The Ken Niumatalolo era at San Jose State has begun. Here’s what happened in his first game

Ken Niumatalolo is officially back.

In his first game at San Jose State, the former Navy head coach piloted his Spartans to a 42-24 comeback victory over Sacramento State Friday night.

Niumatalolo’s squad trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and didn’t take its first lead until after halftime, but three fourth quarter touchdowns sealed the win for his San Jose debut.

“I’ve been in so many games over the years, and you can’t get too low or too high, you’ve just got to keep going,” Niumatalolo told reporters after the game. “We couldn’t have got off to a worse start ... but I was proud of how our guys continued to battle. Things looked bleak and bad for a long time, and our guys just kept battling. To score 42 points with three turnovers ... the sky is the limit.”

While he was known for his run-dominant, triple option offensive attack at Navy, Niumatalolo has now chosen to implement a pass-heavy scheme with the Spartans. Such an air raid was on full display Friday night, as quarterback Emmett Brown threw for 298 yards in his first career start and receiver Nick Nash caught 10 passes for 170 yards.

Additionally, San Jose State forced five Hornet turnovers and surrendered just seven points in the second half.

Niumatalolo, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spent the 2023 season as director of leadership at UCLA following 15 seasons at Navy. He previously interviewed for BYU’s head coach job in 2015 upon Bronco Mendenhall’s move to Virginia.