Spartans plunge deeper into despair, facing a bleak future under a financially committed coach and crippled recruiting. Can new leadership salvage this sinking ship?
The question feels unfair, yet unavoidable: Is this rock bottom for Michigan State football—or will a new depth soon be uncovered?
The Spartans failed to beat another winless Big Ten team, falling 28–10 at home to Penn State. That loss didn’t just sting—it dragged the program even deeper into a cinematic pit. Think This Is the End: people clinging to the edge, dust everywhere, hope nowhere.
And it isn’t just the losing. It’s the roster, among the weakest in the Big Ten. It’s the head coach MSU overspent on—who has shown almost no signs of life. A weekend-at-Bernie’s–esque figure on the sideline, propped up, moving only because the situation requires him to, wearing a hollow expression as the team sinks further into the abyss.
This loss arrived just after a devastating three-year punishment restricting official visits, unofficial visits, recruiting communications, recruiting-person days, and off-campus contact. In short: the lifeblood of rebuilding.
Now you’re asking coach — for now — Jonathan Smith to do the impossible: convince high school recruits to pick Michigan State while he has fewer tools, fewer days, and fewer opportunities than everyone else. Combine that with MSU’s new status as a Big Ten bottom-dweller, and you’ve created a recruiting pitch no one envies.
Any skill-position player has to think long and hard about coming to East Lansing. The offensive line has been so ineffective that no quarterback could truly succeed behind it. And if QBs can’t put good film together, neither can the receivers and backs relying on them. The defense is the one potential selling point—simply because recruits will be on the field a lot, providing plenty of tape.
This reads like a vent because it is a vent. Because the fall—from the late Dantonio years to now—has been dramatic enough to warrant a documentary.
It starts with Mel Tucker, once hailed as a hidden gem. Years later we find out his success was aided by violations that jeopardized the program’s future. Then came the scandal that ended his tenure in stunning, unthinkable fashion. And even now, Tucker’s shadow haunts the program from afar.
MSU then brought in the hot name from Oregon State—Jonathan Smith—and with him the electric QB Aidan Chiles. Two years later, that spark has completely fizzled.
Now MSU is financially committed to a coach staring down an 0–9 Big Ten season—the worst in school history—marked by poor coaching, zero urgency, and penalties for someone else’s sins.
So… will it get better?
Maybe. But the only person who can truly answer is freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic. His flashes against Minnesota showed what he could be. His struggles yesterday showed what happens when a promising young QB is thrown behind a line that can’t protect him. The tools are there. The situation is not.
As for Smith, it feels like he tripped onto the world’s longest slide—speed increasing every second, no way to slow down, no cushion at the bottom. The only move might be to admit the $30 million slide was a mistake, cut ties, and find someone new. Someone proven. Someone like Brian Kelly.
The truth: the future doesn’t look bright. And as bad as this moment feels, it likely isn’t rock bottom yet. There is room—maybe too much room—for things to get darker.
But when things get so dark you can’t see your hand in front of you, eventually a light appears. Spartan fans may just have to accept that the light is still years away.