COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- San Diego State senior Jalen Mayden (Garland, Texas) has been named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Mayden is the first Aztec quarterback to be selected as the MW Offensive Player of the Week since Ryan Katz on Oct. 8, 2012.
Mayden threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, completing 17 of 22 passes as SDSU rallied back from a 14-0 deficit to beat San José State , 43-27, on Saturday night. Against a 6-2 Spartan team that was ranked in the top 30 on defense in scoring (10th, 16.38), passing (28th, 196.50), rushing (28th, 120.38), total (20th, 316.88) and pass efficiency (34th, 122.58), San Diego State managed 43 points, 268 passing yards, 157 rushing yards, 425 total yards and a 206.14 pass efficiency rating under Mayden's quarterbacking. The 206.14 pass efficiency rating was the highest allowed by San José State since a 245.7 mark against SDSU on Nov. 4, 2017. The 14-point deficit overcome was San Diego State's largest (win or loss) since also overcoming a 14-point deficit at San José State on Nov. 9, 2013, SJSU's first year in the league. Mayden also ran 13 times for a team-high 61 yards.
On the season, Mayden is 91-for-138 (65.9 pct.) for 1,253 yards and eight touchdowns, owning a 155.5 pass efficiency rating. Mayden, who also has rushed for 171 yards with three touchdowns, ranks second in the MW in total offense yards per play (7.74, 20th in FBS), seventh in passing touchdowns (8), passing yards per game (125.30) and total offense per game (142.40), eighth in passing yards (1,253) and completions (91), and tied for eighth in points responsible for (66), despite playing his first five games at safety and on special teams. Since he moved to quarterback for the Oct. 8 game against Hawai'i, he is ranked first in the league (min. 100 attempts) in passing yards per game (250.6), second in passing yards (1,253) and yards per completion (13.77), tied for second in passing touchdowns (8), and third in pass efficiency rating (155.5) and yards per attempt (9.08).
Mayden is the fourth different Aztec to win a MW player-of-the-week award this season, all for the first time. Jack Browning won the MW Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 26, while Michael Shawcroft (Oct. 24) and Dallas Branch (Nov. 7) have recently garnered defensive accolades.
SDSU, which became bowl eligible with the win over San José State on Saturday, plays at New Mexico at 7:45 p.m. MT Friday.
Jalen Mayden Named MW Offensive Player of the Week
