After coming off a 4-8 season last season, Michigan State University’s football team could experience some growing pains this year with a new head coach and new competition.
WKAR’s Melorie Begay’s checking in with sports reporter Al Martin to learn more about what to expect.
Full Transcript
Melorie Begay: To start, MSU has a new head coach this season. Jonathan Smith was announced to lead the program last fall.
He's coming to the team from Oregon State, which could be handy, considering he has experience coaching against some new competition the Spartans will face this year in the Big 10 Conference, including both Washington and the University of Oregon.
What are the expectations for Coach Smith this season?
Al Martin: Yeah, you know what, Melorie? I think that fans have to temper the expectations if they are high. And I say that because, look, Jonathan Smith is in his first year. Now, if you look at his track record, when he was hired at Oregon State in 2018 to replace Gary Anderson,
Oregon State being, of course, Jonathan Smith's alma mater, it was a program in a tough spot, much like Michigan State is right now.
They went 7-29 over the prior three seasons before Jonathan Smith was hired, and it took a while for Smith to right the ship. The Beavers went 2-10 in his first season, 5-7 in year two, 2-5 in the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
Now after that, Smith reeled off three straight winning seasons, a 7-win season, a 10-win season and then an 8-win season. Incredible stuff. I mean, Oregon State finished with the number 17 ranking in the country. In 2022, that 10-win season, that was the first time in ten years that the Beavers had finished ranked in the national polls.
Now we all know Michigan State's … everything that happened last year with Mel Tucker being fired. Michigan State just having a 4-8 record. It's going to take some time, but I think Jonathan Smith giving his experience in turning around a program that was the Beavers, that can be done here in East Lansing, Melorie.
Begay: Right, and as mentioned, the Big 10 is a lot bigger this year, with several West Coast teams joining MSU’s conference, including Oregon, Washington, University of Southern California and UCLA. What does that change mean for the competition? Is it going to be more difficult this season?
Martin: To say the least, Melorie. I mean, what? Those are powerhouse programs: Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. All programs with a storied college football history.
We’re saying also goodbye to the division format in this new, expanded Big 10: the west and the east, and before that, the Legends and the Leaders Conference.
There's going to be 18 total members this football season for the Big 10, which means, even though this is the first year we're going to see the college football playoff expand now to12 teams, which means that teams out there are going to have a better shot at making a national championship run because of that expansion.
But when you add those four names to an already formidable conference, it’s going to be that much harder. And right now, wherever you look Melorie, I hate to deliver this news to Spartan fans, but hey, I feel like Michigan State always defies the odds when their backs are against the wall and nobody really expects much out of them. But depending on what publication you read, Michigan State only has like a 1% chance of winning the conference, right?
Now, they don't have to win the conference in order to make the
college football playoff expansion, but that doesn't bode well. But this is going to be incredibly competitive, and I for one, can't wait to see it.
Begay: 1%. Wow.
Martin: Not very encouraging, right?
Begay: No. But moving on. So, what does MSU’s schedule look like this season?
Martin: With all that being said, Michigan State is going to play some powerhouses this season. In Ohio State late September. They will play Oregon. And Ohio State and Oregon are the two teams right now that
are being projected to play in that Big 10 title game in Indianapolis come December, but you play both of them. I mean, back-to-back weeks as well, Melorie.
On September 28, you play Ohio State. And then on October 4, you play Oregon. Ohio State is in Columbus, and then you welcome Oregon at home to Spartan Stadium on October 4. But then you play number 25 Iowa.
You play, of course, the big rivalry game against Michigan in Ann Arbor on October 26. So I'll say this: the middle part of that schedule, those four games specifically that I just mentioned, are going to be really tough for the Spartans.
But I do see five to six wins here, Melorie. I mean, the season opener, you should beat Florida Atlantic. At Maryland the following week, I think you should get that one as well. Prairie View A&M, that may bode well for you. Boston College. I mean, those are the first four games of the season. I could see Michigan State winning at least three of those.
And then on the back end of the schedule, you play Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers. I say that you at least got to get two of those.
So, I do see a five to six game win season, and again, that magic number being six. If you hit six wins, you are bowl eligible. So, if Jonathan Smith does get this team back to being bowl eligible in his first season, I think that's a dub, Melorie.
Begay: Al Martin is WKA’s Current Dports reporter, thanks for joining me today.
Martin: Thank you, Melorie, anytime.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
