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    Grading Every First-Year College Football Head Coach in the 2024 Season

    There were 31 first-year college football head coaches at the helm in 2024. Who was good, who was bad, and who ended up with the best grade?

    Thirty-one first-year head coaches entered the 2024 college football season with mixed levels of expectation and excitement. How did their performances across one of the longest and most entertaining campaigns in the sport’s history stack up? We’ve graded and analyzed every first-year college football head coach from last fall.

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    From Worst to First: 2024 First-Year College Football Head Coach Grades

    The College Football Network 2024 first-year college football head coach grades take into consideration a number of factors. While overall wins and losses are included, that isn’t the defining driver between the grades here.

    Offensive and defensive performance, recruiting, historical precedent, situation, and returning production are all discussed and dissected while establishing the head coaches who were truly the most impactful.

    Jay Sawvell, Wyoming

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • Mountain West Record: 2-5
    • Grade: D

    Craig Bohl was a legend with the Wyoming Cowboys. Being the guy after him would always be one of the toughest jobs in college football. However, Jay Sawvel returned 60% of the production from a 9-4 team in 2023 and managed just a 3-9 record, the worst for the program since 2015.

    The Cowboys’ calling card has been their defense, and they ranked 92nd in the nation in 2024, slipping 55 spots from the previous campaign. If you’re looking for a bright spot, Wyoming’s 2025 recruiting class ranks 13 spots ahead of the 2024 class.

    Trent Bray, Oregon State

    • Overall Record: 5-7
    • Grade: D

    Trent Bray had a front-row seat to Jonathan Smith, who made the Oregon State Beavers a legitimate college football program. However, his elevation from defensive coordinator to head coach has been difficult.

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    Only one other first-year leader in these head coach rankings returned less production than Bray had to work with this fall. Furthermore, the Beavers were a significant loser in the wheel of conference realignment. Yet, they missed out on bowl eligibility after losing three games more than in 2023 while ranking 96th offensively and 101st defensively in the nation.

    Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State

    • Overall Record: 2-10
    • SEC Record: 0-8
    • Grade: D

    The Mississippi State Bulldogs hired Jeff Lebby following the failed Zack Arnett experiment with the expectation that he’d bring a high-powered offense back to Starkville. Well, the Bulldogs leaped up 21 spots in offensive scoring ranking from 2023, averaging four points per game than a year ago, so there’s an argument to be had that he accomplished something.

    However, Mississippi State also lost three more games this year as Lebby struggled to establish a starting quarterback and went winless in the conference for the first time since 2002. The loss to the Toledo Rockets was a real low point for the program, with the usual MAC contender far from their best in 2024. There is a lot of work to do if Lebby is to survive Year 2.

    David Braun, Northwestern

    • Overall Record: 4-8
    • Big Ten Record: 2-7
    • Grade: D+

    After guiding the Northwestern Wildcats to an 8-4 campaign as the interim head coach, David Braun came crashing back to earth when handed the reins in a full-time capacity for the 2024 college football season. It was just the seventh time since 2000 that the program finished with less than five wins during a season following a four-win overall regression that featured a three-game Big Ten slide.

    Northwestern scored 4.3 points per game less in 2024 than the previous campaign while allowing 3.8 points extra defensively. No quarterback threw more touchdowns than interceptions, while no running back averaged more than five yards per carry. Although renovations to Ryan Field meant they didn’t have a true home, the Wildcats’ only wins came on the road. 2025 has to be better.

    Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • CUSA Record: 2-6
    • Grade: D+

    After five seasons without a winning campaign with the UNLV Rebels from 2015 to 2019, Tony Sanchez returned to the head coach ranks with the New Mexico State Aggies in 2024 and suffered similar mediocrity as at his previous stop. Not many first-year college football head coaches endured such negative regression, with the Aggies losing seven more games in a dismal season.

    New Mexico State also lost five more CUSA games than the previous fall despite some distinctly average opposition. Losing to the New Mexico Lobos in Las Cruces for the first time in three seasons did Sanchez no favors. Neither did a 13.4-point defensive swing compared to 2023. That said, the Aggies only returned 41% of the production from that campaign, with Diego Pavia a significant loss.

    Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • CUSA Record: 2-6
    • Grade: D+

    Derek Mason took the Vanderbilt Commodores to two bowl games from 2014 to 2020 but ended his time in the SEC with a winless campaign. At least his first season with the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders didn’t feature that level of embarrassment, but only just. If you discount the disrupted 2020 season, the Murfreesboro-based team suffered its worst year since a 2-10 campaign in 2011.

    A renowned defensive mind, the Blue Raiders allowed 6.1 points per game more in 2024 than in 2023, ranking 121st in the nation. Meanwhile, Nicholas Vattiato led the conference in passing attempts but also in interceptions, resulting in a dismal 18.1 points per game. A difficult schedule that featured two Power Four out-of-conference foes didn’t help, but none of their nine defeats were close.

    Gerad Parker, Troy

    • Overall Record: 4-8
    • Sun Belt Record: 3-5
    • Grade: D+

    Jon Sumrall set a high bar to clear with the Troy Trojans, and Gerad Parker failed to meet that level in spectacular fashion. Early in the year, the program looked listless, losing its first seven FBS contests, with only a win over the Florida A&M Rattlers serving as a brief respite.

    The Trojans, a defense stronghold under Sumrall, slipped from the 10th-ranked unit to 93rd nationally this year. The result was seven more losses in 2024 than the previous year, with four more conference defeats than in 2023. Troy fans looking for a sliver of positivity can take comfort in a 3-1 record to end the year and that Parker only had 35% production return in 2024.

    Jonathan Smith, Michigan State

    • Overall Record: 5-7
    • Big Ten Record: 3-6
    • Grade: D+

    There might not be a first-year college football head coach who was a victim of his own success as Jonathan Smith. After making the Oregon State Beavers a relevant program in the last couple of seasons (and winning 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year), the preseason expectations placed on the Michigan State Spartans were perhaps a little misplaced for a program competing in a reinforced Big Ten.

    That said, Smith’s Michigan State team returned 60% of the production from 2023 and bolstered their ranks with several high-profile transfer portal additions, including Aidan Chiles. His struggles resulted in a conference-high 11 touchdowns, ensuring that an offense that saw some improvement had a lower ceiling than expected, with all-bar-one win coming by one score or less.

    Sean Lewis, San Diego State

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • Mountain West Record: 2-5
    • Grade: D+

    Another victim of preseason expectation, Sean Lewis has been one of the top offensive minds in the country and previously led the Kent State Golden Flashes to two bowl games, which is no mean feat when you consider that program’s current predicament. However, the first-year college football head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs delivered the worst overall record for the program since 2008.

    That included six consecutive defeats to end the year, with a home loss to the Air Force Falcons putting a cap on a dismal campaign. The Aztecs’ offense saw some minor improvement vs. 2023, but nothing like what was expected from a Lewis-led unit. While a schedule featuring the two former Pac-12 outfits and the teams that contested the MW title game didn’t help, they need to take a leap in 2025.

    Willie Fritz, Houston

    • Overall Record: 4-8
    • Big 12 Record: 3-6
    • Grade: C-

    We’ve become accustomed to Wille Fritz’s success in college football, but he suffered some trials and tribulations as the Houston Cougars’ first-year head coach. The program has struggled to adjust to life in the Big 12, and the former Tulane Green Wave head coach only matched the 4-8 campaign from 2023 that saw the departure of his predecessor, Dana Holgorsen.

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    Injuries to a quarterback room featuring Donovan Smith and Zeon Chriss, alongside some transfer port departures at wide receiver, contributed to some serious offensive woes. The 133rd-ranked scoring offense had almost double the number of interceptions to passing touchdowns and masked some defensive improvements. They did at least manage to improve their Big 12 record.

    Brent Brennan, Arizona

    • Overall Record: 4-8
    • Big 12 Record: 2-7
    • Grade: C-

    In some respects, Brent Brennan was in as big of a lose-lose situation as any first-year coach in 2024. He inherited an Arizona Wildcats team coming off the back of one of the most successful seasons in program history and was tasked with managing the transition from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 in his first season in charge.

