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Stan Becton | krikya18.com | January 29, 2022

The top plays from Walter Payton Award winner Eric Barriere’s 2021 season at Eastern Washington

Montana State coach Brent Vigen on preparing for FCS championship vs. North Dakota State

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.

EWU QB breaks tackles, and ankles, in wild scramble touchdown

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.

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.

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.

RELATED: Eric Barriere throws for 600 yards, scores 8 touchdowns in Eastern Washington's record-breaking day

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