EWU quarterback Gubrud is FCS national player of the week

Eastern Washington quarterback Gage Gubrud continues to take what defenses give him.

He’s also grabbing a few awards along the way.

On Saturday, Gubrud’s patience was rewarded with a 41-17 Big Sky Conference win at Montana State. Two days later, he was named the STATS National FCS and the Big Sky offensive player of the week after passing for a school-record 520 yards .

With the win, Eastern (6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky) remained third in the national polls going into Saturday’s home game against Montana.

Gubrud also earned FCS Performer of the Week honorable mention honors from College Football Performance Awards.

The redshirt sophomore completed 37 of 51 passes at MSU, breaking the previous record of 491 set by teammate Jordan West last year at Sacramento State.

Gubrud had touchdown passes to four different receivers at MSU, and his 538 yards of total offense were second only to the school-record 551 he had in the first start of his career in a 45-42 victory at Washington State.

“I like to break the season down to thirds, to get a feel for how someone is playing early in the season, in the middle of the season and late in the season – especially when you are talking about young quarterbacks,” Eastern coach Beau Baldwin said.

“The thing I love about Gage compared to his first three games is that he’s playing incredibly patient and disciplined. He’s continuing to take what a defense gives him. … He’s handling that really well.”

After just seven career starts, Gubrud already owns six of the top 11 single game total offense performances in school history and five of the top 18 passing performances.

In his last three games, Gubrud has 1,441 yards passing (480.3 per game) and 1,577 in total offense (525.7) with 15 touchdown passes and one more on the ground.

Meanwhile, EWU kicker Roldan Alcobendas was named the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week after hitting two field goals and scoring a career-high 11 points in the Eagles’ win at MSU.

Returning to the stadium where he suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2014, Alcobendas made field goals of 48 and 21 yards.

His 48-yarder at the end of the first half gave the Eagles a 24-17 lead. It was the best of his career and equals the 23rd-longest in school history.

This year, Alcobendas is 6-of-10 kicking field goals and has made 38-of-39 extra points. He has also averaged 58.4 yards on 18 kickoffs with six touchbacks.

In his 11-game career, Alcobendas has made 7-of-11 field goals and 60-of-63 extra points.