the 2003 season when WSU went 10-3 and 6-2, respectively. The Cougars, selected fifth in the Pac-12 North Division's preseason media poll, have posted road victories over Rutgers, Oregon, Arizona and No. 18 UCLA. The win at Oregon was the first over the Ducks since the 2006 season while the Cougars hadn't defeated UCLA since 2007. Additionally, the Cougars achieved a top 20 national ranking following the win over Colorado, the first top 20 ranking since the 2003 season for WSU. Leach was one of 18 coaches named a semifinalist for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. He guided a Cougar program that leads the nation in passing offense at 3389.5 yards per game, and also leads the nation in red zone offense, converting on 95 percent of their opportunities inside the 20-yard line. Previously, Leach has been named the George Munger National Coach of the Year in 2008, while also receiving the Woody Hayes Award, Howie Long/Fieldturf National Coach of the Year, and Big 12 Coach of the Year in that same season. Leach is the first Cougar coach to receive Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors since Bill Doba in 2003. In all five WSU coaches have received the honor, the others being Jim Walden (1981, 1983), Dennis Erickson (1988), Mike Price (1997, 2001) and Doba.

FALK STAYS HOT
Last season, Luke Falk finished the year with a school-record ten 300-yard games and five 400-yard games including a 478-yard effort in a road win over Rutgers and a 505-yard performance in the win at Oregon. In the win over the Ducks, Falk threw for five touchdowns while rushing for another in WSU's first victory in Eugene since 2003. In last week's opener, he went 41-for-51 (80.3%) for 418 yards and four touchdowns. In just 19 career games including 16 starts, Falk owns 15 career 300-yard games, second-most in WSU history, 55 touchdowns, fifth-most in WSU history and 6,843 passing yards, good for seventh all-time.

FALK'S FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACKS
Luke Falk hasn't been a stranger to fourth-quarter comebacks despite playing in just 19 games including 16 starts but has led the Cougars to five fourth-quarter comebacks in his career including four last season. In 2014 at Oregon State, WSU trailed early in the fourth and Falk led a pair of scoring drives for a 39-32 victory. Earlier this season, trailing by four with 1:31 remaining at Rutgers, Falk leading WSU on a 10-play, 90-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown pass to River Cracraft with 13 seconds remaining. In the win at Oregon, Falk led WSU on a pair of scoring drives late in the fourth quarter that erased a 10-point deficit and sent the game into overtime after an eight-yard touchdown pass to Dom Williams with one second remaining. In overtime, Falk rushed for a touchdown and then threw for another before the Cougar defense picked off a pass in the second overtime to clinch the win. Against Arizona State, trailing 24-17 to start the fourth quarter, Falk led the Cougars on three touchdown drives (73, 99 and 75 yards) in the quarter, capping each one with touchdown throws to post a 38-24 victory. His most recent one came at No. 18 UCLA, trailing by three with 1:09 remaining, Falk led the Cougars on a seven-play 75-yard drive, capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Marks with three seconds remaining to knock off the Bruins.

FALK'S RECORD BOOK WATCH (Pages 15-16)
•  Falk's 4,566 passing yards last season were second in WSU single-season history
•  Falk's passing yardage was the fourth-most in Pac-12 single-season history
•  Falk's 38 TD were the most in WSU single-season history, breaking the record of 34 shared by Ryan Leaf (1997) and Connor Halliday (2013)
•  Falk owns 55 career TD passes, fifth in WSU history
•  Falk owns 6,843 career passing yards, seventh in WSU history, trails Drew Bledsoe for sixth (7,373)
•  Falk owns three career 500-yard games, trails only Connor Halliday's WSU record of five

