Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere was named the 2021 Walter Payton Award winner as the best offensive player in FCS football. Barriere is the fourth Eagle to win the award in its 35-year history after throwing for 5,070 yards and 46 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. Barriere added 222 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
RELATED: A complete history of the Walter Payton Award
Eric Barriere has had a fantastic season filled with great performances. Here are the top plays from his 2021 season.
The top plays from Walter Payton Award winner Eric Barriere's 2021 season
Playoff scramble breaks ankles
In the first round of the FCS playoffs, Eric Barriere drove the ball into Northern Iowa territory. As Barriere dropped back to pass, he evaded a would-be sack before taking off down field. What happened next was spectacular.
PLAYOFFS: Everything from every round of the 2021 FCS Championship tourney
Threading the needle
Before Barriere took off for that scramble touchdown, he showed off his arm talent. Barrier rifled a pass in between two defenders for a touchdown.
Thread the needle, @EB3__@EWUFootball strikes first on this toss from the Walter Payton Award finalist#ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/EF3TperrPN
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) November 27, 2021
A huge throw leads to an upset
Eastern Washington upset UNLV to land the rare FCS-over-FBS upset in early September. In a 35-33 double-overtime win, Barriere threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, including this pass when the game was tied 20-20 with two minutes to go.
4th, 2:11 | Second and long? No problem for @EB3__ and @AndrewCole_B! 46-yard gain!
— EWU Football (@EWUFootball) September 3, 2021
🦅20
🔴20#GoEags pic.twitter.com/WT65KvLCtQ
FCS-OVER-FBS UPSET HISTORY: All-time victories, upsets, wins vs. ranked teams
Barriere shatters records
Arguably, Barriere's most impressive performance all season came against Idaho. In a 71-point effort, the signal-caller threw for 600 yards and seven touchdowns, completing 74.3 percent of his passes. Barriere even added a rushing touchdown. Barriere set school records for passing yards and touchdowns responsible for. See one of his touchdowns below.
He’s not human 🤯 @EB3__ has 5 total TDs and @EWUFootball is on 🔥 #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/Is6rOnbV0R
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) October 16, 2021
RELATED: Eric Barriere throws for 600 yards, scores 8 touchdowns in Eastern Washington's record-breaking day
