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A week after reappearing in the top 25 for the first time in nearly 10 years, the Washington State Cougars have moved up to No. 20 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and Associated Press Poll after defeating Colorado 27-3 on Saturday night.
This represents a three-spot improvement over last week's No. 23 ranking in the coaches poll and a four-spot improvement over last week's No. 24 ranking in the AP poll.
The Cougars are now 8-3 after a comfortable victory over the Buffaloes with the Apple Cup on deck. WSU had little trouble with Colorado, thanks in large part to the running of Gerard Wicks -- who was the first Coug in five years to go over 100 yards in a game -- and some stellar defense. The 3 points allowed was the fewest against a conference foe since 1996, and its 4.6 yards per play was the lowest against a Pac-12 opponent since USC in 2013.
But, of course, questions remain about how WSU will be able to finish the season as the status of quarterback Luke Falk, one of the main driving forces behind the Cougs' resurgence, is uncertain after he was carted off the field last night with an apparent head or neck injury after his head collided with the turf during a violent sack.
As of last night, Falk was alert and had movement in all his extremities, and he was being taken to the hospital for further evaluation. There has been no update -- official or unofficial -- since.
Other Pac-12 teams ranked include Stanford (No. 12 coaches/No. 13 AP), Oregon (No. 18 in both), UCLA (No. 23/22) and Utah at No. 25 in the coaches poll.
Washington is not ranked in either poll after beating Oregon State yesterday to move to 5-6.