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR LUKE LAST SEASON
Last season, Luke Falk was a Manning Award Watch List, a Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award Semifinalist, one of 15 "Players to Watch" for The Walter Camp Football Foundation 2015 Player of the Year award and was one of three finalists for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation's top player who started his career as a walk-on. The Walter Camp Player of the Year award is the fourth-oldest college football award in the nation. The Davey O'Brien Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and is the nation's oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. Falk was one of 17 semifinalists and  earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien Award "Great 8" Performance of the Week five times this season. Falk led the FBS in passing yards-per-game (380.5), was third in total offense (370.9), and tied for fourth in passing touchdowns (38) and fifth in passing yards (4,566). In Pac-12 play, Falk averaged 399.5 passing yards-per-game, completed 69.9 percent of his passes and threw 28 touchdowns against seven interceptions and also rushed for two scores. Earlier in the season, Falk was named the Walter Camp National FBS Player of the Week (the first Cougar to receive the honor since the 2004 season), the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week three times and the Maxwell Award Player of the Week.

NEW LOOK LINE
The offensive line has a new look to it this season after the departure of three-year starters Joe Dahl at left tackle and Gunner Eklund at left guard who combined for 79 starts. Dahl capped his career earning All-Pac-12 honors and was a fifth-round draft choice by the Detroit Lions. The Cougars return a trio of starters in center Riley Sorenson (22 starts), right guard Eduardo Middleton (26 starts) and right tackle Cole Madison (22 starts) who have started next to one another for the past two seasons. Taking over at left tackle is redshirt-sophomore Andre Dillard who appeared at left tackle in three games last year, making his collegiate debut in the second half at No. 18 UCLA and went on to start against Colorado and at Washington. At left guard, redshirt-junior Cody O'Connell begins his first season as a starter after playing on the field goal team all of last season.

OFFENSIVE LINE BULKED UP
Not only have the Cougars produced big offensive numbers, leading the country in passing the past two seasons, WSU has produced bigger offensive linemen. The size of the front five has gone up each season with the 2016 offensive line averaging 322.6 pounds. Last season, the Cougars averaged nearly 310 lbs after averaging 288.6 in 2012, 288.2 in 2013 and 309.4 lbs in 2014.

ALL-PURPOSE BACKS
The Cougar running backs picked up where they left off from last season, combining for 208 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) against Eastern Washington. Gerard Wicks rushed for 52 yards and a score and a added five catches for 45 yards including his first career receiving touchdown. Jamal Morrow added 45 rushing yards including one touchdown and added four catches for 25 yards. Last season, WSU rushed for over 100 yards five times after recording four 100-yard efforts the previous three seasons combined. The Cougars averaged 80.1 rushing yards per game in 2015, doubling its average from 2014 (39.1). The three backs combined to rush for 1,195 yards, averaging 6.1 yards-per-carry, the highest by a WSU backfield since All-American Jerome Harrison and DeMaundray Woolridge combined for 8.5 per-carry in 2005. Wicks led the way with 610 rushing yards and three touchdowns while Morrow averaged 6.5 per-carry and recorded four receiving touchdowns. The Cougars rushed for 1,041 yards in 2015, the most in the Mike Leach's era at Washington State.

SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
Washington State was the only team in the country with 10 players who recorded 20+ receptions last season and was the only Power-5 Conference team with two players owning double-digit touchdown receptions. Last season, WSU was the only team in the country that had six players finish with 40+ catches and four of those players returned in 2015 (Cracraft, Morrow, Williams, Lewis).  The Cougars had 10+ receivers catch a pass in every game last year and nine players finished the season with at least one touchdown catch. WSU opened the season with 10 players catching a pass.

RECEIVERS MAKING THEIR WAY UP THE RECORD BOOK (Pages 15-16)
•  Gabe Marks broke Michael Bumpus' school record for career receptions (195) during his 12-catch performance at UCLA, he owns 237 career receptions, eighth-most in Pac-12 history
•  Marks owns 26 career TD catches, third-most in school history
•  Marks also sits fifth in WSU history with 2,667 career receiving yards
• Marks led the Pac-12 with 104 receptions, second-most in WSU single-season history behind Vince Mayle's record of 106 set in 2014
•  Marks' 15 TD catches were a WSU single-season record, breaking Jason Hill's mark of 13 (2005)
•  Marks tallied 1,195 receiving yards, third-most in WSU single-season history
•  Marks set a WSU single-game record and tied a Pac-12 record with four TD catches at Arizona
•  River Cracraft sits seventh in WSU history with 170 career catches
•  Cracraft is closing in on the WSU all-time top-10 for receiving yards (2,041) and TD catches (15)

