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Michigan State football: Power ranking head coaching candidates ahead of Week 10

By Connor Muldowney

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 28: Head coach Mike Elko of the Duke Blue Devils talks to an official in the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Cardinal Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 28: Head coach Mike Elko of the Duke Blue Devils talks to an official in the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Cardinal Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Oct 28, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith on the sidelines during the second half at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oregon State Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith on the sidelines during the second half at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports /

Jonathan Smith was rising up this list too fast for his own good in recent weeks and I think that his stock took a bit of a hit in Week 9 with a loss to Arizona on the road.

Don’t get me wrong, Arizona is a vastly improved team even from earlier this season and that loss wasn’t all that surprising, but that’s a game that you need to win if you’re fighting for a Pac-12 title or even a playoff berth. That essentially ended Oregon State’s hopes of getting into the playoff unless it can somehow win out, beating the likes of Colorado, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon on the way to a Pac-12 title.

The job Smith has done at his alma mater has been nothing short of amazing, though. He took a dead-in-the-water program and turned it into one of the best in the Pac-12 and the Beavers are in title races regularly now.

A 6-2 record to start the 2023 season while ranked No. 16 almost seems disappointing but that’s a testament to the job Smith has done in Corvallis.

It would probably be tough to pry him away.

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