    As a result, there were plenty of reasons for Brennan to fail. However, he retained 68% of the production that guided the Wildcats to success in 2023. Most importantly, it included one of the best QB-WR duos in the nation, Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. However, Arizona averaged 12.8 points per game less in 2024, was obliterated on defense, and won just two conference games.

    Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

    • Overall Record: 9-4
    • SEC Record: 5-3
    • Grade: C

    Another lose-lose situation for Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide. You never want to be the guy after the guy, and Nick Saban was the guy. Unless he delivered a national championship at the first time of asking, the former Washington Huskies head coach (one of the winningest head coaches in college football history, incidentally) would likely face higher scrutiny than anyone.

    So it came to pass. DeBoer’s 2024 Alabama team allowed fewer points per game than the final year of Saban’s tenure and finished just 0.2 points per game behind the previous season’s offense. However, they suffered a three-game win regression (overall and in the SEC), including a loss to Vanderbilt, which will live forever in the minds of fans and showcased the inconsistencies of the team.

    Jedd Fisch, Washington

    • Overall Record: 6-7
    • Big Ten Record: 4-5
    • Grade: C+

    Jedd Fisch did an amazing job at Arizona in 2023, immediately becoming a frontrunner for any job that came up in the 2023-2024 hiring cycle. He stepped into DeBoer’s shoes at Washington, facing a sizeable task with the departure of Michael Penix Jr. and a host of NFL-caliber WRs. The Huskies returned just 40% of their 2023 production, a factor in the first-year head coach grade here.

    In addition to losing talent, Fisch had to navigate the transition to a more competitive conference. To his credit, the team improved on defense, allowing an average of one point less per game. However, they lost the Apple Cup, most of their losses in the second half of the season were seriously lopsided, and ended the year with a losing record for the first time since the 2021 campaign.

    Dell McGee, Georgia State

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • Sun Belt Record: 1-7
    • Grade: B-

    A highly successful high school head coach who became one of the top positional coaches in college football, Dell McGee had a tough introduction to life in the Sun Belt with the Georgia State Panthers. The program lost four more games in 2024 (3-9) than in 2023 (7-6), going 1-7 in the conference, which is the worst Sun Belt record for the team since 2018.

    However, McGee had to overcome the loss of talented quarterback Darren Grainger (despite returning 48% of their 2023 production) while overcoming a conference schedule that included the 2024 Sun Belt champion Marshall Thundering Herd. The program secured a win over SEC opposition in Year 1 under McGee and saw a substantial boost in year-on-year recruiting.

    Deshaun Foster, UCLA

    • Overall Record: 5-7
    • Big Ten Record: 3-6
    • Grade: B-

    There was a lot of hype and fanfare around the UCLA Bruins following their hire of former player Deshaun Foster, but the 2024 season largely failed to live up to that excitement. UCLA slid over 50 spots in both offensive and defensive scoring compared to 2023. A sure sign of a coach under pressure, Foster fired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy following the season.

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    As a saving grace, the Bruins had to deal with a difficult schedule that included the two Big Ten Championship Game protagonists and only dropped one conference game compared to their previous season in the Pac-12. Meanwhile, their 2025 recruiting class was ranked 43 spots higher than in the 2024 cycle.

    Major Applewhite, South Alabama

    • Overall Record: 7-6
    • Sun Belt Record: 5-3
    • Grade: B

    When Kane Wommack flipped to Alabama in the offseason, the South Alabama Jaguars turned to a familiar face in offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Major Applewhite. He had a winning record in his two previous full seasons as a head coach (with Houston) and guided the Jaguars to a similar result as the South Alabama first-year head coach, delivering a 7-6 record with positive signs for 2025.

    Applewhite only had 46% of the returning production from the previous season but delivered an extra Sun Belt win compared to 2023. He also guided the program to a second successive bowl win. He helped nurture talent like quarterback Gio Lopez, freshman sensation Fluff Bothwell, and wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett. Five wins in the final seven speaks volumes about the program’s direction.

    Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State

    • Overall Record: 7-6
    • Mountain West Record: 3-4
    • Grade: B

    Longtime Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo spent a season as the tight end coach at UCLA before triumphantly returning to the coaching ranks with San Jose State in 2024. Although he had a difficult time in the Mountain West, he was a late-stage hire who managed to keep the Spartans stable and deliver another winning season that culminated in a close Hawaii Bowl loss.

