Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, left, shakes hands with head coach Sherrone Moore after 24-17 loss at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Report: MSU's Jonathan Smith Ranked Above Rival Coach

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated May 6, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Jonathan Smith has yet to prove he can turn things around at Michigan State, but then again, he's only been at the helm for one season and wasn't given much to build off of when he came on board.

Smith found himself in a conference that has been on the rise, and that was very much evident last season when five Big Ten teams made the College Football Playoff, making up nearly half of the field.

Not to mention, the last two NCAA champions reside in the Midwest, Michigan State's primary recruiting territory.

Even so, USA Today's Paul Myerberg's rankings of Big Ten coaches from last week had Smith ranked above Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, who led the Wolverines to an 8-5 record, including a win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and served as interim head coach for four games in Michigan's title-winning season the year before.

Smith came in at No. 12 on Myerberg's rankings.

"Smith will need a little time to get Michigan State back into the top third of the Big Ten," Myerberg wrote. "As he showed during his previous run at Oregon State, he’s well-equipped to take on this project.

"The Beavers posted a 7-23 record in the three years before he was hired before going 9-24 in his own first three seasons. But Smith went 25-13 from 2021-23, with the 2022 squad finishing No. 17 in the Coaches Poll."

Myerberg had Moore ranked No. 14.

"The jury is still out on Moore after an up-and-down debut season that ended with a flourish: Michigan closed with another win against Ohio State and then beat Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl," Myerberg wrote.

"That’s a very positive sign for 2025 and beyond. He’s recruited well and has already taken the necessary steps to beef up last year’s woeful offense, so Moore could climb these rankings by this team next year."

Based on his reasoning, it's a little surprising Myerberg put Moore where he did. Moore did have to take over a national title team that had lost some key pieces, and despite a shaky start, his Wolverines finished strong with wins over the eventual national champion, Ohio State, and an 11th-ranked Alabama team.

Spartan fans may not like to hear it, but these are just the facts. Myerberg's ranking of Smith may be more so based on his track record at Oregon State, but frankly, that doesn't mean much now, especially when the Big Ten is a whole different ball game.