With Head Coach Mike Leach as the weekly headliner, there is rarely a dull moment at Washington State football press conferences, and something idiosyncratically enlightening is bound to be said.

Beyond the proud Cody, Wyoming native’s description of being urged to go for two on the second-to-last play of regulation by an assistant who was “like Nixon jumping out of an airplane with a peace sign,” and his belief that Leif Erickson Day is deserving of recognition as a national holiday, both he and his players offered straightforward insight and opinion on their 45-38 double-overtime victory over Oregon, as well as preparation for Oregon State at Monday’s press conference.

Much had been made through the previous four games of the Cougars’ inability to play a four-quarter game and tendency to play down to the level of their competition before snapping an eight-game losing streak against the Ducks.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Falk, redshirt senior wide receiver Gabe Marks and redshirt sophomore linebacker Peyton Pelluer – those who spoke at the podium alongside their coach – all asserted that they have moved on from such performances.

“I think it was just after the Cal game,” Falk said. “You know we had a lot of opportunities in that game to close the deal and we came back and decided that being close wasn’t good enough anymore. We all came together as a team and decided ‘enough of this crap, it’s time to win.'”

Leach is not convinced his team is done playing down to the level of its competition, but has “been making improvements each week.” He attributed growth from Week 1 to Saturday’s stunner to better play from the offensive line, a more complete buying-in from players on taking one play at a time, and, of course, his quarterback’s continued leadership and familiarity with the offense.

Marks, who leads WSU with 43 receptions this season, talked about the growing issue with egos in college football, and described his quarterback as playing with that “gritty style that a lot of other quarterbacks do not (have).”

Now though, as Pelluer affirmed, it is time to build off of such displays of hard work – Falk watches film long before and after practice, as Marks said – and take the “stepping stone” performance of Saturday and deliver a similar showing in front of a packed Martin Stadium.

“We’re constantly making steps to get better and every week we get to see what this defense can be when we play our ‘A’ game,” Pelluer said. “I wouldn’t say Saturday was our ‘A’ game, but we stepped up when needed. We want to put together a full game. We came closer on Saturday with all three phases but we want to do it in front of our home crowd.”

Saturday was a much-needed morale boost for a program in need of some good fortune, but, as Leach said, the focus turned over to Oregon State immediately after Saturday turned into Sunday. The Cougars know they will be favored to win after beating the Ducks, but all four interviewees said they need to block out the fan noise and avoid a letdown at home.

“We’re not in a position to take anyone lightly,” Marks said. “Every week it’s been coming down to the wire. They’re a Pac-12 team.”

Falk added, “Coach Leach always says ‘respect everyone, fear no one.’ We just need to focus on the things we can control, play our game, and not play to our opponent’s standards.”