STANFORD, Calif. -- After opening the season with losses to lower-division Eastern Washington and Boise State, Washington State has staged a dramatic turnaround and is now overwhelming the Pac-12s recent powerhouses.The Cougars followed a lopsided win over Oregon that was fueled by a dominant running attack with a thorough beating of No. 15 Stanford led by the play in the trenches.Luke Falk threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns and the defensive line shut down Christian McCaffrey and the Cardinal offense in a 42-16 victory on Saturday night.We had to realize theres no good finesse teams in football, receiver Gabe Marks said. Even the teams you guys like to call finesse teams, they really arent. ... We had to come back to basics and just grind it out.The Cougars (3-2, 2-0) held the Cardinal (3-2, 2-2) to 296 yards of offense and didnt allow an offensive score until the final play of the game. The offensive line managed to protect Falk well enough to allow him to find his receivers downfield.Falk connected with Tavares Martin Jr. twice in the first half and added second-half TD passes to Marks and River Cracraft to help the Cougars follow up last weeks 51-33 win over Oregon by ending an eight-game losing streak to Stanford. The Ducks and Cardinal have combined to win the past seven conference titles.That streak is in serious jeopardy this year as the Cardinal got blown out for the second straight game, losing in back-to-back weeks for the first time in six seasons under coach David Shaw. Stanford lost 44-6 at Washington last week. The Ducks are 0-3 in conference play.Stanford has been the class of the conference for a while now, Marks said. Since Ive been here, theyve been a powerhouse. For us, these past two weeks have really been important to finally see the work pay off and realize our potential and becoming what we thought we would be.Making matters worse for the Cardinal was the fact that last years Heisman runner-up McCaffrey went to the locker room in the second half with an injury and didnt return to the game. McCaffrey came back to the sideline and had his helmet on, but didnt re-enter the game.There was no reason to put him in late in the game, Shaw said. We just left him out. Well see how he is during the course of the week.THE TAKEAWAYWashington State: The Cougars got their first win against a team ranked in the top 15 since knocking off No. 5 Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl. Falk stepped up in key spots, connecting on a 29-yard score to Martin on fourth-and-7 to make it 14-3 in the second quarter. After letting Stanford back into the game with an interception that Frank Buncom returned for a TD, Falk hit Marks for a score on third-and-goal from the 17 to make it 28-10.Stanford: The Cardinal offense struggled to do anything as the offensive line was dominated in the trenches and Ryan Burns missed on chances for a few big plays. McCaffrey was held to 35 yards on eight carries and one catch for 5 yards. Stanford allowed four sacks after giving up eight last week and the only big play came on a 44-yard pass to Michael Rector on the final play of the first half. Shaw said the Cardinal missed four potential TD passes and the offense didnt reach the end zone until the final play. Even the usually reliable Conrad Ukropina missed two field goals.So weve got to hit those opportunities. Shaw said. You know, its not just one of those. Weve got to hit multiple. If those things are there, weve got to hit them.MUSIC MANCougars coach Mike Leach didnt want to blame a couple of false starts on the noise, even if he did say the public address speakers were especially loud.It was loud and it sounded good, he said. I thought they played good music, too. I mean, some of the music I could do without, but I thought Stanford has great taste in music. Who would have thunk it?POLL IMPLICATIONSStanford should plummet again after dropping eight spots last week in the AP Top 25 poll .UP NEXTWashington State: The Cougars return home to host UCLA.Stanford: The Cardinal take a break from conference play to travel to struggling Notre Dame (2-4). Cheap Texas Rangers Gear .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Authentic Rougned Odor Jersey . But what about the officials? 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The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p.Louis van Gaal hopes Manchester Uniteds midweek victory over Stoke will provide the springboard in their battle to secure a Champions League spot next season. United produced one of their better displays of the season as they brushed aside the Potters 3-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.It was a vast improvement on their previous home game against Southampton, who clinched a 1-0 win at the Theatre of Dreams. And now Van Gaal is hoping his side can use their new-found confidence to build some momentum ahead of Sundays trip to Chelsea, which will be shown live on Sky Sports.The Dutchman said: I think the players have that confidence with them at this moment. We have scored two times in the first half also. I hope it shall give them that boost to conttinue.ddddddddddddBut Chelsea are also in good shape because [Guus] Hiddink doesnt lose. Its not so easy to beat them at home but still I have the feeling that we can do that.United are currently fifth in the Premier League, five points off fourth spot and a place in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.Van Gaal added: Now we have to win. The most important thing is to win our games because the gap is still five points. Its not too much but it is still five points.Thats our first aim, that we close the gap between us and No 4. Also See: Man Utd video Man Utd fixtures Man Utd stats Get a ￡10 free bet! China Womens NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '