Tag: Eastern Washington University

Around the NFL: Rams intend to trade away WR Cooper Kupp

Around the NFL: Rams intend to trade away WR Cooper Kupp

There truly is no offseason with the NFL, even during Super Bowl Week. On Tuesday, it was announced the Los Angeles Rams have the intention of trading away the MVP of Super Bowl LVI, wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

Who was the one to break this news? Well, Cooper Kupp himself… and he is not thrilled about LA’s intentions. Kupp took to his own personal Twitter account to make his dissatisfaction well known.

Despite the fact the Rams won the NFC West this past season, and are only three years removed from hoisting the Lombardi in their home stadium, they have been in a quasi-rebuild for a while now. Their 2022 season as defined by the fact they went 5-12 and earned the dubious distinction of being literally the worst team in NFL history at defending their title from the previous year. From there, they made the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024, but in each season no one would have considered this LA team good by any reasonable stretch of the imagination.

It is clear the Rams are attempting to find a way to bolster their mediocre roster by trading away arguably the greatest receiver in franchise history. Cooper Kupp – the former Eastern Washington University standout – earned the triple crown of receiving by leading the entire NFL in receptions, receiving touchdowns and receiving yards.

In my estimation, especially as a former Eastern Eagle, this is a rotten way of treating a player of Kupp’s caliber.

Of course, potentially shipping Kupp out of the NFC West must be seen as a positive. The Rams have been an absolute terror with him in the lineup. In 12 career games against the Seahawks, Kupp has 70 receptions for 815 yards and five touchdowns against Seattle. In his last game, a 26-20 overtime victory over the Hawks, Kupp had a series-best 11 receptions for 104 yards.

Under Sean McVay, Los Angeles will always be difficult to compete against. They are a perpetual matchup nightmare when it comes to Seattle. But having Kupp out of the lineup will be one less headache to deal with when it comes to the Seahawks’ Achilles Heel.

On a side note… as a former classmate of Cooper Kupp’s, I sure hope Seattle finds a way to bring the former MVP to the Emerald City. It is unlikely, yes, but Kupp would fill a need… especially since it is increasingly doubtful that Tyler Lockett will return for the 2025 season.

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Week 2 Washington college football round-up

How did the major college football programs in the Evergreen State handle the second week of the season?

We may be focused primarily on the Seattle Seahawks with this publication, but we love all football, especially college football. Each week, we at Seahawks Wire will give a quick round-up of how the major football programs in the Evergreen State did over the weekend.

Last week, it was a strong showing for Eastern, Washington State and Washington, who all went 1-0 at home. Central Washington did not play, but they had their first game this past weekend. Without further ado, here is the latest installment for college football round-up:

Eastern Washington University: Eagles lose 35-32 in overtime to Drake

  • Saturday was one of the sloppiest games I can remember watching the Eagles play. For large portions of the game, it seemed as if neither team wanted to win. Endless penalties, untimely turnovers and poor clock management on both sides had this game headed into overtime at 29-29 despite several lead changes. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs prevailed in the first meeting between these schools with a walk-off touchdown in overtime.
  • Next Up: The Eagles go on the road for the first time this season as they head to Hammond, LA to play Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are 0-2 this year, and are fresh off a 35-10 loss last week.

Central Washington University: Wildcats lose 26-7 to San Diego

  • Saturday marked the season debut for the Wildcats, who were on the road to play the University of San Diego Toreros. Unfortunately, they traveled back to Ellensburg with a multiple-score defeat. Quarterback Kennedy McGill completed only 50% of his passes for 109 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
  • Next Up: Central will be back on the road to play Colorado Mesa University.

Washington State University: Cougars dominate Texas Tech 37-16

  • Unofficially the Mike Leach Bowl, the Cougars hosted the Red Raiders as the two teams the legendary Leach both coached. In Leach’s honor, Washington State absolutely dominated Texas Tech with an astonishing 301 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. WAZZU had built up a 27-10 lead at halftime and the game was essentially over from there.
  • Next Up: The Apple Cup at Lumen Field.

University of Washington: Huskies defeat Eastern Michigan 30-9

  • The Huskies have successfully defended home turf twice to start the season in the Jedd Fisch era. Their opponents haven’t been world beaters by any means, but they took care of business by beating two teams they should easily succeed against. Now, the Huskies will go “on the road” to Lumen Field to play the Cougars in an Apple Cup that has lost significant meaning thanks to the near-dissolution of the Pac-12.
  • Next Up: The Apple Cup at Lumen Field

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Week 1 Washington college football round-up

How did the major college football programs in the Evergreen State fare in the first weekend of action?

Here at Seahawks Wire, we are starting a new on-going series for this season. Each week, we will take a look at how all the major college football programs in our lovely Evergreen State fared. So far in Week 1, it’s all wins for Washington, as all teams who played ended the weekend with a 1-0 record.

