Few coaches in the Big Ten will face as tough a challenge next season as Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith.
Michigan State’s new coach has had to overcome many obstacles in his first offseason in East Lansing, and Michigan State also has one of the most demanding schedules in the country. In addition, the Michigan State football team has seen many changes this offseason.
A media outlet has placed Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith in the top half of its recently released Big Ten coaching rankings. College Football Daily recently released its rankings of Big Ten head coaches for this season. The list ranks Coach Smith much higher in the coaching rankings than most preseason rankings of Coach Smith’s football team. College Football Daily has ranked Coach Smith as the ninth best head coach in the Big Ten for the upcoming season.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day was ranked the best coach in the Big Ten, followed by Oregon coach Dan Lanning, USC coach Lincoln Riley, Penn State coach James Franklin and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz rounding out the top five. Blacksmith landed a few spots behind, as they all lead some of the best college football teams in the country. Smith finished just behind Nebraska’s Matt Rhule and one spot ahead of Illinois’ Bret Bielema. Ohio State’s Ryan Day topped the list.
Michigan State has a new coach, a lot of new additions to the roster and new systems for players to learn. There have undoubtedly been a lot of changes to the Michigan State football program over the offseason. It will be up to Smith to live up to the top-ten Big Ten coaching rating he received from College Football Daily to help Michigan State have a successful season.
Despite Michigan State’s challenging schedule, Smith can lead the team to a bowl game in his first season at the helm, as Michigan State has multiple games against beatable out-of-conference teams and teams projected to be among the worst in the Big Ten.
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