How Michigan State's Jonathan Smith Deciphers Issues, Week 1 Overreactions

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith has been around long enough to know Week 1 in college football can be exaggerated.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith touches the foot of the Sparty statue before the game against Florida Atlantic on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, outside Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

There's no questions Michigan State has some issues to deal with following its 16-10 victory over Florida Atlantic in its season opener on Friday.

From a fan standpoint, there's typically two mentalities when looking at problems in Week 1: "Bad sign of things to come" and "Team's first time out."

Of course, both are to be accounted for. On one hand, if Michigan State can barely hold its own against Florida Atlantic, how will it compete with the Big Ten? On the other hand, this was the first official game for this new-look Spartan squad, and there's inevitably going to be hiccups.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith has now coached seven Game 1s as a head coach. With that experience, he knows how to deipher what's alarming and what isn't.

"You have some urgency to address [the issues] to get them cleaned up in Game 1," Smith said after the game. "And I think doing this now ... seven years, I do think a little bit about Week 1's kind of overreaction Saturday. The first impression, right? This is the first time that team's out there. Well then, you begin to label, 'Oh, they're good on this side, not good on this side, these can go to the playoffs, these guys are out.' Like, it's overreaction Saturday. We go back to work.

"We knew it wasn't going to be perfect, there was going to be the approach, this was good, this wasn't, Let's work on this Sunday, get ready for the next week, and that's what I believe in."

What's fortunate for Michigan State, in terms of the mistakes, is they're quick fixes. Penalities can be fixed. Overthrows can be fixed. Turnovers can be fixed. Play-calling can be adjusted.

It won't take long to know if the Week 1 concerns around the Spartans are overreactions, as next weekend's game against Maryland should prove several things: how Michigan State responds to mistakes, how it handles a Big Ten opponent on the road and if this defense is truly legitimate.

Saturday's contest is set for 3:30 p.m. in College Park. Maryland comes off a 50-7 conquering of UConn.

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