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FACTS & STATS: Site: Spartan Stadium (30,456) -- San Jose, California. Television: WAC Sports Network, Altitude. Home Record: Nevada 0-0, SJSU 0-0. Away Record: Nevada 0-1, SJSU 0-2. Neutral Record: Nevada 0-0, SJSU 0-0. Conference Record: Nevada 0-0, SJSU 0-0. Series Record: Nevada leads, 15-8-2.

GAME NOTES: Hoping to put the brakes on the longest losing skid in the nation, the San Jose State Spartans open up Western Athletic Conference play this weekend at home against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

San Jose State, which went winless in WAC action last season and has dropped nine such matchups overall, appeared to have a fighting chance against in- state foe UCLA last weekend, but the team still suffered a 27-17 setback in Pasadena nonetheless. Add that to the 57-3 thumping the Spartans took at Stanford in the season opener and the team has now fallen in 12 consecutive games overall and 16 straight on the road.

As for the Wolf Pack, they finally hit the gridiron last Saturday for the first time in the post-Colin Kaepernick era and were completely dominated by nationally-ranked Oregon in Eugene, stumbling to an ugly 69-20 loss. Nevada, which plays the first four games of the 2011 campaign on the road and still has Texas Tech and Boise State to deal with on this run, looked nothing like the 2010 version which opened with six straight wins and outscored the first three foes a year ago by a combined 152-61 margin.

In a series that dates back to 1899, Nevada leads the Spartans by a count of 15-8-2, thanks in part to a 35-13 victory in Reno a season ago. The Pack has won three in a row and eight of the last nine encounters, the lone victory for the Spartans during that stretch being a 27-24 final in this stadium in 2007.

Starting quarterback Tyler Lantrip hit on 21-of-35 passes for 219 yards and a score, but he was picked off twice and sacked one time in the ugly loss to Oregon last weekend. Backup signal-caller Cody Fajardo, who was third on the team with his 58 yards rushing on six attempts, stepped in and converted two of his four pass attempts, but he also had an interception returned 67 yards for a score late in the massacre. Adding to the dismay of head coach Chris Ault was the loss of starting tight end Zack Sudfeld who suffered a broken leg and will likely now miss the rest of the season. Prepping a new quarterback and tossing him into the fire in his first start certainly wasn't going to be easy, but it was necessary and now Lantrip and the offense will have to go back to the drawing board and see what they can devise for this week. Granted the rushing attack, which is eighth in the country this week after producing a whopping 283 yards against the Ducks, is still a viable option, but coach Ault has got to find a comfort zone for his quarterbacks in the pocket too.

The Nevada defense was almost non-existent in the opener, permitting the Ducks to rack a staggering 603 yards of total offense. The Wolf Pack was attacked from all sides, giving up 272 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, but it was the secondary that appeared the most vulnerable as the unit permitted not just 331 yards, but an incredible six touchdown passes by Darron Thomas. The Oregon starter completed just 13 passes, yet they were stretched out for a whopping 295 yards which is why the pass efficiency defense for the Pack has a rating of 240.79 after being shocked into submission. One of the only positives for the unit was Brett Roy who made two of his 3.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and was credited with a sack. Last season Nevada ranked third in the WAC and 24th in the nation with 2.5 sacks per outing, but much of that had to do with opponents needing to pass the ball in order to keep up with Kaepernick and Co. and that will certainly not be the case moving forward.

SJSU actually had the game tied at 17-17 heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a 65-yard touchdown run by Brandon Rutley, but from there the offense failed to make an impact for the visitors as they suffered the double- digit loss at UCLA last weekend. Despite the lengthy scoring run, Rutley finished with just 81 yards on nine attempts. Dasmen Stewart, who started in place of Matt Faulkner who was held out of the game after experiencing concussion-like symptoms during the week, hit on 15-of-31 passes for 111 yards, but was sacked once and tossed an interception. Freshman signal-caller Blake Jurich converted as many passes to his own teammates (one) as he did to the opposition. With the quarterback position fluctuating between Faulkner and Stewart right now, Rutley appears to be the only one holding this offense together, although it won't be that hard to improve upon the team's miserable 78.5 ypg (119th in the nation) on the ground from a year ago moving forward.

The pass defense for the Spartans was solid against UCLA, limiting starting quarterback Richard Brehaut to just 12 completions, 145 yards and a score. Take away his 43-yard effort to Nelson Rosario and Brehaut averaged about nine yards per completion which is a decent number for a San Jose State crew that is fighting an uphill battle right now. Duke Ihenacho led the charge for the Spartans with a team-high 11 tackles, adding one forced fumble along the way. Unfortunately, the unit was unable to put adequate pressure on the Bruins in the backfield, logging just three tackles for loss and failing to come up with a single sack. Even though it has been just two games, the pass defense (in terms of yardage allowed) has taken steps in the right direction thus far by permitting just 188.5 ypg, which is a vast improvement over the program's 260.5 ypg allowed a season ago when it ranked eighth in the conference and 111th in the nation.

The uncertainty at quarterback will be an issue for the Spartans this week, but what you can count on is Nevada getting back on track as coach Ault whips the Wolf Pack into shape for the conference opener.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Nevada 35, San Jose State 20