    From a purely statistical standpoint, Niumatalolo might not stand up to some of the other first-year college football head coach performances, with regression in offensive and defensive scoring and a one-place slide in recruiting (not to mention a three-game loss swing in conference).

    However, the shift in philosophy to deliver an All-American campaign from wide receiver Nick Nash while working with just 36% returning production was as good as anything we saw in 2024.

    Jon Sumrall, Tulane

    • Overall Record: 9-5
    • AAC Record: 7-1
    • Grade: B

    Jon Sumrall established the Troy Trojans as one of the best Group of Five programs in the country and then set sail to try and maintain the standard at a Tulane Green Wave outfit that has been the standard at the level. The lack of an AAC title might cloud the judgment of what he achieved during his first year with the program, but he ultimately helped the Green Wave maintain its standing in college football.

    Despite losing longtime starting quarterback and captain Michael Pratt to the NFL, the Green Wave offense saw an 8.7-point uptick in scoring while losing just one AAC game. That said, they capitulated in the final three games of the campaign, and their schedule featured some of the worst teams in the conference as they built confidence from two Power Four defeats. A solid, if not spectacular, season.

    Sherrone Moore, Michigan

    • Overall Record: 8-5
    • Big Ten Record: 5-4
    • Grade: B

    Sherrone Moore comfortably had the most difficult job relative to the expectation of any first-year college football head coach in these rankings. He inherited a team that had an undefeated national title-winning campaign under a head coach who has been revered at the Michigan Wolverines. While he was at the forefront of last year’s success, expecting him to replicate it in Year 1 was outrageous.

    Moore inherited a team that lost one of the top running backs in college football (Blake Corum) and a first-round NFL Draft quarterback in J.J. McCarthy. The Wolverines returned just 36% of their 2023 production. The result was an 8-5 season with a 5-4 Big Ten record behind an offense that plummeted from the 14th ranked unit in the country to the 112th.

    Scott Walden, UTEP

    • Overall Record: 3-9
    • CUSA Record: 3-5
    • Grade: B

    Scotty Walden tied for the second-worst overall record of any candidate in these first-year college football head coach rankings, going 3-9 with the UTEP Miners in 2024, which might beg the question as to why he finds himself ranked above several coaches with a better record in their first year at the helm of an FBS program.

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    Well, the UTEP head coach was one of just five coaches who didn’t suffer a year-on-year record regression in 2024. Furthermore, he was one of just four coaches who improved their conference record compared to the previous season. Despite dealing with quarterback injuries that impacted the team, there was little offensive or defensive drop-off from 2023.

    Mike Elko, Texas A&M

    • Overall Record: 8-5
    • SEC Record: 5-3
    • Grade: B+

    The Mike Elko reign with the Texas A&M Aggies got off to a stellar, with the former Duke Blue Devils head coach making a positive impression during SEC Media Days. Expectations should always be tempered around the Aggies, a program with a history of failing to deliver on its exceptional recruiting prowess. Still, Elko elevated those early and largely delivered compared to the last two seasons.

    Eight wins was the most for the Aggies since 2021, and the five SEC wins matched 2018 as the most in over a decade (if you don’t factor in the SEC-only schedule of 2020). Elko returned Texas A&M to the CFP Rankings after a two-year absence while also improving year-on-year recruiting performance, perhaps his most impressive feat. Losing four of their last five games really curtailed his grade here.

    Jeff Choate, Nevada

    • Overall Record: 3-10
    • Mountain West Record: 0-7
    • Grade: B+

    Jeff Choate has brought respectability back to Nevada Wolf Pack football. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Three wins isn’t the epitome of respect. However, that’s one win more than in the 2023 season, including a win over Troy, who ended the 2024 campaign on a high. They also logged a “breakthrough win” against Oregon State. Both were big-time wins for the Wolf Pack.

