After a record-setting day at Roos Field, Eastern Washington University redshirt senior quarterback Eric Barriere has been named the ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week, as announced this morning (Oct. 18). The award is his fifth this season and 11th of his career. Barriere also earned the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) National Performer of the Week, and is the College Sports Madness Big Sky and National Offensive Player of the Week as well.
 
Barriere's fifth Big Sky POTW award is the most offensive weekly award in a single season for the conference since Dave Dickensen won five in 1995.
 
Barriere helped guide the No. 2 Eagles to a 71-21 romp of Big Sky foe Idaho on Saturday, Oct. 16 in Cheney, Wash., helping EWU move to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference action, setting multiple school records in the process.
 
The Inglewood, Calif., native threw for a school-record 600 yards and seven touchdown passes, plus scoring a 12-yard rushing touchdown of his own. He breaks Gage Gubrud's previous school record of 549 passing yards set at Montana on Sept. 23, 2017. The seven touchdown passes ties his own school record, and the eight touchdowns responsible for are a new school record as well. He also broke the program record for career touchdowns responsible for with 123.
 
This is the second time this season he has broken EWU's single-game record for total offense, as he amassed 577 (600 passing, -23 rushing) in the win. His previous best was 562 at Western Illinois on Sept. 18.
 
The Eagles totaled 837 yards of total offense, including 624 through the air, both of which are school records. Eastern Washington scored 29 points in the first quarter, tying a program record for first quarter points, and piled it on from there – as the 71 points are the most-ever scored at Roos or formerly Woodward field, the fifth most in program history, and the second-most against a Division I opponent.
 
Barriere completed 26 of 35 pass attempts (74%), averaging over 23 yards per completion, and tied for the eighth-most passing yards ever by a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) quarterback and fourth in the Big Sky. He had an efficiency rating of 284.32, close to the school record of 313.5.
 
He had four big plays of 40 yards or more, including a 73 and a 43-yard strike to Andrew Boston, a 53-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Merritt, and a 64-yard completion to Freddie Roberson. Barriere now has 46 plays of over 40 yards in his career.
 
Now 27-9 in 36 career games as a starter, 16-0 at home, Barriere he has completed 62.2 percent of his passes (840-of-1351), good for 11,806 yards, 103 touchdowns and 26 interceptions, and has rushed 334 times for 1,422 yards and 20 more touchdowns in his career. He had a passing efficiency rating of 146.9 as a sophomore, 151.6 in 2019 and 190.72 thus far in 2021 for a 156.9 mark in his career to currently rank third in school history. His touchdown passes rank second all-time at EWU (third in Big Sky Conference history), his passing yardage is second (fifth in Big Sky Conference history), his total of 13,228 yards of offense rank second (second in the Big Sky). With 45 total games of experience, he is 27-9 in 36 career games as a starter (16-0 at home), with 11,806 passing yards, 1,422 rushing and 13,228 total yards of offense as an Eagle.
 
Barriere is on the Walter Payton Award watchlist after finishing runner-up a year ago and is the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year. He already broke an FCS record for most passing yards (487) and total offense (497) in a single half at Western Illinois. He is first in the FCS in passing efficiency (190.72), touchdowns (28), total offense (446.6), passing yards per game (438.1) and points responsible for (186 with 28 through the air, two on the ground and a trio of two-point conversions).
 
The Eagles are ranked No. 2 for the second-straight week the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll. They'll go for their 21^st-straight win at home when they Weber State, who dropped out of the AFCA rankings after a loss to then No. 9 (now No. 8) Montana State on Oct. 15, this Saturday (Oct. 23) at 1:05 p.m. at Roos Field. The game will be broadcast regionally on SWX and can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on 700-AM ESPN.
 
Entering the Weber State game, Barriere needs just 80 yards of offense to catch the EWU and Big Sky records held by former Eagle Matt Nichols (2006-09). Barriere is 276 passing yards from moving into fourth in league history (Case Cookus, NAU, 12,082 yards from 2015-19), 401 from third (Jamie Martin, WSU, 12,207 yards from 1989-92), 468 from second (Cameron Higgins, WSU, 12,274 from 2007-10) and 810 from the school and league records held by Nichols of 12,616. Barriere is two TD passes from moving into second in league history (105, Case Cookus, NAU, from 2015-19) and seven from the Eastern and BSC records of 110 held by Vernon Adams (2012-14).