Three words from an upbeat Mike Leach laid to rest the debate over who would take the first snap against No. 18 Stanford on Saturday.

“We’ll start Luke,” the football Head Coach said at his weekly news conference in the Cougar Football Complex on Monday.

Leach removed redshirt senior quarterback Luke Falk toward the end of the first half of Saturday’s 58-37 loss to the University of Arizona. He then turned to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilinski in hopes of sparking an offense that had mustered just one touchdown to that point.

Falk was 13-23 for 93 yards at the time of his benching, and five of his seven drives resulted in punts.

“He needs to not put any pressure on himself because he’s worked hard, he’s trained and he needs to be pleased with that,” Leach said. “Nobody trains harder than him anyway, so he needs to understand his best is all anyone can ask for.”

Leach said after Saturday’s loss that Falk’s issue was over-analyzing the game and playing slow. The sixth-year head coach turned to Hilinski with the Cougars trailing 20-7 to allow Falk to “see the field.”

Part of the debate over who would be the Cougars’ starting quarterback versus the Cardinal arose from the fact that despite considering reinserting Falk in the second half, Leach allowed Hilinski to finish the game. Hilinski tossed for 509 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, but also threw four interceptions, including a pick-six midway through the fourth quarter.

Leach cited the 13-play scoring drive Hilinski led WSU on after he replaced Falk as generating the offensive spark he was looking for. He noted Hilinski’s quick feet and release as the positives the 6-foot-4 signal caller brings to the table, but said Hilinski needs to be less reckless with the ball and gain more game experience.

When asked if Hilinski reminds him of former WSU quarterback Connor Halliday, Leach said Hilinski is more of a hybrid between Halliday and Falk.

“Some Luke, some Connor,” he said. “A lot of his work habits and things to get his skills were drawn from Luke.”

No. 25 WSU will take the field to face Stanford at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.