2015 DEFENSE MADE STRIDES UNDER GRINCH
The Washington State defense clamped down the hatches in 2015 under first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. The Cougars' defensive unit allowed 27.7 ppg and 416.6 ypg while forcing 24 turnovers. WSU kept the explosive plays (20+ yards) to a minimum giving up 56 in 2015, averaging 4.3 per game. In 2014, the Cougar defense allowed 6.1 explosive plays per game, a total of 73 on the season. By removing special teams touchdowns allowed, WSU allowed 23.3 ppg, a vast improvement after allowing 38.6 ppg in 2014. The Cougars finished the season with 24 turnovers forced, averaging 1.8 takeaways per game and tripled the amount of turnovers from 2014 (8). In the 27-3 win over Colorado, WSU held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since a 42-0 victory over Idaho in 2013 and the first time holding a conference opponent without a touchdown since Oregon State in 2006. It was the fewest points allowed to a conference opponent since 1996 (OSU).

GET THE BALL BACK
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch emphasized the need to force turnovers and get the ball back to the Air Raid offense and the Cougars did just that in 2015. Washington State forced 24 turnovers, fourth in the Pac-12 and three times as many as the 2014 total of eight. The Cougars recorded 13 interceptions, recovered 11 fumbles, and led the Pac-12 with 16 fourth-down stops.

DEFENSE PUT THE PRESSURE ON IN 2015
Last season, Washington State racked up 33 sacks and was eighth in the country with 7.8 tackles-for-loss per game (102 Total), the second-best average in the Pac-12 and the second-highest total in WSU history. All-Pac-12 honorable mention defensive lineman Hercules Mata'afa shared the team-lead with seven sacks, tied for fourth-most in the conference. Against Wyoming, WSU recorded 14 TFL's, tied for third-most in school history and later posted 11 TFL's at Cal, and eight more in the games against Arizona State, Colorado and Washington. WSU finished the season with five players owning 10+ tackles-for-loss, the most players by any Pac-12 team and tied for the most in school history (2002).

LINEBACKERS LED THE WAY
The Cougar linebackers filled up the stat sheet last season with All-Pac-12 honorable mention Peyton Pelluer tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with 7.8 tackles-per game (101 total) along with 11 tackles-for-loss. Pelluer tallied a career-best 14 stops against Wyoming and has shared the team-high in tackles in the wins over Oregon (8) and Oregon State (11), and led the way at UCLA (8). The redshirt-junior tallied a game-high 10 last week including one for loss and a pass breakup. Making his first career start as a linebacker, Isaac Dotson made  five tackles.

YOUNG SECONDARY
The Cougars went through a youth movement in the secondary in 2014 and 2015. Last season, WSU received solid contribution from true freshman Darrien Molton (44 tackles, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery) at cornerback while being named the top freshman cornerback in the country by Pro Football Focus. All-Pac-12 honorable mention Shalom Luani emerged as a playmaker throughout the season. He started all 13 games at safety, finished third on the team with 91 tackles, with two forced two fumbles and tied for third in the Pac-12 with a team-best four interceptions, the first sealed the double overtime win at Oregon and the next two came in the win over Oregon State, one he returned 84 yards for a touchdown. Cornerback Marcellus Pippins recorded three interceptions, nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and 43 tackles. The 2015 secondary combined for 10 interceptions with all four starters owning at least one.

