Behind outstanding defensive performances and strong quarterback play, the No. 24 Washington State Cougars (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12) beat down the Colorado Buffaloes (4-8, 1-7 Pac-12) 27-3, Saturday night.

The victory came at a price, however. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Falk was carted off the field midway through the third quarter after banging his head into the frozen turf on a sack. Redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Bender had to come in to play the rest of the game and did his part to protect a 17-0 lead.

“It looked like a hard hit and he wasn’t coming up,” Bender said. “I just strapped up and started warming up on the sidelines. When I saw the stretcher come out, I figured it was probably going to be my show for the rest of the game. I just tried to get my mind right, stay focused, and go in there and just run the offense, get completions and just move the ball.”

Bender finished 13 of 22 for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“I thought he played good,” Head Coach Mike Leach said of Bender. “I was very impressed with that first drive when he came out there. I thought he moved the ball pretty well.”

The first full drive Bender led began near the end of the third quarter and started at the WSU 24 yard-line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Bender threw a 9-yard pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Dom Williams along the left sideline. The catch withstood a replay review and gave the Cougars a first down at the CU 16. On the next play, Bender threw a fade to redshirt junior receiver Gabe Marks on the right side of the end zone, and Marks made an incredible catch for the touchdown and a 24-3 WSU lead.

“He can definitely play,” Marks said of Bender. “He’s got the talent. He rips it with ease. It’s not really a matter of if he can do it, it’s just, when is his opportunity going to come? When he steps out there, we all just try to tell him to take (his) time and just relax. He’s going to be fine, there’s nothing to worry about.”

The scoring drive took 10 plays and spanned 76 yards in just 3:14. With that touchdown reception, Marks set the school record for the most touchdown catches in a season with 14. On the drive before Falk got hurt, Marks surpassed 1,000 receiving yards on the season, becoming just the 11th player in school history to accomplish that feat. Marks finished the game with 11 receptions for 110 yards and the touchdown.

“They just man-pressed him,” Bender said. “Gabe’s a great player, and especially when he’s got a one-on-one match up, I like his chances. I just put the ball up and he made a good play on it.”

The Cougars relied heavily on the running ability of redshirt sophomore running back Gerard Wicks to set the pace of the game. With 123 yards on 13 carries, Wicks became the first Cougar to rush for over 100 yards in a game since James Montgomery ran for 116 in a game against Montana State in 2010.

“He was very impressive,” Leach said. “This was probably the best game he’s played. He ran extremely hard. Sometimes he has the tendency to stretch it out, but he ran to the hole. Our offensive line, especially in the second half, stepped it up as far as the run game went.”

Redshirt freshman running back Keith Harrington ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 1:17 to play in the first quarter to open up the scoring for the Cougars. On the next WSU possession, Falk found Williams in the middle of the field for an 11-yard scoring strike to give the Cougars a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The WSU defense took over from there, allowing just the lone field goal the rest of the way while forcing two interceptions of CU freshman quarterback Cade Apsay (one each by redshirt sophomore cornerback Charles White and senior safety Taylor Taliulu), two turnover on downs, a missed field goal, and a punt.

The Cougars now move their focus to the always-tough Apple Cup, in which they’ll be playing with or without Falk. That uncertainty is not going to stop them from being ready and playing hard.

“There’s a school over (in Seattle) that we don’t really care for,” Marks said. “I’m going to go over there and I’m going to run some good routes and we’ll see what happens. They have a good secondary.”

The game against the University of Washington Huskies will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday on FOX.