Spartans' Jonathan Smith Ready for Familiar Foe
The Michigan State Spartans (3-2) have lost two straight ballgames after its defeat to Ohio State last Saturday night. Looking for a rebound victory, Coach Jonathan Smith is extremely familiar with the Spartans' next opponent, No. 6 Oregon (4-0).
With a shortened week, the Spartans spent less time dwelling on the home loss to the Buckeyes and are focused on their next opponent. It will be another absolute grind of a game, facing back-to-back top-10 teams.
“When you look at Oregon, explosive offensively, quarterback's DIllon Gabriel a good player, accurate with the ball, might be leading the country in completion percentage and they got some athletes that he's throwing it to," Smith said on Monday. "Flip it around, got a solid defense, I look at those guys, they just continue to improve. From game one to game four, those guys have continued to improve, and they played really well against UCLA, held them pretty much throughout the entire game. So, big time challenge, tough atmosphere, know the place, it's definitely an exciting fan base that feels like they impact the game and so these are the type of games you love playing in."
Gabriel does, in fact, lead the nation in completing passes with a scorching hot 81.5% completion percentage. Gabriel is a transfer from the University of Oklahoma and is seeking a national championship before his collegiate career concludes.
The roots run deep for Smith as he was both a player and a coach at Oregon State. As a player, he was a four-year letterman quarterback in Corvallis from 1998-2001, posting a 2-2 record against the Ducks. He threw for 9106 yards and 52 touchdowns with only 29 interceptions in his career.
Up until this season, Smith was the head coach of the Beavers for six seasons, dating back to 2017. He had an overall record of 34-35 with a 2-4 record against in-state rival Oregon. Most notably in 2022, when Smith defeated the No. 9-ranked Ducks to finish the regular season 9-3.
“[I] played Oregon when I was at other universities as a coach too and so kind of been through this before,” Smith said. “We know through experience, kind of how tough it is, that atmosphere, and where we're playing at and so we're going to just try to prep our guys for a tough road environment.”
Smith is not the only former Beaver that is returning to the pacfic northwest to face the Ducks. Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles, along with tight end Jack Velling and offensive lineman, Tanner Miller, all made the transition to the Spartans program along with coach Smith.
“Once the thing kicks off, you're approaching as a coach of what can prepare the guys, and then, throughout the game, you get locked in on the game," Smtih said. "So it's not just myself like you said, we got some other guys with connections to the place and all that and once it's kicked off, it's a college football game that you kind of emotionally approach it the same.”
The Spartans will have to play their best game of football against a team with a Heisman level quarterback and skill players on both sides of the ball that have caused issues for opponents all year. The Ducks are currently 1-0 in the conference after bulldozing UCLA a week ago.
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