Jonathan Smith is preparing for his final Michigan State game of the 2025 season against Maryland on Saturday night at Ford Field, and there are plenty of storylines to be following.
Fans have been vocal about their desire for J Batt and the program to move on from the second-year head coach, but the buyout is what has made things a little difficult for Michigan State. If the Spartans move on from Smith, it’ll have to pay him over $30 million, but obviously the fans are hoping the multiple billionaire donors get it done.
With Smith still employed heading into the final game of the regular season, however, it feels like he might just return for one final year a-la Maryland, Wisconsin, and Baylor.
There was some hope that he would decide to head back home and take the vacant Oregon State head coaching job after the Beavers decided to move on from Trent Bray, but that dream has officially died with the latest report of the program hiring its next head coach.
That’s right, Oregon State didn’t even consider Smith, they were down to two candidates, and they reportedly hired Alabama offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard on Friday.
BREAKING: Oregon State has hired Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard as its next head coach, ESPN reports. https://t.co/DD07yWoVdO pic.twitter.com/6U14d8YZyr
— On3 (@On3sports) November 28, 2025
Fans were hoping that Smith would return to Oregon State because that would cut the buyout in half, and that would make things much more manageable for Batt and the donors. Unfortunately, they’ll still have to pay full price to get Smith out of East Lansing if that’s the decision. Oregon State didn’t even entertain bringing Smith back, and I guess that’s not all that surprising given the fact that he left the Beavers high-and-dry.
Smith’s record through two seasons at Michigan State is just 8-15, and it could fall to 8-16 on Saturday night if the Spartans can’t overcome a mediocre Maryland team.
The Spartans could also take a page out of the Terrapins’ book and bring Smith back for one more season with more financial backing from the donors, and very few fans want that to happen. The second-year head coach still believes he can turn the program around.
At this point, it feels like fans should prepare for the worst news come Sunday morning when the season is officially over. Maybe a loss to Maryland will change that.