As MSU Football Rebuilds, Beating UM is Vital

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith hopes to turn things around in East Lansing. Beating MSU's arch-rival would be a good start.

Michigan State's new football coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the crowd during a timeout in the / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith had plenty of experience coaching the smaller in-state school whose arch-rival had more resources and recent success. As Smith enters his first season at the helm, there is much work to be done if MSU hopes to return to being a team with the potential to play in a significant bowl game every year. 

Smith, who spent the last six seasons at Oregon State, faced the University of Oregon every year, vastly outmanned but almost went .500 against the conference’s juggernaut. He will lean on his experience as he faces a similar situation in East Lansing when he goes up against the University of Michigan every season.

“I thought the fit was good as well because, let’s face it, there’s an in-state rivalry, and I appreciate in-state rivalries,” Smith said at his introductory press conference on Nov. 28. "I think those things are meaningful. It’s a great thing about college football is to have a rivalry like that. Every spot in my career, I know what that is like, and being able to compete in that year-round.”

At the very least, MSU has a head coach who understands that college rivalries never die, especially not the one between MSU and UM, one of the longest-standing rivalries in college football history.

Smith, who has no prior connection to the Midwest, understands how important the rivalry is to both schools and sees preparation for the game as a year-round effort. 

“I know it’s passionate, I know it’s the biggest game of the year, excited to be involved,” Smith said, “not just in that game but 365 [days a year] in regards to talking about it and energy about it, preparing for it. Special stuff.”

Smith is confident his coaching style and approach will help jump-start the Spartans' rebuild. His ability to lead will be put to the test immediately.

“I embrace an approach of having a chip on our shoulder of work ethic and earning things,” Smith said. “A blue-collar approach to building a team, competing on the field, so I embrace a lot of that.”

College football is growing and so is the College Football Playoff. As MSU begins its attempt at a comeback, it first must find a way to bring in quality recruits before it finds a way to beat Michigan.

The Michigan State Spartan Football Spring Green and White Game (Spartan Showcase) will be held at the High Cathedral of the Spartan Nation, Spartan Stadium, on April 20, 2024, at 2 p.m.

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