WSU football (2-0) rallied to defeat the Boise State Broncos (1-1) Saturday night in a wild 47-44 triple overtime game that lasted over four hours.

At the 10:53 mark of the fourth quarter, all hopes of a Cougar victory seemed crushed when redshirt senior quarterback Luke Falk fumbled, and it was returned for a Broncos touchdown. Falk was also injured on the play and did not return for the rest of the game.

That meant backup redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilinski would have to step up and try to lead the team back from a 31-10 deficit.

Hilinski quickly marched the team down the field on the ensuing drive and hit freshman wide receiver Jamire Calvin for a 17-yard touchdown to cut into the lead.

Following a kickoff, BSU was faced second down from their own 34-yard line. Redshirt senior quarterback Montell Cozart dropped back to throw, scrambled to his left and tossed a shovel pass into the arms of redshirt senior linebacker Peyton Pelluer.

Martin Stadium erupted as Pelluer took the second interception of his career back for a touchdown. The Broncos now led by a touchdown with about six minutes remaining.

The Cougars stalled in their own territory a couple drives later. Redshirt senior kicker Erik Powell was on to punt. The football bounced off a Boise State player and redshirt freshmen linebacker Dillion Sherman was there to jump on the loose ball.

The crowd was alive again.

Hilinski hit redshirt senior running back Jamal Morrow for the game-tying score four plays later. Morrow reflected on 21 unanswered points to force overtime following the game.

“After the punt that hit the dude,” Morrow said, “I was like, ‘It’s destined for us to be able to win this game, we just can’t screw it up.’ ”

The Cougs did not screw up.

(Continue reading below)

Gallery • 12 Photos

RYAN PUGH | The Daily Evergreen

Junior wide receiver Tavares Martin Jr. breaks a tackle for a gain of yards against Boise State on Saturday at Martin Stadium.

The teams traded field goals in the first overtime and touchdowns in the second. WSU had a chance to walk off the field with a victory in third overtime as BSU settled for a field goal.

Hilinski stepped back to throw and swung a pass to Morrow on his left. Morrow did the rest, diving into the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown to complete the comeback victory.

Falk and the Cougars’ high-powered offense struggled to get going in the first half, accumulating a total of 148 yards of offense.

Head Coach Mike Leach pulled his quarterback out of the game and replaced him with Hilinski in the third quarter. Hilinski threw a pick on his first drive, and Falk was back out there in the next WSU possession.

Leach said he pulled Falk to give him a chance to watch the game from a different perspective in hopes of helping him focus.

When Falk went back out, he got injured. Despite his injury, he still set WSU career records for passing yards and offensive yards.

Falk was kept out the rest of the game as a precaution, Leach said.

Hilinski completed 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 240 yards. The offense stumbled in the first half because they weren’t playing the type of football they knew best, Hilinski said.

Leach was not impressed with the offensive performance on Saturday, calling it “pathetic.”

“That was one of the most constipated offenses on Earth,” he said after the game. “We played timid and cautious.”

While the offense struggled, the Cougar defense drew turnover after turnover.

Hilinski said the plays the defense were making gave the offense momentum and kept the team in the game.

Leach said he liked the never give up mentality his team showed despite their sloppy play.

“I thought it was a huge game from a team standpoint, the entire team hanging together, the entire team pulling together,” Leach said. “It’s not as complete a game as I would have liked, but we’ve got plenty to work on.”

WSU will open Pac-12 conference play at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Oregon State (1-2) at Martin Stadium.