Oct. 9, 2000
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State sophomore quarterback Lon Sheriff (Santee, Calif./West Hills HS) was selected as the Mountain West Conference's (MWC) Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in SDSU's 34-0 victory at Wyoming last week. It is the second MWC player-of-the-week award for an Aztec this season following Will Demps' defensive selection on Sept. 4.
Making only his third collegiate start, Sheriff ignited an offensive explosion against the Cowboys, completing 19-of-27 passes (70.4 percent) for 317 yards, including scoring strikes of nine and 40 yards. His 19 completions and 317 yards passing were both career highs, while his second-quarter 9-yard touchdown pass to Sean Pierce was the first of his career.
Sheriff, who connected on 4-of-6 passes for 61 yards in third down situations, led the Aztecs on scoring drives of 54 and 82 yards on 9-for-12 passing during the second quarter to give SDSU a 24-0 halftime advantage. During one stretch of the second and third quarters, he completed 16-of-17 attempts.
It was the best passing day for an Aztec quarterback since Jack Hawley threw for 343 yards at Kansas on Sept. 25, 1999 -- a span of 11 games.
Sheriff's efforts also produced a solid bump in his 2000 passing efficiency rating, which jumped from 73.04 to 105.85 on the heels of his performance in Laramie.
The Aztecs return home for the first time in over a month this Saturday, when SDSU hosts Utah in a 12:05 kickoff at Qualcomm Stadium. The game is scheduled to be telecast live regionally on ESPN+Plus, locally on Channel 4 San Diego.