Luke Falk will pass Marcus Mariota today on all-time TD list

Good morning, football fans. It's Oct. 7 and the Washington State Cougars are 5-0, no. 11 in the country and life is good.

Life will be even better if the Cougs come out of Eugene with a win over the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks will either be starting a true freshman at quarterback, or Taylor Alie, a former walk-on and fifth-year senior. Hey! We have a former walk-on and fifth-year senior at quarterback too!

Except ours needs just one touchdown pass to move ahead of former Duck Marcus Mariota for most TD passes in Pac-12 history. Won't it be great when he does it in Autzen Stadium? They should stop the game, present him with a game ball, and play a tribute video on the big screen. That would go over well.

(And if he ends up throwing zero TDs, something has gone horribly wrong, so don't blame me.)

Luke Falk currently has 105 TD passes, matching Mariota's mark. Before you point out that Mariota played only three seasons, know this: Mariota did it in 41 games and Falk will play his 36th career game today. Scoreboard, baby!

USC's Matt Barkley holds the record with 116. It took him 47 games, and the most Falk can play is 44.

Links

Football

Cougars eager for another crack at Jim Leavitt’s defense as Washington State-Oregon looms | The Spokesman-Review
Oregon’s first-year defensive coordinator was one of the few coaches who had a formula for WSU’s Air Raid and its suddenly relevant ground game last season. The Colorado Buffaloes reaped the benefits in a late November game in Boulder.

The pick: Why Washington State will beat Oregon | The Spokesman-Review
Theo Lawson of The Spokesman-Review sees a Cougar victory.

What exactly is WSU’s Speed D? How the Cougars have risen to the top of the Pac-12’s defensive rankings | The Seattle Times
The Speed D moniker for WSU's defense was intended to be an internal thing, but now in Alex Grinch's third year as defensive coordinator it's become as synonymous with his defense as the Air Raid label is with WSU's offense.

WSU DT Hercules Mata’afa’s secret weapon on the football field? Wrestling skills | The Seattle Times
True Story: I was in Maui this past winter and my guide for my zipline tour said he was friends with Hercules. He also said Hercules' sister is the real athlete in the family.

Deep dive: Get to know the Washington State Cougars - Emerald Media
Here's a look from the Duckies' student newspaper.

No. 11 Washington State's first road trip at Oregon | FOX Sports
Heading into the half-way mark of the season, 11th-ranked Washington State hits the road for the first time for Saturday's game against the Oregon Ducks.

Ken Woody: Can new-found defense hold up | Oregon Ducks Football | Eugene, Oregon
I sure hope not!

Washington St. at Oregon: Prediction, pick, odds, TV channel, live stream, watch online - CBSSports.com
A Pac-12 North showdown at Autzen.

Wazzu's Air Raid is a problem for the Oregon Ducks, and so is WSU's 'D': Issues & Answers | OregonLive.com
The Cougs are second in the conference in total defense.

Washington State at Oregon game preview | The News Tribune
Oregon's starting quarterback this week will be either a former walk-on with only 21 career completions or a true freshman who’s thrown just one collegiate pass.

Future Cougs

Lehi tops Highland in Region 6 showdown behind Cammon Cooper's 6 touchdowns | Deseret News
“We do well when No. 12 (Cammon Cooper) does well,” said Ed Larson. “When he is on his game, we are able to spread out the ball because we have a lot of weapons. Our offensive line did a great job blocking, and our defense was pivotal late."

Volleyball

Volleyball Upsets No. 25 Colorado with 3-1 Win in Pullman | Washington State University Athletics
Hell yeah.

Old YouTube Clip of the Week

You beat USC in front of an ESPN audience, bring up Woodstock and all of a sudden you're famous. Mike Leach has been famous for a while now, but last week propelled his status, and for good reason. But there was a time when Leach was famous enough to get a cameo in the television series, Friday Night Lights.

• I really dislike the YouTube videos that are people filming their TV screen, but this is the best I could find.
• Most of you have probably seen this clip before. Leach is buddies with FNL creator Peter Berg. Note to self: pick your buddies wisely because maybe they'll want you in their TV show someday.
• Leach is at a gas station asking Eric Taylor for directions. Eric Taylor is the fictional coach of the fictional Dillon Panthers in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas. It's all fiction!
• Leach can tell Taylor is down on his luck, so he goes into his well-known "Swing your sword!" spiel. It's a great acting job and if this whole coaching thing doesn't work out, I think he has a future as a cameo actor.
• Side note: I never watched the TV series so I have no idea what the rest of this episode was like. I don't even know why Taylor was feeling blue. I've always wanted to watch the TV series because the FNL movie is near and dear to me: my cousins went to Permian High School in Odessa and played for the football team. The movie actually uses brief clips of my cousin's team and his house was a 300-yard tee shot from the stadium.
• It's a quick clip and we see Leach leave in what I believe is a Ford F-150—a solid choice for a vehicle, if you ask me.
• Thus ends the clip, and perhaps we've just seen the greatest cameo of all time, no? Name a better one. I'll wait.