Michigan State football has fallen on hard times — that’s no secret these days. The Spartans have gone bowl-less for three straight seasons, and after a 3-4 start in 2025, that could soon become four.
Jonathan Smith finds himself on the hot seat after losing four straight games. Three of those losses were expected, but what really put him on the hot seat was a 38-13 loss to 1-4 UCLA at home. That was inexplicable, and it felt like the true beginning of the end for Smith.
Tom Izzo has consistently shown support for Smith despite all the hot seat talk and rumors of potential coaching candidates, but there’s one stat that you can’t defend him for: conference record.
Over the past two seasons, Michigan State has had the 10th-worst conference record in the Power Four. Only teams like Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin have been worse in the Big Ten.
Worst records vs. power conference teams since 2024
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 23, 2025
Purdue 0-15
Okla St 1-14
Kentucky 1-12
Miss St 1-12
Florida St 2-13
Maryland 3-12
Wisconsin 3-12
Auburn 3-11
Wake Forest 3-9
Arizona 4-11
Mich St 4-11
UCF 4-11
Arkansas 4-10
Stanford 4-10
UNC 4-9
Michigan State has been the fourth-worst Big Ten team over the past two seasons, and that just goes to show that Smith is not hanging with the teams in his own conference. Sure, a lot of those losses have come against powerhouses like Oregon, Ohio State, and USC, but there are also some head-scratching losses to Rutgers and UCLA.
The program has fallen on hard times, and Mark Dantonio has to be sick looking at this record. He made a bowl game in all but one season in East Lansing, and he never had a stretch of Big Ten play this poor.
Michigan State is currently a Big Ten bottom-dweller.
That hurts to say, but until something changes, that’s going to continue.