    Although they went winless through the Mountain West, that schedule featured the two title game protagonists, and they played the Boise State Broncos close. The program showed improvements on both sides of the ball under Choate and has made huge leaps in recruiting, penetrating the top 100 of 247 Sports’ rankings compared to sitting 122nd nationally in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

    Bob Chesney, James Madison

    • Overall Record: 9-4
    • Sun Belt Record: 4-4
    • Grade: B+

    There are several first-year college football head coaches who were on a hiding-to-nothing coming into the 2024 season, and Bob Chesney firmly fits into that category. Firstly, the man he replaced at the James Madison Dukes had established himself as a legend within the program. Secondly, Chesney’s own prior success at the FCS level ensured he carried significant expectations into his first FBS head coach role.

    He had to bring success despite returning just 40% of the Dukes’ 2023 production, which included the loss of the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year (Jordan McCloud) and a CFN Freshman All-American in De’Angelo Ponds, who was the cornerstone of the defense. Despite the attrition, Chesney led the Dukes to a nine-win season and saw very little drop off in production. 2025 could be his year.

    Bill O’Brien, Boston College

    • Overall Record: 7-6
    • ACC Record: 4-4
    • Grade: A-

    I’m not 100% sure that Bill O’Brien gets enough credit for the job he did with the Boston College Eagles in 2024. Perhaps that’s because of a three-game midseason losing streak that included road losses to two distinctly average teams from Virginia. Maybe it’s due to the perception of how he handled the quarterback situation, fueled by preseason expectations of Thomas Castellanos that fell flat in 2024.

    That ignores the fact that the seven wins are tied for the most since 2009. It ignores the fact that the four AAC wins are tied for the most (outside of 2020) in that same timeframe. It ignores the fact that under O’Brien, the Eagles averaged four points more on offense and 4.5 points more on defense than in 2023. He has also overseen a 43-place uptick in the 247 Sports recruiting rankings in the last year.

    Manny Diaz, Duke

    • Overall Record: 9-4
    • ACC Record: 5-3
    • Grade: A-

    Another first-year head coach winning on the recruiting scene is Duke’s Manny Diaz. The highly-regarded defensive coordinator made a triumphant return to the head of a program in 2024 and has weaponized his standing and success to make Durham a place that high school football players want to come to. The Blue Devils rank 33rd in the 2025 class, a swing of 28 places compared to 2024.

    Diaz’s reputation as a strong defensive mind plays a part in that. However, it’s also fueled by first-year success. Fans were worried what might happen to the program when Elko bolted for Texas A&M, but they needn’t have. Under their new head coach, they improved both overall and ACC records by an extra win, played a CFP team close, and ended the regular season with three straight wins.

    Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico

    • Overall Record: 5-7
    • Mountain West Record: 3-4
    • Grade: A-

    It’s been almost a decade since the New Mexico Lobos last had a sniff of the postseason. They’ve been the Mountain West bottom-feeder for most of that time and even a good chunk of the time that came before that 2016 season. In 2024, under the guidance of Bronco Mendenhall, Lobos fans allowed themselves to dream, and the program endeared itself to fans nationally on and off the field.

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    Mendenhall emerged from retirement rejuvenized, and he breathed life into New Mexico football. The defense was dismal and tough to watch, but the offense led by Devon Dampier made every game a must-watch meeting. They won more of them than any season in the past eight as their head coach galvanized a community. The fact that he landed another job for 2025 is a testament to that success.

    Pete Lembo, Buffalo

    • Overall Record: 9-4
    • MAC Record: 6-2
    • Grade: A

    Almost 10 years separated Pete Lembo from the Mid-American Conference. During that time, he established himself as one of the top special teams coordinators in the country. However, the man who led the Ball State Cardinals to a 10-3 season in 2013 showcased he still has the chops to guide a team to success when he took the reins of the Buffalo Bulls in 2024 and immediately defied expectations.

    An improved offense (7.9 points a game more), a tougher defense led by an All-American linebacker in Shaun Dolan, and naturally, a standout special teams unit paved the way for Lembo to enact a six-game win swing from 2023 while keeping the Bulls in contention for the MAC Championship Game. An increase of 18 spots in recruiting rankings showcases a bright future for Buffalo.

    Spencer Danielson, Boise State

    • Overall Record: 12-2
    • Mountain West Record: 7-0
    • Grade: A

    It’s easy to pin the success of the 2024 Boise State team on star running back Ashton Jeanty. Yet, in his first season as the full-time head coach of the Broncos, it’s very clear that Spencer Danielson’s influence was just as strong as the Heisman Trophy-caliber season that his running back produced.

