By DAVE COOK
Eastern Washington Sports Information
Why not dream big? After all, not many outside of the Eastern Washington University football team would have ever dreamed the Eagles would defeat a Pac-12 opponent twice in four years.
Judging from the damage he’s inflicted on Pac-12 defenses in four seasons now, it’s no secret that Eagle senior wide receiver Cooper Kupp is among the best receivers in college football at any level. Now, in a column by Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Kupp is being regarded as one of five Heisman candidates after the first full week of the college football season. Kupp joins Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, Houston quarterback Greg Ward, Stanford running back/returner Christian McCaffrey and Georgia running back Nick Chubb on Feldman’s list.
All Kupp has done to warrant the success is score 11 touchdowns receiving in four games versus the Pac-12 on a total of 40 catches for 716 yards. That’s an average of 17.9 yards per catch and a TD every 3.6 grabs against the four Pac-12 schools in the Pacific Northwest – Washington State, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State.
In EWU’s 45-42 win over WSU on Sept. 3, Kupp had 12 catches for 206 yards and three touchdowns, as the three-time All-America receiver broke the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record with a current total of 59 touchdown receptions. He also completed a pass for 22 yards against the Cougars, and rushed twice for 29 yards.
“Today, the best player on the field was Cooper Kupp,” said Washington State head coach Mike Leach after the game.
It was the pass that caught the eye of Eagle head coach Beau Baldwin on the stat sheet after the thrilling win over the Cougars, a performance that wouldn’t have happened had Kupp elected to pursue professional opportunities instead.
“It means way more than any record or any statistic, and obviously, those are off the charts,” said Baldwin of the return of Kupp. “But what I first saw on the stat sheet was 1-of-1 again throwing the ball, so he found a way to do that too.”
“I joke with our staff that No. 10 is probably more mature than most of us,” continued Baldwin on what the return of the 2012 graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash., means to his program. “And I mean that with how he handles things, and how he brings that maturity level and discipline to our team. As a coach, that’s what you want in your locker room – that type of culture and character that Cooper carries.”
Last season, Kupp set Autzen Stadium records of 15 catches for 246 yards against Oregon, including three TD grabs. The year before that he caught eight passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns against Washington — the former team his grandfather, Jake Kupp, played for before becoming a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the New Orleans Saints.
As a redshirt freshman in 2013, in his first collegiate game, Kupp caught five passes for 119 yards and two scores against OSU. The Eagles upset the 25th-ranked Beavers 49-46, becoming just the fourth FCS team to beat a ranked squad from the NCAA Football Bowl Championship Subdivision.
The reigning FCS Offensive Player of the Year, Kupp has now established eight FCS records, eight Big Sky Conference all-time marks and 18 school records. His 124.6 average reception yards per game is currently a FCS career record, while his other six FCS records were set during his freshman season.
Kupp, too, had something that caught his eye on the stat sheet from the WSU game – and it wasn’t his own eye-popping numbers.
“The first thing I looked at was Gage throwing only six incomplete passes,” he said of the 34-of-40 performance for 474 yards and five touchdowns by sophomore Gage Gubrud. In his first career start, Gubrud added 77 rushing yards for a school-record of 551 yards of total offense, breaking the previous record of 518 set by Vernon Adams Jr. against Oregon State in 2013.
“For Gage to put a game together like that here in his first game starting is special,” Kupp continued. “He ran when he could, got out of stuff to buy himself time and made the throws.”
“It’s definitely special, but I knew this would be a special year,” added Kupp of his fourth and final appearance versus a Pac-12 opponent. “The last eight months in the offseason was completely worth coming back – that was the time we were grinding. To go through what we did with those guys made it worth it. We’re starting the fun part of the season knowing that my wife (Anna) and I made the best decision of my life. It’s special to get that first win in the way we envisioned.”
