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Michigan State had a slow start Saturday, but outscored Minnesota 17-7 in the second half to force overtime. More News: College Football Coach Linked to LSU Suffers Major Upset on Thursday Night Despite showing some fight, the Spartans fell 23-20 to the Golden Gophers in front of 45,339 fans at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The loss was MSU’s sixth in a row, as the program has not won since taking down Youngstown State on Sept. 13. The Spartans are 3-6 overall and 0-6 in Big Ten play (the worst record in the conference). With a disappointing season in East Lansing, it’s fair to wonder about the status of second-year head coach Jonathan Smith. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 20: Head coach Jonathan Smith of the Michigan State Spartans looks on against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 20, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) More News: Colorado’s Deion Sanders Accuses Big 12 Teams of ‘Lying’ on Injury Report Per Justin Thind of 247 Sports, MSU is not worried about potentially paying Smith’s buyout, estimated to be nearly $33 million after December, as part of that sum would be offset by Smith taking a new gig. However, the Spartans have some pause about needing to hire a head coach amid a saturated market where eight Power 4 programs are already looking for a new leader. Michigan State is weighing the entire cost of Smith’s buyout and hiring a new coach versus using that money to recruit better players via NIL funding. The final decision will come down to how Smith’s team performs in November. “As more games are lost, like perhaps this evening, and the product keeps getting worse – it wouldn’t surprise me if that option goes out the window,” Thind wrote of MSU trying to make their situation with Smith work. Michigan State battled hard against Minnesota. But moral victories don’t matter as much as the final score. Thind believes MSU firing Smith is “inevitable” if the program continues to lose for the remainder of the season. “For now, the results on the field are like a ticking time bomb,” Thind wrote. “Only Smith and his team can prevent the move -which has not yet been finalized, or even semi-finalized. But if things keep trending this way, it seems inevitable. “Not a good time to be hiring a coach, but it’s an even worse time to be trending towards being this bad.” MSU will next host Penn State on Nov. 15 after a bye in Week 11. The Spartans will then finish the season against Iowa and Maryland. Smith is 8-13 overall and 3-12 in Big Ten play since taking over the job before the 2024 season. For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
