Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State football’s 38-28 win over Maryland at Ford Field and Jonathan Smith’s future

MSU football video analysis on Jonathan Smith’s future, Maryland win

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari discuss Jonathan Smith’s future after MSU beats Maryland.

1. Announcement on Jonathan Smith should come shortly. It’s hard to see him returning.

DETROIT — And now we wait for the announcement, one way or the other. There’s no way a decision on Jonathan Smith’s future at Michigan State hasn’t already been made.

When asked Saturday night, after beating Maryland at Ford Field, if he’d been told whether he’s being brought back, Smith said, “Don’t have that,” after saying he’d had conversations with athletic director J Batt through the week. Batt did not make himself available for comment Saturday night.

Despite whispers that Smith’s returning next season, I find that hard to believe. If he was coming back, that call could have been made before now, to try to stabilize recruiting and signal a direction to fans and donors. Batt keeps his circle tight and has been publicly silent on the matter. He didn’t want to be in this spot this year, but here we are. I also don’t think he wants Smith to be his first coaching hire, which is what bringing him back for another year would essentially be. Because you can’t just punt on these decisions. 

Smith has lost the fan base, hasn’t shown he and his staff can be the difference in winnable games — despite a cathartic result Saturday — and hasn’t made the case why he should return.

“I think we got a group that continues to work, stays on task when it’s not always easy,” Smith said when asked to make that case Saturday. “We can do hard things. (I’m a) guy that is not over-dramatic, but I’ll tell you I think we’re pretty tough as a group, looking at this year.”

So if you’re keeping him, you’ve got to make that case. You’re going against the grain. You’re making a hire for 2026. I can’t see it, once you get past the feel-good vibes from Saturday night.

Smith described MSU’s 4-8 mark, including 1-8 in the Big Ten, as true to what this team was.

“I think the record factual,” Smith said, not trying to explain away a number of losses, adding that their one Big Ten win feels a whole lot better than going winless.

“Let’s face it, 0-fer in the league versus one (win), there’s a difference.”

Beating a Maryland team in an equally dire place Saturday night is better than the alternative, but probably too little, too late. 

We’ll know in a matter of hours now.

2. A telling MSU crowd

The loudest the crowd got Saturday night at Ford Field was when MSU called a timeout before punting late in the third quarter and the referee said, “Timeout, Michigan.” The boos rang down from places no one was sitting. 

The only other times the crowd stood out Saturday was when the MSU student section, in one corner of the upper deck, chanted “Fire Smith,” which happened twice.

MSU fans largely spoke with their absences. The crowd of maybe 15,000 would have been better if the first dose of winter weather wasn’t bearing down on the state — though, if this game had real stakes attached to it, I think folks would have braved the icy roads to be in Detroit. 

This showing was indicative of where fans stand with the program. That’s not everything in making a decision about whether to keep or fire a coach — because fans would come back if things were to change. But it’s a sign there is very little belief in what’s going on.

3. A good result for an MSU team that needed it — and some game balls

I don’t know how impressive Saturday’s win was, but it was needed. College football is a hard sport, a physical grind unlike anything else. And when you’re losing week after week, it’s a long, taxing slog.

MSU’s 38-28 win over Maryland to get to 4-8 doesn’t make the season a success or even acceptable, but it’ll make these players and coaches feel a little better heading into whatever’s next for them. 

That MSU played probably its best offensive game since it was still technically summer, says these guys were trying to figure it out until the ship hit the ocean’s floor. That’s a good character trait. A trait that speaks to a roster and staff that cared all the way through. MSU’s defensive performance for most of Saturday did not leave you with the same warm and fuzzy feelings, though that unit got it done in the fourth quarter, which is the opposite of what has been happening.

Game balls in this one go to Alante Brown, Nick Marsh, Omari Kelly, Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Alessio Miliojevic and Jordan Hall.

You had to feel good for MSU’s Alante Brown after his 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter Saturday. You could see the emotion as he took off his helmet and ran around the outside of the field. He’s been through it this year, including losing his escape. 

Brown’s fiancée was shot in the head over the summer. He said Saturday night that her condition is largely unchanged. She is still unresponsive.

“Football is my safe space, and I know that I have an opportunity to go out there and make things happen for my family, for this situation, for her and myself,” Brown told the Lansing State Journal in September, after a 63-yard kick return against Boston College.

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A week later, he suffered an injury during warmups that kept him out until Saturday. That was a heckuva return. And hopefully, for him, more tape that’ll make him appealing to NFL teams as a return man.

Nick Marsh also had a feel-good finale to what was a difficult and underwhelming sophomore season, finishing with seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown — his most catches and first score since the Indiana game on Oct. 18, his most yards since MSU’s last win, against Youngstown State on Sept. 13.

MSU has had trouble getting him the ball and, in recent weeks, he’s left a few plays on the field. He looked like a go-to guy again Saturday.

As the Spartans’ season has gone south offensively, running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver is one player whose season took off, a saving grace of sorts for the Spartans, given the injury to Makhi Frazier. Tau-Tolliver, who had 11 carries for 127 yards at Minnesota and six for 79 against Penn State — with a long run in each — had another strong performance, with another long run. He finished with 13 carries for 95 yards, including a 38-yard scamper that could have helped put the game away, if not for an Alessio Milivojevic interception soon after. 

Tau-Tolliver, a Sacramento State transfer, looked like a guy who wasn’t cut out for the Big Ten until about Halloween. He then proved he could produce at this level. 

Milivojevic threw a pick that nearly cost MSU the game — the Spartans defense stepped up late and rescued the Spartans. He was otherwise often really good. A couple of the throws he made in the first half were among his best, including to Marsh and Jack Velling on an impressive last drive right before the half. 

Milivojevic finished his redshirt freshman season with a win and by completing 27 of 39 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-clinching dart to Omari Kelly (who reemerged Saturday) on fourth down late in the fourth quarter. The decision to play to win the game there was a strong call from Jonathan Smith, too. Maybe a final impression.

There’s room for Milivojevic to grow. But he continues to show that he’s a promising quarterback.

Linebacker Jordan Hall made important plays late, the sort of plays MSU hasn’t made defensively at the end of games, finishing a season during which he was rarely healthy.

This season won’t be remembered for many good things. But Hall’s effort and care will be one of them.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.