Michigan State football: Oregon State fans react to Jonathan Smith leaving

Some Oregon State fans had bad things to say about Jonathan Smith leaving for Michigan State football. Others praised him.

We’ve learned a lot since Michigan State football hired former Oregon State head coach, Jonathan Smith, on Saturday. One of those things being the turmoil going on within the Oregon State fanbase. I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to some of the fans in Corvallis because they’re victims of conference realignment. Oregon State and Washington State are the only two schools left from the old Pac-12 and it seems like joining the Mountain West is the likely next step.

To summarize: Their successful, former player head coach left and they are no longer in a conference.

Tough pill to swallow.

I’ll ignore some of the more slanderous takes from that fanbase. Fans don’t know everything but the range of emotions we all go through during games is commonplace across fanbases. That said, I wanted to comment on one of the more ‘level-headed’ takes from the Beaver’s fanbase:

Michigan State… you got a good football coach.

– He’s easy to root for & you’ll like him.

– He’ll win some big games.

– He’ll go for it on fourth down, (including a few times he shouldn’t).

– He’ll make it fun again for fans.

– His offense reminds of the 49ers.

– He’s…

— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) November 27, 2023

Let’s break this down. Upgrade or downgrade? Spoiler alert: they’re all upgrades.

• He’s easy to root for & you’ll like him.
  • Upgrade
    • From what I gather, Mel Tucker wasn’t totally well-liked towards the end of his tenure. Seems like post-Peach Bowl Tucker was a lot different… Benjamins change people.
• He’ll win some big games.
  • Upgrade
    • As of this moment in time, I would accept simply winning any game. Going 9-15 the last two seasons has been a grind.
• He’ll go for it on fourth down, (including a few times he shouldn’t).
  • Upgrade
    • Glad we are adding another football coach to the state who isn’t afraid to put his nuts on the line and go for it. As long as he’s smart about it.
• He’ll make it fun again for fans.
  • Neutral?
    • Outside of winning games, I’m not sure how a head coach can make things fun for fans. If Smith keeps us competitive and in contention each year, the fans will have fun.
• His offense reminds me of the 49ers.
  • Upgrade
    • You’re telling me we have a Shanahan-like coach? I will take it every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
      • Brennan Parachek = George Kittle
      • Jaron Glover = Brandon Ayuk
      • Stanton Ramil = Trent Williams
      • Tyrell Henry = Deebo Samuel
      • Jordan Hall = Fred Warner
      • Jalen Thompson = Nick Bosa
      • Zion Young = Chase Young
• He’s loyal… sometimes to a fault.
  • I don’t 100 percent agree with this but Smith was dealt a bad hand. He had to leave his alma mater if he wanted to stay relevant.
• His teams always improve and often peak late in the season.
  • Upgrade
    • Seeing any sort of improvement at any point in the season is something we have not seen in the last five years. Big upgrade.
• Tight ends will thrive.
  • Upgrade
    • Where have I seen this before?
• He won’t embarrass you.
  • Major upgrade
    • Don’t think I have to explain this one

Beaver fans have every right to be mad. The situation merits a complete meltdown. That said, ‘off color’ takes about serious issues like sexual assault are unacceptable.

John Conzano’s tweet does a great job summarizing the good things I’m seeing from the OSU fanbase in my opinion. I’m so excited for the ‘MilkMan’ to be our new head coach.

Yours truly,
MilkMan