Big Opportunity Ahead for Jonathan Smith, MSU vs. Michigan
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The Jonathan Smith era at Michigan State is certainly in peril. Coaches who begin 3-10 against their respective conference generally do not do too well. That is especially so when NIL and the transfer portal have made quicker turnarounds possible (look at No. 2 Indiana).
While those two things that drastically change the job of a head coach are newer additions to the sport, there is still one thing that has always been there, and hopefully will remain: rivalries. MSU (3-4 overall, 0-4 Big Ten) is headed into its most important one this week against No. 25 Michigan (5-2, 3-1).
On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, let's talk about Smith's best shot towards redemption and how it begins with the biggest game of the season for the Spartans.
The complete video of this episode can be viewed below.
Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:
In addition, a transcript of Smith's opening statement from his press conference that came following the 38-13 loss to Indiana has been provided.
Jonathan Smith
SMITH: Congrats to Indiana, it's a good football team. They beat us today.
Going into the game, especially in the first half, wanted to put a lot of drives together, possess the ball. There was a lot that we were able to execute that besides just being a little flat outmatched, touchdown scores.
The first drive took a while, three points. They answered with seven, took another one to take the lead back.
But then at the end of the half, got away from us a little bit of a two-minute driver to punch the thing in and go up 21-10 at halftime.
And then in the second half, wanted to be able to (possess it more), similar, but we gotta be able to finish on the offensive end, just be matching scores.
And then obviously, trying to get a stop didn't take place soon enough.
Early in the third quarter, a couple of deep balls on a young corner; Ayden West is going to be a really good player here, that kind of thing. But then it got away from us in the fourth.
And that's a good football team. Margin for error against a good football team is pretty small.
You look at the tackling, we gotta tackle better. A couple of opportunities to have better plays there, and we just did not have it today.
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Previous Episode - Breaking Down Yet Another Michigan State Blowout Loss
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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