Another game, another impressive way for Jonathan Smith to lose. The second-year Michigan State head coach found a way to blow a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead against an anemic offense, fumbling away a potential first win since mid-September at Iowa, 20-17.
Horrible.
There’s a decent chance that Smith might be one of the worst coaches in the Power Four, and that was accentuated on Saturday afternoon as he watched his team blow a 10-point lead in the second half to lose a heartbreaker as time expired.
It’s common for teams to blow fourth-quarter leads, but when you have a 10-point lead in the final 12 minutes against one of the worst offenses in the Big Ten, you have to come through with a win.
But alas, the Spartans lost in yet another excruciating way that makes it abundantly clear that Smith is not the guy for the job. He continued to make poor decisions, exhibit questionable time management, and find a new way to lose. Smith has lost all the good graces (very little was left) that he may have built up from the fans over the past 1.5 years, and it’s time to move on.
While I really dislike calling for head coaches’ jobs, I think I speak for all Spartan fans when I say that the experiment has failed.
Michigan State took a chance on a West Coast guy with no ties to the Midwest and the Big Ten because he was a program builder. Alan Haller went for the safe choice and hired Smith even if he didn’t have the support of certain donors, and it’s backfired.
Now, it’s time for J Batt to have some tough conversations.
Michigan State was in a terrific spot to pick up its first win since that Youngstown State victory two months ago, and it felt like a disaster would have to happen in order for the Spartans to lose at Iowa, but Smith found a way to make that disaster look routine. Special teams mistakes, clock management issues, and scared coaching decisions led to the loss.
It’s been the same story for the past 23 games, and it’s time for a change.
We’ll see if Batt is willing to make a chance, but Saturday’s loss should have been the last straw. It almost feels like Smith is trying to lose. I keep saying “this is a new low” for Michigan State, but this really is a new low.
I didn’t expect a win going into the game, but the fact that it was pretty secure and it took an absolute meltdown to lead to a loss shows that it’s time.
Smith may be a good guy and a decent coach, but he’s not the guy.
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