(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
On the heels of a 56-3 lambasting at the hands of Southern Cal, the road gets no easier this weekend for the Spartans of San Jose State, who must find a way to rebound from Week One's debacle in time to host No. 17 Utah on Saturday.
It's not as if anyone (sane) inside or outside of San Jose State's football program had any real delusions of grander about the Spartans shocking mighty USC last week, but many who follow the team closely expected less demoralizing results.
Instead what they got was a competitive first quarter that ended in a 3-0 lead for San Jose State, a mere aberration on the road to the brutal end result.
The Trojans erupted for 28 second-quarter points, and doubled it in the final half behind the efforts of many of their backup players, each of whom were all too hungry to feast on San Jose State's worn and weathered starters.
In the end, San Jose State's top rusher (senior Patrick Perry) gained a meager 48 yards, and three quarterbacks combined for just 112 yards through the air. Altogether, the Spartans offense had eight first downs to USC's 22, and converted only once in 16 third down tries.
The Spartans' defense, which is the strength of the team, broke down midway through the second quarter, hamstrung by an ineffective team offense and overmatched by the Trojans' stellar offensive depth.
To be blunt, marching the Spartans into the L.A. Coliseum with a revamped offense and inexperienced secondary was a recipe for disaster that Head Coach Dick Tomey probably should have seen coming.
And how do the Spartans plan to recover from last week? By playing host to defending Mountain West and Sugar Bowl Champion Utah in Week Two.
San Jose State probably deserves a hint of respect for being the only team this year to start out of the gates against two straight BCS bowl winners from last season. At the same time, for a program that is 11-13 the last two seasons, the logic in scheduling two championship-caliber teams in a row is questionable at best.
Nontheless, the Spartans have to quickly put the USC game behind them and find a way to basically put on a performance opposite of last week's. It won't be easy, as the supposedly rebuilding Utes looked more like they reloaded in the offseason when they rolled over the Spartans' WAC rival Utah State 35-17 in Week One.
Judging by that game, San Jose State will need to field a vastly improved offense in Week Two, one that can give their defense a chance to rest in between series and can actually capitalize on turnovers and convert them into points.
Against USC, the Spartans forced two turnovers but were unable to take advantage of them, stalling whenever they crossed the 50-yard line and never even reaching the red zone. Utah State won the turnover battle against the Utes three to one, so San Jose State figures to force a steal or two on their home turf this weekend.
The Spartans' defense will have it's work cut out for it for a second straight week, with the task at hand being to contain an offense that gained 519 total yards last week.
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