SPECIAL TEAMS FULL OF NEWCOMERS
Washington State saw a couple new faces contribute on special teams in 2015. Punter Zach Charme produced eight punts of 50+ yards and put 12 punts inside the 20 during his freshman campaign while kick returner Tavares Martin Jr. was close to breaking a couple long returns throughout the year. The Belle Glade, Fla. native produced returns of 29 and 34 yards in his collegiate debut against Portland State, a 40-yarder at California and a game-opening 51-yard return against Oregon State. He averaged 22.1 yards-per-return, ninth-best in the Pac-12. Although not a new face but kicker Erik Powell, now a redshirt-junior, posted a career day against Stanford, he tied a school record with five field goals (46, 23, 47, 28, 28), tying a career long of 47. Powell went 20-of-26 on the season, the fourth-most makes in WSU single-season history and now owns 22 career field goals, tenth-most in school history.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA TAKEOVER
The Cougars have tapped into the Rancho Santa Margarita High School pipeline, currently owning four players from the school in center, Riley Sorenson, defensive lineman Nick Begg and receivers River Cracraft and Kyle Sweet. One other Coug to point out who also went to RSMHS, would be Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson.

POLYNESIAN PIPELINE
The Washington State roster has seen an influx in Polynesian players since Mike Leach and his coaching staff arrived in 2012. Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach Joe Salave'a, a native of Pago Pago, American Samoa and a nine-year NFL veteran, has helped bring a number of players to Pullman in his three seasons at Washington State. The 2016 roster has 16 players who are of Polynesian decent including seven who list their hometown from American Samoa.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Three Cougars share a unique bond with their dads and/or grandpa, each have worn the crimson a gray. Redshirt-sophomore left tackle Andre Dillard's dad, Mitch was an offensive lineman and tight end for the Cougars in the late 1980's; redshirt-junior linebacker Isaac Dotson's dad, Michael was an All-American wrestler for WSU from 1983-86; redshirt-junior linebacker Peyton Pelluer's dad, Scott also played linebacker for the Cougs, matching Peyton's No. 47 from 1977-80; Peyton's grandpa, Arnie played end for WSU in the mid 1950's and his great grandpa, Carl, played flanker in the 1920's.

STEVE GLEASON RECRUIT SUITE DEBUTS IN COUGAR FOOTBALL COMPLEX
WSU announced the naming of the Steve Gleason Recruit Suite, inside the Cougar Football Complex this summer. Gleason, the Washington State Athletic Hall of Famer who played football and baseball in a Cougar uniform from 1995-99, was on hand as the room all future Cougar football players will walk through was named in his honor. The opportunity arrived courtesy of Cougar alumnus Glenn Osterhout's naming donation of $250,000. With his pledge, Osterhout, a 1983 graduate who is a certified financial planner in Bellevue, was presented the opportunity to name the recruiting room inside the Cougar Football Complex.

NICHOL, SHEPHARD JOIN COUGAR COACHING STAFF
The Cougar coaching staff added two new position coaches as Dave Nichol joined the staff as the outside receivers coach and JaMarcus Shephard as the inside receivers coach. Nichol is no stranger to a Mike Leach-coached team, having spent three seasons (2003-05) as an offensive line assistant at Texas Tech under the current Cougar head coach. Most recently, Nichol served as the offensive coordinator at East Carolina in 2015. Shephard arrived at WSU following two seasons as the receivers coach at Western Kentucky University. In addition to his duties as receivers coach the past two seasons, Shephard added special teams duties for the 2015 season.

COUGAR FOOTBALL BROADCAST TEAM
Hall of fame announcer Bob Robertson is in his 50th season calling Cougar football games, and according to a nation-wide survey of sports information directors, is the longest tenured radio announcer in the country with the next closest being Bill Hillgrove who has announced 46 straight seasons at Pitt. Robertson began calling WSU games in 1964 and with the exception of a three-year period in 1969-71, has been calling Cougar games ever since. Robertson now hosts the Cougars pre, halftime and postgame shows, while also providing analysis during the games. Matt Chazanow is in his second season as the play-by-play voice for Cougar football, men's basketball and baseball broadcasts. Joining Chazanow and Robertson in the booth for his third season will be Cougar legend Jason Gesser who quarterbacked WSU to the 2001 Sun Bowl and 2003 Rose Bowl. Returning for her fifth season as the sideline reporter is Jessamyn McIntyre, an executive producer for 710 ESPN Seattle.