Good News For Michigan State & Jonathan Smith, Bad News for Arch-Rivals Wolverines, Sherrone Moore

A recent report was great news for Michigan State while chillingly bad for the defending national champion and Spartan football arch-rival Michigan Wolverines.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore against the Washington Huskies during the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State's top rival Michigan has had the luxury of celebrating a college football national championship this offseason, a feeling every team covets.

It's anyone's guess how the 2024 season pans out for the reigning national champions, though, as this will be a much-different looking team for the Wolverines, starting with their head coach, Sherrone Moore.

Moore, who served as the team's interim coach for its final three games of the regular season last year while former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh served his suspension for the program's sign-stealing scandal, replaced Harbaugh this offseason after the longtime coach returned to NFL to coach the Los Angeles Chargers.

CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli recently ranked every head football coach in the Big Ten. Moore came in at No. 15.

"Moore is only ranked this low due to the lack of overall experience as a head coach," Fornelli wrote. "That said, he already has wins over Ohio State and Penn State on his resume, and there aren't many coaches ranked above him who can say the same! This is a fascinating spot for Moore because, on the one hand, it will not be easy to step out of Jim Harbaugh's considerable shadow, but he's also inheriting a team that won a national title. Sure, some key players are gone, but a lot of significant pieces are back, too. Oh, and everybody seems to be writing off the Wolverines. We've never seen a team rally around the disrespect angle before, right?!"

Michigan State's Jonathan Smith, meanwhile, was ranked No. 7.

"[S]mith's overall record of 34-35 with Oregon State may not wow you, but the Beavers went 25-13 over the last three years and produced a lot of NFL talent in that time," Fornelli wrote. "Now, Smith will get a crack at Michigan State, a school with deeper pockets than what was available in Corvallis, Oregon. Smith has an innovative mind and is a smart play-caller. He's also an excellent developer of quarterbacks, a combination that has long proven valuable in a football coach. The Spartans haven't had a QB drafted since Connor Cook in 2016, and he's the only one taken since Kirk Cousins in 2012. I guarantee you that we'll see much better QB development under Smith than Michigan State has had for the last decade."

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