DETROIT — Michigan State fans don’t think they had very unrealistic expectations for the 2025 season.
Show growth under coach Jonathan Smith, try to get to six wins for bowl eligibility and just be more competitive in games.
But it quickly became apparent the season was headed the wrong way and now amid an eight-game losing streak there are calls for change in the program.
However, as other teams around them are either backing their current coaches or beginning searches for their next one, MSU has remained silent and it’s causing concern for fans.
“If you’re going to fire him after this game, you got to do it quick because you need to be able to give those recruits some stability and not even just recruits, but the people on the team,” Landon Ferris from Royal Oak said ahead of MSU’s season-finale against Maryland at Ford Field.
Fans getting ready to watch the Spartans’ final game of the season were still happy to come out and support their team — some getting free tickets as a result of the matchup between two of the bottom teams in the Big Ten taking place in a 65,000-seat neutral site.
But not knowing where the team’s future is headed is casting a shadow over some fans, as many hope there’s new leadership next season.
“I’m kind of hoping that they just cut and run at the end of the game,” Kevin Youngblood of Roseville, and an MSU graduate, said. “Thank you for your service. Thank you for your time. Take the program into a new direction.”
Smith’s tenure started 3-0 in his first season, but the Spartans dropped seven of their final nine games in 2024.
A similar start to 2025 inspired some confidence, but now going over a calendar year without a conference win, fans aren’t seeing the growth they hoped for.
“I feel like there has been no trend upwards. I know he joined the team in a time where MSU football had a lot of uncertainty, but I feel like there’s no improvement year-over-year,” Ferris said. “That’s the issue that I’ve got coming with it, because if he’s not going to improve year-over-year, well, what’s he doing here at that point? There’s no reason to remain this stagnant in purgatory of the bottom three in the Big Ten.”
The Spartans try to avoid the program’s first winless season in Big Ten play since 1958 against Maryland.
To some fans, losing to a similarly-struggling Maryland team on a seven-game losing streak would be the final straw.
“The team is rock bottom,” Kevin Montgomery of Westland said. “If they don’t win tonight, they have to make changes now. That’s what they need to do.”
But even getting a win at Ford Field might not be enough to convince some that it’s worth giving Smith another year of runway after season-long disappointment.
“A win would help kind of shape the outlook if the future involves Jonathan Smith or if it doesn’t,” Ferris said. “But as of right now, it kind of sucks that this game is you win, you get the pride, you lose, nothing really changes. It’s one of those games where even if you win, you don’t really win in the end.”
