San Jose State Football Preview, Best Players, Top Transfers, Season Prediction, Win Total 2024

San Jose State College Football Preview 2024

It’s not normal to win college football games at San Jose State.

The Spartans managed to be good under Brent Brennan before he left for Arizona, but it took two ugly years to get up to speed. Even when things were going well, they didn’t get past seven wins.

Since 1992 there have been only six winning seasons for the program, and three of them were in the last four years.

Here’s the good part. Brennan might have taken a slew of players with him to Tucson, but the place is in far better shape than it was when he got there. And now San Jose State has a very, very, good head coach who should be rested and ready to roll.

Ken Niumatalolo has something to prove.

The former Navy head coach who did wonders in his long run has to prove that the last three seasons were a blip. It’s not normal to win college football games at Navy, either, but he did it right up until he went 11-23 to close.

He has to prove he’s not just an option coach. Few coaches in the 2010s did a better job than Niumatalolo, but there was always the knock that the offensive style wouldn’t work anywhere else.

A year removed from his final year in Annapolis, he’s showing up with a different offensive style, but the same coaching talent that got him to 109 wins.

He made it normal to win college football games at Navy, and now he might do it again in San Jose.

San Jose State Football Preview 2024: Offense

- Head coach Ken Niumatalolo became known for his option attack at Navy that gave so many more talented teams so many problems. Remember how that worked? All running, ball control, fullback up the middle, speedy guys on the outside, and …

Yeah, this will probably be the opposite of that.

Offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann - a former Hawaii receiver - will be in charge of an attack that will wing it all over the yard. But first …

- Who’s the quarterback to run this style of offense? There will be a rushing element to it, but throw, throw, throw, and keep defenses off balance through the air.

Former Oregon star recruit Jay Butterfield was supposed to be the main man, but as of right now he’s not on the mid-summer roster. That leaves Washington State transfer Emmett Brown as the likely key to making this all go, but Walker Eget will get every shot in fall camp after a good offseason.

The biggest win this offseason was getting back Nick Nash, the top target who averaged 15.2 yards per catch with eight scores. He was in the transfer portal, but now he’s back along with Justin Lockhart, a top receiver in 2022 who missed most of last year hurt.

- The offensive front is starting over … almost. Marist Talaviu is a massive guard who’ll be among the best in the Mountain West. Everyone else spent last year as a backup or wasn’t in the mix, but the depth isn’t all that bad considering the relative inexperience up front.

Leading rushers Kairee Robinson and Quali Conley are gone after combining for over 2,000 yards with 27 scores. Grambling State transfer Floyd Chalk IV is a good quick back who’ll combine with Jabari Bates - an even smaller, quicker back - to add a little balance.

San Jose State Football Preview 2024: Defense

- The defense finished second in the Mountain West last season, but it was awful on third downs and didn’t generate enough of a pass rush. It’ll be a little bit of a work in progress, but enough returning parts are back to make a good starting 11.

The front three is way thin on depth and doesn’t have a ton of bulk, but Soane Toia is a strong veteran who can hold up on the nose. This is where having a coach like Niumatalolo really matters. San Jose State needs to rotate the front three; he was great at making that work at Navy.

- The linebacking corps has to make all the big plays. The 3-4 style gets plenty of speed on the field, and it has to bring disruption in the backfield from Ethan Powell and Taniela Latu on the outside. Jordan Pollard should be a 100-tackle force on the inside.

- The secondary should be okay, even without the starting experience. Michael Dansby is a decent corner who should lock down one side, and safety Liberty transfer Robert Rahimi needs to be a factor along with Larry Turner-Gooden coming in from Texas.

Key To The San Jose State Football Season

Get that passing game going the way the coaching staff wants.
The San Jose State passing attack did a nice job last year, but that was in a balanced offense. In this new style there should be more quick-hitters with a premium put on accuracy and spreading the ball around.

With all the new parts in a rebuilding year, getting 2,853 yards and 21 touchdowns with four picks and nine 200-yard days in the 13 games of last year would be just fine. So …

San Jose State Key Player

Emmett Brown, QB Soph.
Will the untested Washington State transfer really be the one to run the attack? Will Walker Eget rise up and take over, or will Jay Butterfield be back in the mix - again, he’s not listed on the roster as this is being written - after serving as last year’s backup? No matter what, it’ll be hard to replace what Chevan Cordeiro gave the offense.

San Jose State Football Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Floyd Chalk IV, RB Jr.
It’ll be hard to replace the 1,194 yards and 18 touchdowns from Kairee Robinson, but the 5-9, 185-pound Chalk is dangerous enough to be a nice replacement. He ran for 696 yards and nine touchdowns for Grambling State last season, and he can be used more as a receiver.

Top Transfer Out: Tre Smith, EDGE Jr.
Along with several others who followed Brent Brennan to Arizona, Smith was part of the exodus. The 6-5, 255-pounder rose up into a star last season with 66 tackles with 6.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He’ll be missed.

San Jose State Key Game

at Colorado State, Oct. 12
In the middle of the season, the San Jose State offense should be about as gelled as it’ll probably get, and the defense will have its pieces in place on defense. There’s a shot the team can get to at least 3-3, and hopefully 4-2 if everything goes right.

With a rough second half schedule, the Spartans might need to pull out a road win in what will likely be a fun and wild shootout against the Rams.

10 Best San Jose State Football Players

1. Nick Nash, WR Sr.
2. Soane Toia, DT Sr.
3. Jordan Pollard, LB Jr.
4. Taniela Latu, LB Jr.
5. Marist Talavou, OG Sr.
6. Floyd Chalk IV, RB Jr.
7. Michael Dansby, CB Jr.
8. Justin Lockhart, WR Sr.
9. DJ Harvey, CB Soph.
10. Emmett Brown, QB Soph.

San Jose State 2023 Fun Stats

- Onside Kicks: San Jose State 2-for-3, Opponents 0-for-3

- 1st Quarter Scoring: San Jose State 96, Opponents 44

- 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 20-of-30 (67%), San Jose State 7-of-19 (37%)

San Jose State Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

Just how fast can Ken Niumatalolo and his staff put this whole thing together?

Brent Brennan proved it was possible to win at San Jose State, and while there might be a ton of lost starters, there are plenty of good parts to keep on winning.

And the schedule should help.

It stinks to miss Hawaii, New Mexico, a reworked San Diego State, and a suddenly weakened Utah State. However, the Boise State and UNLV games are at home - and being at the end is a huge help considering every week this team should get even stronger.

It’ll get ugly at times, but the team should be good enough to push past Sacramento State, Kennesaw State, and possibly Nevada, but it’ll be tough to be favored again the rest of the way.

Here’s the positive, though. There isn’t a no-chance-no-hope game on the schedule.

The Spartans will be plucky enough to get to four wins and possibly five, but six will be tough.

Set The San Jose State Win Total At … 4.5

Likely Wins: Kennesaw State, Sacramento State

50/50 Games: at Colorado State, Nevada, UNLV, Wyoming

Likely Losses: at Air Force, Boise State, at Fresno State, at Oregon State, Stanford, at Washington State

2024 San Jose State Football Schedule

Aug 29 Sacramento State
Sept 7 at Air Force
Sept 14 Kennesaw State
Sept 21 at Washington State
Sept 28 OPEN DATE
Oct 5 Nevada
Oct 12 at Colorado State
Oct 19 Wyoming
Oct 26 at Fresno State
Nov 2 OPEN DATE
Nov 9 at Oregon State
Nov 16 Boise State
Nov 23 UNLV
Nov 30 Stanford

Missing: Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, Utah State