The State of MSU Football is Unacceptable

The Michigan State football program is in dire straits.

Oct 11, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith walks off the field at the half against the UCLA Bruins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images | Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

Michigan State has dropped to 3-3 after an embarrassing home loss to UCLA, 38-13. 

For a Spartan team that needed a convincing win in the worst way, coming out this flat was the worst possible outcome. 

MSU started the day with a three-and-out on defense and scored a touchdown on its first drive. However, the game spiraled after that, as the previously listless Bruins controlled the game on both sides of the ball. 

UCLA led 38-7 into the fourth quarter, as a team that fired its head coach just a few weeks ago was dominant against a Spartan team desperate for a win. MSU’s program now sits in dire straits. 

For a program that has been desperate for success and a fanbase impatient for a winner, the current Michigan State football product under Jonathan Smith is unacceptable. 

MSU football under Jonathan Smith

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith looks on during the second quarter in the game against UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the Spartans moved on from Mel Tucker after four seasons, the shift to Smith was supposed to invoke better fundamentals and sound football. That has been far from the case. 

MSU has failed to control the trenches in almost any game through Smith’s short tenure, and time is running out for the former Oregon State coach to figure things out. If MSU does not find another win on the schedule, the whispers of Smith’s job security will grow louder. 

MSU has not made a bowl game since the 2021 season, when Kenneth Walker III ran over every team in the Big Ten en route to a double-digit win season. Things have only spiraled since his departure. 

No matter the coaching staff in place, the Spartans have failed to field a competitive team in the last four seasons. When the Spartans’ top rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, have found success during MSU’s failures, it stings the fanbase just a little bit more. 

It does not appear that MSU is anywhere close to firing Smith, so that does not seem to be a likely outcome. However, Athletic Director J Batt must alert Smith and his staff that the current product will not be tolerated and that things must change quickly. 

The current state of MSU football is not a product that any fans have tolerated, and Smith had better get things under control before they spiral even worse.

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