FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 11, 2021) - Eastern Washington's Eric Barriere was awarded his fourth ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Football Offensive Player of the Week honor after another stellar performance this past Saturday, while the Idaho State pair of Jayden Dawson and Kevin Ryan won the Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week honor.
The win for Barriere is his 10th career conference weekly award and fourth of the season. The honors for Dawson and Ryan are the first on the year for the Bengal pair.
Barriere threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns in EWU's 63-17 win at Northern Colorado, as he improved his record as a starter to 26-9 for his Eagle career. Saturday's performance also marked Barriere's 23rd career game with over 300 yards of total offense, while moving into sixth all-time in the Big Sky for his 11,206 career passing yards. Barriere is currently the FCS leader in passing TDs, passing yards, passing yards per game and total offense.
Dawson led an Idaho State defense that picked off UC Davis three times as the Bengals upset their first Top 10 team since 2005 with Saturday's 27-17 victory. Dawson finished the game with eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, two pass breakups and his first career interception in the upset win. The Aggies, who were averaging 35 points per contest entering Saturday's game, were held to just 17 points.
Ryan helped flip the field in Idaho State's upset over previously undefeated UC Davis, as the punter pinned the Aggies on the eight, three and one-yard line this past Saturday. Overall, Ryan finished the day with five punts for an average of 41.4 yards and a long of 51, with three of his punts landing inside the 10-yard line. Ryan ranks second in the FCS with his 47.3 punt average for this season.
Follow all things #BigSkyFB on Twitter and Instagram at @BigSkyFB. Follow the Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok for all the latest news around the league and use the hashtag #ExperienceElevated.
Others Nominated
Off: Tanner Conner (ISU), Davis Alexander (PSU), Asher O'Hara (Sac State), Kris Brown (Montana), Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. (UC Davis)
Def: Marte Mapu (Sac State), Justin Ford (Montana), Jeffrey Manning (MSU), Callin Criner (EWU), Broderick Harrell (PSU)
ST: Kyle Sentkowski (Sac State), Brian Buschini (Montana), Seth Harrison (EWU)
Past ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Football Players of the Week
Offensive
Aug. 30: Justin Miller, Southern Utah
Sept. 6: Eric Barriere/Hunter Rodrigues, EWU/UC Davis
Sept. 13: Hunter Rodrigues, UC Davis
Sept. 20: Eric Barriere, EWU
Sept. 27: Eric Barriere, EWU
Oct. 4: RJ Martinez, NAU
Oct. 11: Eric Barriere, EWU
Defensive
Aug. 30: Kobe Singleton, Southern Utah
Sept. 6: Marcus Welnel, Montana
Sept. 13: David Hoage, UNC
Sept. 20: Harrison Beemiller, NAU
Sept. 27: Xander Gagnon, UNC
Oct. 4: Morgan Vest, NAU
Oct. 11: Jayden Dawson, Idaho State
Special Teams
Aug. 30: Jake Gerardi, Southern Utah
Sept. 6: Isaiah Gomez/Brian Buschini, UC Davis/Montana
Sept. 13: Trent Tompkins, UC Davis
Sept. 20: DJ Arnson, NAU
Sept. 27: Kyle Sentkowski, Sac State
Oct. 4: Jackson Cleaver, EWU
Oct. 11: Kevin Ryan, Idaho State