The Washington State football team will have a chance on Saturday to do something it hasn’t done in more than a year: winning a home game.

The last time the Cougars (1-1) won a game at Martin Stadium was Sept. 13, 2014, against Portland State – a streak which probably should have ended against the same team two Saturdays ago. They will have a chance to end the winless drought against the Wyoming Cowboys, who are still looking for their first victory of the season

“We’ve gotta get a winning environment here,” WSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Luke Falk said. “I think that’s the big thing that we’re missing. We just got to take the same mentality we have on the road, bring it here (at home), and get this place going. It’s going to take a lot of fan support to get out here, stay in the whole game, being loud.”

Falk enters this game against the Cowboys (0-2) with the third most passing yards in the FBS this season (767). In last Saturday’s win at Rutgers, the Utah native completed 47 of his 66 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns, which earned him Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. A key reason for Falk’s lofty stat line is the amount of time he’s had in the pocket to make read defenses, thanks to the Cougar offensive line.

“I need to buy those guys a steak dinner right now or something,” Falk said. “I had a lot of time (in the pocket against Rutgers), and they don’t get nearly enough credit as they deserve.”

WSU Head Coach Mike Leach said the offensive line played well in pass protection against Rutgers, but it needs to finish more on run blocking.

WSU will face a Cowboys’ defense on Saturday that employs a Tampa two scheme. This defense is employed out of a 4-3 alignment and calls for the three linebackers to drop back deep into coverage on most snaps.

“In my mind Tampa is a lot of times a sit and wait for something to happen type of defense, and then react to it,” Leach said. “They’re a little more aggressive than that, and they do a good job. Guys fly around, that’s one thing you see.”

Heading into the third week of the season, Wyoming’s defense is giving up an average of 467.5 yards per game, which ranks 11th in the 12-team Mountain West Conference. Wyoming junior linebacker Lucas Wacha is the anchor of the defense, and his 18 total tackles currently rank fifth in the Mountain West.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Cowboys’ game plan is to pound the rock. Wyoming currently has the No. 3 rushing offense in the Mountain West, averaging 229.5 yards per game on the ground.

“They want to try and run the ball, especially in the middle, they try not to get out in the perimeter (of the field) much,” WSU redshirt senior defensive lineman Darryl Paulo said. “They’re going to shove it down our throats, but we’re not going to let that happen.”

The WSU defense is giving up an average of 215.5 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 11 in the Pac-12. However, the unit forced three turnovers against Rutgers last week, two of which were fumbles.

Forcing turnovers is a big part of WSU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s philosophy, according to WSU redshirt sophomore safety Isaac Dotson.

“Coach Grinch wants that ball,” Dotson said. “Every day in practice we have to at least get two takeaways, and that’s something he’s (Grinch) emphasized since he got here. It’s all about the football. If we can get the offense the football then we’ll be good. We just got to go out there and do our jobs. Takeaways equal victory.”

The Cougars kickoff against the Cowboys at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Martin Stadium. Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the game and live stats and audio will be available on wsucougars.com.