Washington State sophomore quarterback Luke Falk was carted off the field in the third quarter of the Cougars' 27-3 win against Colorado with an apparent head injury.
Falk was sacked near midfield with 8:16 left in the third quarter and his head violently hit the turf in Pullman, where temperatures were hovering around 30 degrees. He appeared to be knocked out and laid motionless on the ground as Washington State medical staff tended to him for seven minutes before offering two thumbs up as he was carted from the field on a backboard.
He was initially taken into a room at the stadium for further observation, then to Pullman Regional Hospital, according ESPN's Mark Morgan, who was serving as the sideline reporter for the broadcast.
"I didn't know what happened," receiver Dom Williams said. "I was praying for the best."
Morgan said Falk was conscious and talking to doctors before leaving the stadium.
Cougars coach Mike Leach did not offer an update after the game.
"I don't talk about injuries under any circumstances," he said.
The school provided no updates on Falk's status.
It's the second consecutive week Falk was forced to leave a game after a big hit. He left the game against UCLA under similar circumstances in the first half last week, but returned in the second half. After the game, he said he passed the concussion tests "with flying colors."
Before leaving against Colorado, Falk completed 27 of 35 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Peyton Bender, who stepped in and was 13-of-21 for 133 yards and a 16-yard TD to Gabe Marks with 14:25 left. It was Marks' 14th touchdown catch of the season, setting a new single-season school record. Marks also went over 1,000 yards receiving for the season, becoming the 11th different wide receiver in Washington State history to reach that mark.
Falk and Bender were in competition through most of fall camp for the starting job.
"Hopefully he's all right and he can get back to playing for us as soon as possible," Bender said of Falk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.