    There’s a reason why the Broncos were able to turn a 5-5 season under Andy Avalos into a Mountain West title during the four games that Danielson was the interim in 2023. He extracts the very best out of the talent around him, and has established the program as the frontrunner of the Group of Five level.

    He took the 68% returning production from the 2023 season and turned it into a 100% bonafide College Football Playoff outfit. How many other teams in the country boast the conference rushing touchdown leader with the conference passing yards leader? While Jeanty shone, Maddux Madsen quietly cut up defenses when required.

    Under his stead, Boise State has gone from an 8-6 outfit in 2023 (again 5-5 under Avalos) to a 12-2 team with an unblemished conference record (they lost two conference games last season). The offense was a top-five unit in the country, while the defense ranked 37th nationally. Give Jeanty the credit; just make sure you give Danielson his flowers for an incredible job, too.

    Fran Brown, Syracuse

    • Overall Record: 10-3
    • ACC Record: 5-3
    • Grade: A

    The hire of Fran Brown has revolutionized Syracuse Orange football. That is not an understatement. It became immediately apparent within weeks of his appointment last year, with the program becoming a popular landing spot for transfer portal players, including former quarterback Kyle McCord, who has elevated his profile after a dismal 2023 with Ohio State.

    In his first year at the helm, Brown led the Orange to a 10-3 season, the best since 2018.

    Their five ACC wins are also the best since that campaign. Syracuse saw a three-game winning increase on both their overall record and conference record in the first year under their new head coach, a remarkable achievement that included wins over three ranked teams.

    Although the Syracuse defense performed less strongly in 2024 (dropping from the 57th-ranked unit to 94th), the offense has blossomed, improving 59 spots compared to 2023. Most importantly, Brown has developed a culture within the program that should set them up for success for many years.

    Bryant Vincent, Louisiana-Monroe

    • Overall Record: 5-7
    • Sun Belt Record: 3-5
    • Grade: A

    No one, and I mean no one, did more with less in 2024 than Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks head coach Bryant Vincent. It speaks volumes about him as a leader that UAB Blazers fans wanted him to remain in Birmingham after his 2022 season as the interim head coach, and he’s proven his value in his first full-time campaign.

    Vincent flipped a Warhawks team mired in mediocrity into an outfit capable of causing an upset on any given Saturday. After finishing 2-10 in 2023, he led them to a 5-7 season that looked like it would culminate in a bowl berth for the first time since 2018.

    Sadly, that wasn’t to be after a losing streak down the back stretch of the season. Yet, only one first-year head coach had greater success improving their conference record than Vincent this year. After going 0-8 in Sun Belt play a year ago, the Warhawks tallied wins against Troy, James Madison, and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

    Detractors will point to the second half of the season. Still, Vincent’s Louisiana-Monroe team played a one-score game against the eventual conference champions and kept the bowl-bound Arkansas State Red Wolves honest on the road. They also increased their offensive and defensive performance year-on-year despite returning just 33% of their 2023 production.

    Curt Cignetti, Indiana

    • Overall Record: 11-2
    • Big Ten Record: 8-1
    • Grade: A+

    Who else would lead the first-year head coach grades than the man who did the seemingly impossible and made the Indiana Hoosiers nationally relevant again? Curt Cignetti has redefined what it means to immediately impact a program. After all, he’s been doing it at every spot along his coaching journey. Yet, this time, the spotlight of national attention shone more brightly on his accomplishments than ever before.

    Cignetti would have you Google his accomplishments, but let’s spell some out for you here. No other first-year head coach led his team to a bigger winning swing than the eight-game difference from 2023 vs. 2024. Indiana’s Big Ten record contained seven more wins this year compared to last. His team scored 19.1 more points per game than the one left behind by Tom Allen while allowing 14.2 less.

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    From wins to basic and advanced statistics to recruiting to transfer portal prowess, everything about Indiana football under Cignetti was simply better than it has been for years.

    Their run to the College Football Playoff was electric despite the national scrutiny and protestations that the Hoosiers didn’t belong. Not only did they earn the right to national attention, they’re well set up to remain there.

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