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Eastern Washington University Football

QB Eric Barriere earns FCS National Player of the Week after record 600-yard passing performance against Idaho

Eastern Washington quarterbck Eric Barriere fires a strike downfield to Andrew Boston in a win over Idaho on Saturday in Cheney.  (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Dan Thompson For The Spokesman-Review

A record-breaking offensive performance Saturday brought national attention to both the Eastern Washington football team and its starting quarterback, Eric Barriere.

That bled into Monday, when Barriere was named the Football Championship Subdivision National Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season by Stats Perform. He threw for a school-record 600 yards in the team’s 71-21 victory over Idaho and also was responsible for a school-record eight touchdowns, seven passing and one rushing.

No other quarterback in Division I – FBS or FCS – has thrown for 600 yards this season, and that drew the attention of national outlets like ESPN, which described his stat line as “video game numbers” on Twitter and elsewhere.

The 600 yards were the eighth-most passing yards ever by an FCS quarterback. It was the ninth time Barriere has thrown for at least 400 yards in a game.

The performance also earned Barriere his fifth Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and the 11th of his career at Eastern.

“I just go out there every week and play my game,” Barriere said after the game Saturday. “This week probably just was a little more special.”

As a team, Eastern remained No. 2 in the FCS Stats poll released Monday, holding steady behind idle No. 1 Sam Houston State (5-0), which is now 45 voting points ahead of the Eagles. The gap was 43 points last week.

Eastern received 14 first-place votes, five more than last week, while Sam Houston collected 35. Third-place North Dakota State (6-0) received one first-place vote. There are just six unbeaten teams left in the FCS.

The Eagles have only been 7-0 three other times, in 1967, 1965 and 1921. The program’s current 20-game winning streak at home – which it will put on the line Saturday against Weber State – is currently the longest in the FCS.

Four other Big Sky teams are ranked among the top 25. Montana State (6-1, 4-0) moved up to No. 8 and knocked Weber State (2-4, 1-2) out of the rankings after the Bobcats beat the Wildcats over the weekend.

Montana (4-2, 1-2) fell to No. 11 after losing in Missoula to Sacramento State (4-2, 3-0). The Hornets entered the top 25 for the first time this season and are ranked 19th.

UC Davis (6-1, 3-1) climbed three spots to No. 10.