Note, Central Washington University did not play this weekend, so there is nothing to report. But we will include our friends in Ellensburg as well!

Eastern Washington University: Eagles defeat Monmouth 42-27

  • It was a battle of birds of prey last Thursday on the iconic Infero of Roos Field. The Eagles swooped down and snatched any chance of victory away from the Hawks. Quarterback Kekoa Visperas was nearly perfect, completing 25-of-28 passes for 275 yards and five touchdown passes. Three of those scores came from Efton Chism III, who hauled in 12 receptions for 175 yards through the air.
  • Next Up: Eastern will remain in the friendly confines of Cheney to host the Drake Bulldogs.

Washington State Univeristy: Cougs obliterate Portland State 70-30

  • Washington State wasted little time getting their offense going after the Portland State scored an opening drive touchdown. After taking their 7-0 lead, the Vikings were quickly left in the dust behind the Cougs’ explosive offense. Starter John Mateer threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns in the start of head coach Jake Dickert’s third season as head coach.
  • Next Up: WAZZU will stay in the Palouse to host the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who narrowly surived in overtime to win 52-51 against Abilene Christian.

University of Washington: Huskies handle business 35-3 vs. Weber St.

  • In their first action since their embarrassing 34-13 defeat in the National Championship, Washington took care of business and defeated the Wildcats convincingly. Will Rogers, in his first action as a Husky, played fine, completing 20-of-26 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown. The offensive standout was running back Jonah Coleman who had 16 carries for 127 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Next Up: A third straight Washington-based team who gets to enjoy Week 2 at home. The Huskies will host Eastern Michigan, who is fresh off a 28-14 win over the UMass Minutemen.

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Improvement needed after Seahawks drop 2nd preseason game 27-11

The Seattle Seahawks have plenty of work to do to get ready for their preseason finale after dropping Thursday’s game to the Chicago Bears.

Even by already-low preseason standards, the Seattle Seahawks played a very uninspiring game of football. On Thursday night in front of the 12th Man for the first time this summer, the Seahawks fell to the visiting Chicago Bears 27-11 in their second preseason game.

Right from the get-go, the Seahawks were sloppy for most of the night and it cost them dearly. Some late-game magic with a botched Bears punt return and recovered onside kick weren’t able to overcome Seattle’s slow start.

In fairness to the Seahawks, they did play last Saturday night in Pittsburgh with a quick turnaround to a Thursday. The exceptionally short week of practice and lack of key starters playing meaningful time would make it difficult for any team to play a competent game.

Regardless, there is more than enough room for improvement for the Seahawks before their preseason finale next Friday in Dallas.

Eastern Washington QB Eric Barriere throws for 600 yards, 7 TDs

Eric Barriere of Eastern Washington threw for 600 yards

Eastern Washington produced a pretty fair NFL player in the Los Angeles Rams’ WR Cooper Kupp. Scouts might want to head to the school and check out its current quarterback.

Eric Barriere, a senior from Southern California dismantled Idaho on Saturday.

Barriere was 26-of–35 for 600 passing yards and 7 touchdowns in the 71-21 route.

He added one more on the ground to finish with eight total scores.

“Eric Barriere, again, substantiates himself as the best player in the land at this level,” Head Coach Aaron Best said. “Period, bar none, zero discussion as far as I’m concerned. He is explosive, he is selfless …

Freddie Roberson, Andrew Boston, and Dennis Merritt were over 100 yards receiving.

Barriere ended the day in sole possession of second place with 103 touchdown passes at EWU, seven away from tying Vernon Adams Jr.’s record.

Barriere 13,238 yards of total offense, 70 yards from breaking Matt Nichols’ Big Sky Conference and program record. He also moves into fifth on the passing yards list as well with 11,806 and is 16-0 as a starter at Roos Field.

Barriere got the game ball after his astonishing performance.

 

3 studs and 2 duds in Seahawks 20-9 victory over Rams to win NFC West

A look at the duds and the studs from the Seattle Seahawks 20-9 victory over the Los Angeles Rams to clinch the NFC West division title.

It may not have been pretty, but the Seattle Seahawks finally got revenge on their rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, in a 20-9 slugfest victory to clinch the NFC West.

Avenging their depressing 23-16 loss to LA in Week 10, the Seahawks flipped the script on the Rams. This time, it was Seattle’s defense that completely shut down Jared Goff and LA’s usually competent offense. While Seattle’s offense did just enough to take advantage of such a great defensive performance.

The Seahawks also snapped a six-game streak where division opponents had scored at least 21 points in Seattle.

For the first time in four seasons, the Seahawks are guaranteed a home playoff game, and even still maintain an outside chance at the No. 1 seed. As a result, here are three studs and only two duds.