It's been a rough start for both the San Jose Spartans and Nevada Wolf Pack thus far in their 2011 campaigns, though one will inevitably be leaving Spartan Stadium on Saturday with their first win of the year.
Nevada is coming off a meeting with a buzz saw in the form of No. 12 Oregon up in Eugene, who took their anger from the LSU game out on the Wolf Pack by a score of 69-20. San Jose watched a third quarter lead vanish to UCLA last Saturday, eventually taking the 27-17 loss down at the Rose Bowl. But with the start of WAC play for both of them usually comes good things as SJSU is 7-7 in conference openers since 1996, while UNR has won their last three mettings with the Spartans. SJSU hasn't beat UNR since 2007, recording a 27-24 victory in San Jose.
Nevada will have it's hands full trying to stop the Spartans run game, which went over 200 yards last week against UCLA for the first time in their last 23 games. RB Derek Coleman led the way with 135 rushing yards and a TD, and will be looking for a similar outcome this time around.
Don't forget to look out for the two new scoreboards at Spartan Stadium as well, with one at the end of the southern end zone and the other above the eastern grandstands.