Breakdown of Jonathan Smith's First Season With MSU
Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith’s first season with MSU ended in lackluster fashion.
Given the lack of production from MSU down the stretch of the final games on both offense and defense, the Spartans will need to readjust next season.
Smith signed a seven-year, $52.85-million contract with MSU, but his start in East Lansing did not go as planned. Some may begin to wonder: Was it Smith’s leadership or just a continuation of MSU not having the talent to compete within one of the best conferences in college football?
The highest amount that MSU scored under Smith’s leadership was in its 40-0 victory over the Prairie View A&M Panthers, and while that win was impressive, MSU did not get any more commanding victories in 2024.
Averaging only 19.3 points in its 12 games played, MSU’s offense was not very threatening to its opponents, especially in the performance it gave in its final game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, in which it was blown out, 41-14.
Opposing teams averaged 26 points against MSU this year. Allowing more than 30 points in five losses this season, even the MSU defense seemed to go hot and cold all season. MSU linebacker Jordan Turner finished with the most MSU tackles this season, with 66, followed by Cal Haladay’s 58.
Comparably, MSU’s defense, as a whole, was only able to get 19 quarterback sacks all season long, while the Spartans' quarterback, Aidan Chiles, got sacked 30 different times over the course of the season. MSU averaged 1.58 sacks in 12 games, while Chiles was sacked an average of 2.5 times per game.
While not all the blame can be directed toward one person, fans were expecting MSU to land above the .500 mark on the season under their new head coach. Smith came to MSU after six years as Oregon State’s head coach, landing many memorable moments fans wished he brought to MSU this season.
While the first year of the seven-year contract has come to an end, Smith and the rest of his coaching staff have the ability, given their track record, to find what went wrong for MSU this season and change it for 2025 and beyond.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Dominic Minchella holds a communications degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is a former MLB writer and joins our team ad an NFL/College team reporter on Sports Illustrated