GAME NOTES: The nation's longest win streak is on the line once again this weekend as the 17th-ranked Utah Utes hit the field in San Jose to challenge the Spartans in a non-conference bout.

Thanks to a 35-32 postseason win against Navy in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl and a perfect run through the 2008 campaign, the only team to do so, the Utes are riding what has become a 15-game win streak. Last week, the team took care of in-state rival Utah State at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, 35-17.

As for the Spartans, they are facing a four-game slide after losing to fourth- ranked USC in an ugly 56-3 decision. Oddly enough, SJSU had reason to show some enthusiasm early in that meeting over the weekend as it forced a pair of turnovers and actually led 3-0 early in the second quarter thanks to a 41-yard field goal by Tyler Cope, but after that the game belonged to the hard- charging Trojans and one of the most devastating rushing attacks in the nation.

"For a while, it looked like we could compete," said San Jose State head coach Dick Tomey after the affair. "Obviously, it was an illusion. In the final analysis, they were much better and much better coached than we were. Coach Carroll has another good football team. I've seen them do that to too many good teams."

In the end, the Spartans managed just eight first downs and nine net rushing yards on 31 attempts. Quarterbacks Kyle Reed and Jordan LaSecla did little to distinguish themselves as leaders for the squad, combining to convert just 14- of-27 passes for 109 yards, while being sacked a combined five times, which is what brought the team's rushing total down so much.

"I don't think either one did great, but we'll have to wait and see," coach Tomey said of the battle for the starting quarterback position at USC. "We are still looking for someone to make a bunch of good decisions and that's a tough group to go up against. We'll figure this thing out."

Last season the SJSU run game started out slow as well, producing just 42 yards on 24 attempts versus UC Davis. Lowering the team's efforts even more where three straight games in which they tallied less than 90 yards on the ground and the last two bouts of the season versus Nevada and Fresno State which resulted in a combined minus-28 yards on the ground. Reed appeared in all but two games for the squad last season, throwing only four touchdowns against six interceptions, so that aspect of the offense also needed considerable work heading into 2009 as well.

As USC coach Pete Carroll noted before the opener, it is the swarming, hard- hitting defense of the Spartans that tends to make the most difference. Last season SJSU ranked second in the WAC and 21st in the nation in turnover margin with an average of plus-0.67 per contest. Add to that eight tackles for loss per game (seventh nationally) and 2.8 sacks per contest (11th), and the Spartans have a reputation that clearly should concern opponents.

However, the Trojans cut true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley a break and chose to run the ball as much as possible, leading to a hefty 342 yards and six touchdowns on 45 attempts.

Two nights prior to the USC/San Jose State matchup in the Golden State, another in-state rivalry was taking center stage as Utah and Utah State crossed paths. Early on it appeared the Aggies might give the 19th-ranked team in the nation a run for their money, moving out to a 3-0 lead, but that was before new quarterback Terrance Cain went to work for the Utes.

Cain, a juco transfer from Blinn Community College where he was named the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year as he led the NJCAA in passing yards (3,138), completions (223) and touchdowns (29) in 2008, while ranking second in completion percentage (.684) and total yards (3,306), completed 20-of-30 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, against just one interception in his debut.

"I played alright tonight," Cain stated after the outing. "I know I can play a lot better, but I gave a good effort. The team played hard and made a lot of plays. The offense did a great job pushing the tempo and making the other team tired."

No longer the secret weapon for the Utes, running back Matt Asiata stepped up to generate 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 36 carries, while receiver David Reed reeled in 10 passes for 172 yards and a score as well in the victory.

As for the Utah defense, except for falling asleep and giving up a record- setting 96-yard touchdown run to Robert Turbin, the group did almost everything right. Sure, there was the two-yard touchdown run by USU quarterback Diondre Borel late in the second quarter, but that was the result of a short field due to an interception thrown by the home team.

"We made a lot of mistakes tonight, but only allowed two big plays," linebacker Stevenson Sylvester said as he justified the efforts of the group. "We can't have that and we have to eliminate them entirely. We did alright on [Diondre] Borel. We were just trying to contain him."

Sylvester was first on the unit with nine total tackles, while Joe Dale had a sack and 2.5 TFLs on his seven stops for the Utes.

Last season Sylvester was second on the team in sacks with three and also ranked among the best in tackles for loss, which is why head coach Kyle Whittingham is expecting big things out of him this time around. The team as a whole could stand to get some more pressure at the line of scrimmage, considering the unit posted just 2.2 sacks per game and 6.5 TFLs per outing.

As long as the Utes can get a strong push in the trenches they should have no problem coming close to the 99.2 ypg they allowed rushing last season, ranking them second in the conference and 11th in the nation. Obviously the run broken by Turbin will make it slightly tougher to bounce back and reach such an average, but at least the team now has something to shoot for when it takes the field every weekend.

Utah captured a resounding 49-17 win in the most recent meeting between these programs back in 1998, moving the squad to 4-1 in the all-time series and there's no reason to believe that number won't jump to 5-1 as long as Cain continues to grow with the offense.