After a tough start to the season, the San Jose St. Spartans have won two in a row to bring their record to 2-3. They have a chance to reach .500 for the first time under head coach Mike MacIntyre. The only thing standing in their way? The BYU Cougars.
Brigham Young has played an interesting schedule in 2011, facing tough road tests against Ole Miss and Texas before going back to Provo for a four-game homestand. The Cougars haven't been overly impressive, and despite a 3-2 record they needed a last-second touchdown against the Utah St. Aggies to win last weekend.
As for the Spartans, outside of being romped by Stanford in their season opener, they have been very competitive in defeat. SJSU has improved their offensive balance since 2010, choosing to run the ball more and giving their quarterbacks a chance to pass when the time is right.
BYU has had trouble running the football, averaging only 94 yards on the ground per contest in 2011. Part of the problem has been the underwhelming quarterback play of Jake Heaps, who is at risk of losing play time to Riley Nelson, who has impressed for the Cougars in limited duty.
This is the 15th time the Spartans and the Cougars have played football against one another. San Jose State leads the series 9-5, but BYU defeated SJSU in their last meeting in 1998.
BYU and San Jose State will be on ESPNU, with the kickoff coming at 7:17 p.m. PST.