San Jose State quarterback Adam Tafralis says the 45-3 loss to ASU is "a good reality check" for the Spartans, who were 9-4 last season.

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TEMPE — Dick Tomey has been here before.

Returning to the state as a head coach Saturday for the first time since leaving the UA in 2000, the San Jose State boss acted like a local.

In the 101-degree heat, he wore khaki shorts on the sideline.

And after his team was drubbed 45-3 by Arizona State, Tomey showed he had been there before, too. He asked an SJSU staffer to research Nevada's record last year.

The Wolf Pack lost to ASU by 31 in the second game of the 2006 season but went 8-4 before losing to Miami in the MPC Computers Bowl.

Tomey relayed that to his players.

"The only thing we could take any smidgen of encouragement from is they did that to Nevada last year," Tomey said. "And Nevada came back and had a heck of a team."

After coaching his 300th game at the Division I level Saturday, Tomey showed experience gained along the way.

His team got crushed, and he admitted it.

"That's as sound a beating as I've ever been a part of," he said.

Then he turned to the future.

"I believe sincerely we're going to have a good football team before it's over," he said. "We certainly didn't look like one tonight.

"Sometimes you have to take some steps back to take some steps forward."

For once, Silicon Valley has high expectations. The Spartans went 9-4 last year, including a 20-12 win against New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.

SJSU fans expect the team's first back-to-back winning seasons since 1991 and 1992, and with good reason. Last year, Tomey led the once-irrelevant program to more wins than it had the previous three seasons combined.

It's tempting — and dangerous — to expect the same magic from last year.

"It's a good reality check from last season," quarterback Adam Tafralis said. "It's a different team. We need different things to help us win."

Said Tomey: "We got our (butts) kicked, and we needed it."

Few expected the Spartans to beat ASU — before the game, Tomey called the game his biggest challenge yet at SJSU.

The blowout, however, was a wake-up call before Saturday's game at Kansas State.

"This is nothing like the past," Tomey said. "We're a frightfully young team with a thread of senior leadership that's outstanding."

The coach called upon his experience one more time.

"I've been part of teams before that weren't very good early," he said. "We just gotta fight. We gotta keep going.

"This is a gut check for your pride and your stick-to-itiveness and your perseverance and all that."