Washington State quarterback Luke Falk went from being benched one week to becoming the Pac-12's career passing leader the next while leading the No. 25 Cougars to an important 24-21 Pac-12 victory over No. 21 Stanford Saturday.

"I thought Luke played really good all day," said Washington State coach Mike Leach after watching his players, including Falk, celebrate Senior Day in the snow with a win at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.

Leach benched Falk in favor of backup Tyler Hilinski in the first half of last week's 58-37 loss at Arizona because Falk was stagnant in leading the offense.

"I thought he bounced back with a lot of energy, and he played with a lot of confidence," Leach said of Falk's performance against Stanford.

Falk became the Pac-12's career passing yardage leader with 13,806 yards. He broke the record of 13,600 yards held by former Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion.

Falk completed 34 of 48 pass attempts for 337 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception.

"I have a lot of confidence in the players around me," said Falk, who threw to nine different receivers, topped by Tavares Martin Jr.'s seven receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. "My job is to go out there and throw it to them. They make things a whole lot easier for me."

Washington State, which finished 7-0 at home for the first time in program history, improved to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-12 North, while Stanford fell to 6-3 and 5-2. The Cougars control their destiny, with a game at division-leading Washington looming at the end of the regular season.

Falk started against Stanford and was efficient until he threw an interception that was returned 52 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Bobby Okereke with 2:37 left in the third quarter, giving the Cardinal a 21-17 lead.

After two three-and-out possessions, Falk finally got on track again, engineering an 11-play, 94-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jamire Calvin with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter, putting the Cougars ahead 24-21.

"That long drive really impressed me with how Luke led our guys," Leach said. "It showed the kind of confidence he played with."

Stanford -- playing in the snow for the first time since a 1936 game at Columbia in New York -- had three consecutive three-and-out possessions after Okereke's interception.

The Cardinal's last possession ended with quarterback K.J. Costello being picked off by senior linebacker Frankie Luvu, whose parents saw him play collegiately for the first time after making the trip to Pullman from American Samoa.

Stanford coach David Shaw lamented afterward, "I feel like I let my team down. I didn't give my guys enough opportunities to make plays. We all must be accountable after this performance."

The Cardinal had only nine first downs and 198 yards of total offense. Stanford running back Bryce Love -- a Heisman Trophy candidate out last week against Oregon State because of an ankle injury -- had one of the few big plays for the Cardinal.

He broke loose for a 52-yard run, breaking two tackles in the process, to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead with 14:06 left in the second quarter.

Love's 10 rushes of 50 or more yards this season ties Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (2014) for most in the last 10 years.

Aside from the 52-yard run, Love had nowhere to run, finishing with 69 yards on 16 carries. Love, who entered the game as the nation's leading rusher, was tackled six times behind the line of scrimmage. The Cougars had 11 tackles for loss, led by linebacker Justus Rogers' 2.5.

NOTES: Stanford senior CB Alijah Holder will not return this season after sustaining an undisclosed injury against Oregon State in the previous game. He started seven games and has a team-high three forced fumbles. ... Washington State QB Luke Falk is the NCAA's active career leader in passing yards (13,806), touchdown passes (115) and yards per game (336.7). ... Washington State DT Hercules Mata'afa leads all active Pac-12 players with 41 career tackles for loss and 18.5 career sacks. ... Stanford junior RB Bryce Love (1,456 yards) is one of five Cardinal players ever with more than 1,300 yards rushing in a season (Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and Christian McCaffrey).