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FACTS & STATS: Site: Romney Stadium (25,513) -- Logan, Utah. Television: Local. Home Record: SJSU 2-2, USU 2-2. Away Record: SJSU 1-4, USU 1-3. Neutral Record: SJSU 0-0, USU 0-0. Conference Record: SJSU 2-3, USU 1-2. Series Record: San Jose State leads, 20-12-1.

GAME NOTES: Once again the Utah State Aggies will try to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season as they challenge the San Jose State Spartans in Western Athletic Conference action at Romney Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Aggies, just 1-2 in conference so far this year, came up with an improbable 35-31 win over the Hawaii Warriors last Saturday night, snapping a two-game slide in the process. The victory out in Honolulu was the first for USU in more than four decades. Utah State is attempting to win three straight meetings against the Spartans for the first time since putting together a four-game run in the 1960's.

As for the Spartans, they enter the week having lost two in a row following a 32-29 final versus Idaho last weekend. Despite having dropped three of its last four games overall, SJSU is actually ahead of Utah State in the WAC standings with a record of 2-3, the Aggies showing a 1-2 mark in league action thus far.

SJSU owns a 20-12-1 edge in the all-time series but has dropped two in a row to USU, the most recent being a 38-34 final in California last season. In Logan, the teams have split 16 meetings.

San Jose State should have been back in the win column last weekend after building a 20-0 lead over Idaho early in the second quarter, but it just wasn't meant to be as the Spartans suffered the three-point loss at home. Matt Faulkner connected on 29-of-41 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown, with 11 passes going to Noel Grigsby who picked up 84 yards, but the run game simply couldn't get it done for the Spartans with just 68 yards, although the team did record a couple of TDs. Faulkner has been pretty strong the last five games with close to 1,800 yards and nine TDs, but still the wins have not been coming as much as the Spartans would like. Even though Faulkner has been carrying his weight for SJSU, the running game has been average at best with just 109.7 ypg to rank seventh in the conference and 104th in the nation.

Defensively, the Spartans nearly doubled their season total in sacks against Idaho, recording five such takedowns, but still the Vandals had enough persistence to get them into the win column. Defensive end Travis Johnson was a one-man wrecking machine for the Spartans as he became the third player in SJSU history to register four sacks in a single game, finishing with 10 total stops and a fumble recovery and a safety in the second quarter. But as great as Johnson's performance was, the fact remains that San Jose State is still last in the WAC and ranks 104th in the country in sacks on the season with a mere 1.3 per contest. It should come as no surprise that the Spartans are also low on the list in terms of tackles for loss with just 4.4 per game, ranking seventh in the conference and 107th nationally right now.

While the Spartans were losing control of a huge lead against Idaho last weekend, the Aggies were making it happen in their favor as they bounced back from a 28-7 deficit to take down an ailing Hawaii group out on the island. Surprisingly, USU was able to complete its biggest comeback win since 2001 with backup quarterback Adam Kennedy stepping in for Chuckie Keeton who was taken out with an apparent neck injury. Kennedy, who threw a pair of TD passes and finished with 163 yards on eight completions, will more than likely get the start against the Spartans while Keeton tries to shake off what is being called a stinger. Robert Turbin, who scored the game-winning TD with just 14 seconds remaining, finished with 96 yards and a pair of scores, is now second in the league and 14th in the country with his 115.1 ypg on the ground, his 14 rushing TDs one of the top marks at the position as well this season. As a unit, the Aggies are sixth in the country with 267.9 ypg on the ground, which should take some of the pressure off Kennedy this weekend.

The Utah State defense was taken to task by Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz last weekend, the signal-caller throwing a pair of TDs and rushing for two more, but in the end the Aggies shut down Moniz and the Warriors offense when they needed to most. Standout performances for Utah State came from McKade Brady (13 tackles) and Bojay Filimoeatu (two TFL, one sack). Bobby Wagner, who finished with seven tackles against the Warriors, continues to be the leader overall on the USU defense with his 96 total tackles in eight games, his average of 12.0 stops per game ranking him first in the conference and sixth in the nation right now. Someone who doesn't involve himself in as many plays is Levi Koskan with just 16 total tackles, yet he leads the team with 7.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks while missing one of the team's eight outings.

San Jose State has been less-than-impressive on the road this season, but even though the Aggies will probably be going with a backup quarterback the Spartans still have an issue applying steady pressure at the line of scrimmage, which is reason enough to go with USU this weekend.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Utah State 31, San Jose State 20