Week 1: UC Davis at San Jose State

San Jose State beat UC Davis 34-14 last year — and that loss proved painful. The Aggies finished 5-6, posting their first losing record since 1969. UC Davis is expected to rebound this year, though, and is a contender to win the Great West Conference. The Aggies return four starters on the offensive line and have the Great West’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year in defensive tackle John Faletoese. The Spartans also are coming off a disappointing season, at 5-7. They’re rebuilding around their defense, which is loaded this year with USC transfer Jeff Schweiger at end, Oregon State transfer Coye Francies at cornerback and returning standout Christopher Owens at cornerback. The question marks are on offense, where untested junior Myles Eden takes over at quarterback and the Spartans are counting on sixth-year senior Yonus Davis to rejuvenate the running game.

Notes:

The series is tied 3-3-2, but until last year the teams had not played since 1934 — a 0-0 tie.

Both teams will break in new quarterbacks —Myles Eden for San Jose State and Daniel Alfaro for UC Davis. Alfaro is replacing the injured Greg Denham.

San Jose State has won 12 of its past 14 home games. The losses were to Boise State in 2006 and Hawaii in 2007. The Spartans led both those games in the fourth quarter. Both teams went on to play in BCS games.

Key Player (Aggies) — John Faletoese, DT

The 6-foot-3, 292-pounder has racked up 29 tackles for loss and five blocked kicks in his career, despite missing much of his junior year because of injury. He was an All-Great West first-teamer in 2005 and 2006, he was named the program’s freshman of the year in 2005 and sophomore of the year in 2006 and he’s the Great West preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll face a young Spartans offensive line.

Key Player (Spartans) — Yonus Davis, RB

Davis was a late addition to the roster when the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility. He missed almost all of last season with an ankle injury. He was an All-WAC second-teamer in 2005 and 2006 and he needs to spark what was a sorry ground game last year.

San Jose State by 12