Curt Cignetti, Mike Elko, and First-Year Coaches Off to a Strong Start

By Alec Nederveld

We're now six weeks into the season, most teams have played multiple conference games, and we have a pretty good idea on how teams will finish in 2024. These five coaches have exceeded expectations and have their teams positioned in a good spot for the rest of the season and beyond.

Curt Cignetti

Indiana

When asked about how he will bring talent to Bloomington during his opening press conference, Curt Cignetti boldly said "I win. Google me". With the Hoosiers sitting at 6-0 for the first time since 1967, I'd say he's walked the walk. At best, Indiana was thought to be a team fighting to reach their first bowl since 2020, not in a bowl - with the potential for much more halfway through the season.

Indiana's success comes on the back of the 31 transfers Cignetti brought in, 13 coming from his old school James Madison. RB Ty Son Lawton , WR Elijah Sarratt , DL Mikail Kamara , LB Aiden Fisher , and CB D'Angelo Ponds are all standouts, many of whom started/were recruited as FCS players.

However, none have been as impactful as Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke who's looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country with 1,752 yards and 14 touchdowns to only two interceptions. It's a very good sign for the future, proving how well Cignetti can evaluate and develop talent, alongside putting together great portal classes .

Mike Elko

Texas A&M

After the Aggies lost their opener to a top-15 Notre Dame team, they've bounced back and won five in a row. This includes Saturday's dominating 41-10 win over No. 9 Missouri. Mike Elko's team is rolling and has already restored the national respect lost by predecessor Jimbo Fisher.

Besides Mizzou, Texas A&M has SEC wins away from home over a solid Arkansas team and Florida, both without Connor Weigman . Now, Weigman is back and he only elevates the ceiling for A&M in 2024, which may be the College Football Playoff .

As important as Weigman is, Le'Veon Moss is probably even more important, leading the SEC with 609 rushing yards. He allows Elko to play complementary football and his defense is just as impressive. The Aggies allow only 16.7 points & 318 yards per game and have forced the most interceptions in the conference (7).

It's a very good time to be an Aggie.

Bryant Vincent

Louisiana Monroe

Who would have expected this from the Warhawks? ULM hasn't won more than four games since 2019 and has made only one bowl game in program history. Now, they're 4-1 in Bryant Vincent's first year, on pace to do something special at one of the worst FBS programs in the country.

The Warhawks have close wins over Troy, the 2022 & 2023 Sun Belt champions, and handed James Madison their only loss. ULM also had a sentimental 32-6 win for Vincent over UAB. Vincent coached the Blazers for four years as an assistant, served as the interim head coach, and made a bowl in 2022, but didn't get the job despite the support of players in a regrettable decision for UAB .

ULM's only loss is on the road against Texas and it's the only game they've allowed over 20 points or 400 yards. Their defensive specialty is bending but not breaking and preventing big plays; ULM has allowed only 14 plays over 20 yards and four plays over 30 yards. Whether this is sustainable is still up in the air, especially with an offense averaging under 20 points per game, but ULM is first in the Sun Belt West and are in a great position.

Spencer Danielson

Boise State

Boise State has long been the class of the Group of Five, and this looks to be the Broncos' best season in a while. Spencer Danielson took over with two weeks left in the regular season as interim coach for an uncharacteristic 5-5 team and immediately turned things around. In the ten games since, the Broncos won the Mountain West and gone 8-2 with losses only coming to UCLA (in the 2023 LA Bowl) and this year's three-point loss against Oregon.

Danielson has obviously been aided by otherworldly RB Ashton Jeanty , the best player in College Football. Still Jeanty was here last year too and had 19 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 total yards. Regardless, the Broncos haven't needed him in the second half twice and lead the country with 50.8 points per game. Boise State should be the favorite among the Group of Five to make the playoff and could even get a bye . That's how good Danielson and this team have been.

Ken Niumatalolo

San Jose State

Welcome back to coaching Ken Niumatalolo! The long-time Navy coach has started 4-1 with San Jose State, but he's not using the triple-option like in the past. Instead, Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann run the Spread-and-Shread. Stutzmann is one of the pioneers of the offense at the college level, which is similar to the run-and-shoot (run by Hawaii) with more of an emphasis on the run game.

There's no denying the offense is effective, and it's putting up gaudy numbers five games into the season. Veteran WR Nick Nash leads the FBS with 55 catches & nine touchdowns and is second with 712 yards. Sophomore and Washington State transfer Emmett Brown is the Mountain West's leader with 1,460 yards and 15 touchdowns. The offense averages 35.4 points per game, third in the Mountain West behind Boise State and UNLV.

What makes San Jose State more impressive is the change around their program. Brent Brennan didn't leave for Arizona until Janurary, well after most hires and the winter transfer portal closed. The program lost 25 players in the Transfer Portal with nine players departing to the Power Four. 17 came after Brennan left.

Niumatolo has a great shot of winning eight games in his first year - something Brennan never did in seven years.