San Diego, CA -- (Sports Network) - One of five remaining unbeatens in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the eighth-ranked Utah Utes try to remain perfect this weekend as they challenge the San Diego State Aztecs in a Mountain West Conference showdown in southern California.

Leaders in the MWC standings, Utah has actually strung together 11 straight victories dating back to last season and is 6-0 in MWC action thus far in 2008. Utah, which has a huge game set for next weekend against BYU for what could be the conference title and a shot at a BCS game, recently solidified its position within the BCS rankings by disposing of 11th-ranked TCU at home last Thursday night by a final of 13-10. It was the second straight game in which the Utes won by such a score, yet it was still strong enough to lift the squad to seventh in the BCS standings nonetheless.

As for the Aztecs, they are at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of success this season with just one win in 10 chances and none versus the rest of the conference. Last weekend, SDSU found itself being pummeled by BYU in Provo by a score of 41-12, marking the sixth loss of the season by at least 25 points.

The Utes moved to a 14-12-1 edge in the all-time series versus the Aztecs with a 23-7 win in last year's meeting. The victory was the fourth in the last five meetings with SDSU, with the Utes scoring at least 17 points in every one of the last 14 encounters.

It took a heroic effort by Brian Johnson in the final minutes last Thursday, but the signal-caller got the job done as he guided the Utes to the three- point win over TCU in Salt Lake City. Johnson led the squad on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a nine-yard TD pass to Freddie Brown. Johnson finished the outing 24-of-39 for 230 yards and a score, while Brown collected nine passes for 105 yards to help make up for the fact that the running game for the Utes was held to a mere 45 yards on 25 carries by the nation's top run defense.

"For us, part of our success is Brian Johnson's poise and confidence," head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the win for the Utes. "Everyone believes in him getting it done. The o-line has done a nice job and our receivers have very few drops. We spend a lot of time in practice working on the 2-minute drill."

Johnson, who is being considered for the Johnny Unitas Award this season, has made a few mistakes here and there and has had some slow starts, but for the most part his 65.9 percent completions and 205.0 ypg through the air have provided everything the Utes have needed during this perfect campaign. It has certainly helped that Matt Asiata has tallied nine touchdowns on the ground and continues to be a threat both running and catching the ball.

In a game that was destined to be a defensive struggle long before the teams hit the field, TCU scored the first 10 points last Thursday night and was then shut out for the remaining 51 minutes by the Utes. But it's not as though the Horned Frogs simply rolled over and surrendered because the visitors actually generated 416 yards of offense, compared to a mere 275 yards for Utah, but the saving grace for the Utes was that TCU scored only twice on four opportunities inside the red zone.

"The first snap of the game we were in man coverage and they (TCU) ran out across the middle," coach Whittingham offered up about his defense versus the Horned Frogs. "The players and coaches responded well to the change in philosophy. We mixed in more zone than we typically do."

When it comes to defense these days, the Utes may not be the best in their own conference, but that doesn't mean opponents aren't stressing out about how to attack them from one week to the next. Utah is limiting opponents to just 97.1 ypg on the ground (eighth nationally) and 281.2 ypg overall, which is huge considering the program is permitting a mere 16.9 ppg and no more than 16 points in any one game in the last month.

Ryan Lindley had gone 67 straight passes without an interception, but that all changed in the second quarter against BYU last Saturday as the Aztecs fell to the Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Lindley ended up 21-of-36 for 160 yards and a touchdown, but it made little difference in the lopsided decision. SDSU managed another 120 yards on the ground as well against one of the more formidable defenses in the nation, but the visitors converted only 5-of-15 on third down during the contest.

Still possessing an ailing rushing attack, the Aztecs rank last in the MWC and 117th in the country with just 71.3 ypg and are now 107th in total offense with a mere 295 ypg. Were it not for a combined 79 points against Idaho and Colorado State earlier this season, the Aztecs would be even worse off than they are at just 17.5 ppg (111th nationally). SDSU has taken to warm up in games this season, scoring a combined 17 points in the first quarter, and then wears down as the games progress, resulting in a mere 22 points in the fourth quarter. Lindley has tried to keep the group competitive from beginning to end with his 54.9 percent passing, but it simply isn't good enough these days.

San Diego State entered the game with the Cougars ranked dead last in all of college football in run defense, giving up an incredible 292.8 ypg, and somehow the group managed to hold BYU to just 104 yards on 37 attempts. The effort, while admirable, moved the Aztecs up just one place to 118th in the country. The problem was, as much as BYU struggled on the ground, there was still no way the Aztecs were going to hold down Max Hall and the aerial attack. SDSU forced just five incomplete passes on 30 attempts, resulting in 317 yards and three touchdowns. Not to be overlooked was B.J. Williams who tallied one sack, one fumble recovery and four tackles for loss.

Williams now paces the program with his 9.5 TFLs and is also first with three and a half sacks, but as a group the Aztecs are lacking in the latter category with an average of only 1.2 per game to rank seventh in the conference and 103rd in the nation. In terms of overall defense, San Diego State is permitting foes to come up with 36.2 ppg and that has the group ranked last in the Mountain West and 110th in the country right now.