MSU's Jonathan Smith on First Game Against Michigan: 'That Game Will Mean a Whole Lot'
Jonathan Smith is the newest head coach to be joining the storied rivalry between Michigan State and Michigan.
While this rivalry, in particular, has historically been one of the most intense in college football, Smith is quite familiar with in-state rivalries, having experienced one at Oregon State, one at Washington and one at Montana.
"It's going to be passionate and those things," Smith said of the Michigan State's matchup against Michigan in October when he addressed the media at Big Ten Football Media Days on Wednesday. "I enjoy being in an in-state rivalry -- really my whole coaching career where there was an in-state rivalry that took place, and I think that's the beautiful thing about college football. Of the traditions that go with that. And so, every game means something, but that definitely -- that game will mean a whole lot."
Smith hasn't experienced this rivalry yet, but he has an early grasp of what it means to both programs and its fans.
"It's a state divided, even families divided, which is common in other rivalries," Smith said. "And again, I go back to -- I think it's a great thing for college football."
As previously mentioned, Smith had an in-state rivarly against Oregon while in Corvallis. Ironically, he will be facing the Ducks yet again this season, with Oregon joining the Big Ten as part of the four-team expansion.
"Look, I think, yeah, we're going to play the Ducks, and they're going to be a competitive team again," Smith said. "They are year in and year out. That game, there might be some conversation about myself going back there, but that's really about just myself.
"We've got a bunch of guys that we need to prepare a certain way each week to play our best, and that will be my approach in coaching the guys when we head down there."
The Spartans will be on the road for both that Michigan and Oregon matchup. They face Oregon in Eugene on Friday, Oct. 4 and Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26. Michigan, of course, is the country's reigning national champion.
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