Former Michigan State football players were sick to their stomachs on Saturday night as they watched the program that they helped build into a national contender and Big Ten champion limp to a lifeless loss to that school down the road.
Spartans who played in this game in the past know that even when the season isn't going as planned, beating Michigan is always important, and they made that known under Mark Dantonio.
So when they tuned in to Saturday's game to witness a lifeless 31-20 loss, it was the last straw for a lot of them as they called on the program to make changes.
A couple of former Spartan defensive backs from the 'No Fly Zone' era, in particular, crashed out on Smith on Saturday night, calling him out for looking around with a "blank stare" and saying that Joe Rossi was the only coach who actually looked like he cared.
Chris Laneaux, a Spartan safety from 2011-15, eviscerated Smith on Saturday night.
Why does it look like Rossi is the only coach who cares on the sideline? If this was basketball Izzo would have turned the arena upside down by now. Why do we keep having to see a blank stare?!
— Christopher Laneaux (@C_Laneaux14) October 26, 2025
Responding to Laneaux's harsh, but true, words on Smith and the entire coaching staff outside of Joe Rossi was Waynes who has been critical of the program in recent weeks as well.
0 emotion
— Trae Waynes (@TWaynes_15) October 26, 2025
These guys clearly want the best for the program and they were playing in the most successful post-2000 era of Michigan State football, so they know what it takes to get to the top. They also hate seeing what the program has become over the past 5-6 years under new leadership.
And they're right. The blank stares from Smith in the biggest game of the year are the same ones we see when his team is losing to UCLA. There's no difference. No emotion.
That has to change. And I believe it will change by season's end.