No. 6 Oregon welcomes old friend Jonathan Smith, Michigan State to Eugene
Sixth-ranked Oregon is new to the Big Ten, although the Ducks are familiar with struggling Michigan State.
The Spartans take on a second consecutive top 10 team in a trek to Eugene, Ore., to challenge the Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) on Friday night.
Oregon put together its most complete game of the season Saturday in beating UCLA 34-13. The Spartans (3-2, 1-1) attempt to bounce back from a 31-point loss to Ohio State under the watch of former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith.
Smith does know the feeling of beating the highly ranked Ducks. Most recently he orchestrated the upset in 2022 when he was Pac-12 Coach of the Year with the Beavers and bagged a 38-34 win over then-No. 10 Oregon in the game referred to in the state as the Civil War.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning said he sees some similarities in the Spartans and past Smith-coached teams.
“Yeah, there’s definitely some similar pieces,” Lanning said. “I think they always do a good job of challenging you in the run game, creating different pictures than maybe what you see across college football. They always do a great job of that. Defensively, a little bit different than what they were last year at Oregon State, but still really, really sound and do some things that challenge you as well.”
Oregon is chasing its first Big Ten home win and plays at Autzen Stadium for the first time since Sept. 7. The Ducks opened as a 23.5-point favorite and are 42-3 at home since 2017.
“Quick turnaround, but guys are attacking it really well,” Lanning said, noting Oregon is 6-0 in Friday night games. “Certainly excited to get back in front of our fans. Been a while since we’ve been here, so getting in front of Autzen (Stadium fans) will be quite the challenge and a good opportunity for us to see where we’ve improved and continue to get better.”
Lanning is especially pleased with a linebacker corps instrumental in holding UCLA without an offensive touchdown and limiting the Bruins to 172 yards of total offense.
“A lot of credit goes to those guys and the work that they put in,” Lanning said. “And then certainly a ton of credit goes to coach (Brian) Michalowski, and the job he’s done in developing those guys and getting them ready. Our scheme isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for linebackers, so having a guy that can coach them really well is very important, and Brian’s done a great job with those guys. But that’s also one of the hardest-working groups on our team. One of the most accountable groups on our team. They hold themselves to a higher standard as well.”
The Spartans are coming off a 38-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State and will be looking to win their first regular-season, non-bowl game on the West Coast since beating Cal 19-0 in October 1957.
Michigan State has struggled offensively through its first five games. The rushing offense is ranked 97th nationally with an average of 132.4 yards per game and the scoring offense is 104th at 21.8 points per game. The Spartans have been plagued with turnovers, tied for the third most with 13 in five games.
Smith, who took over the Spartans last November after six seasons at Oregon State, called Friday’s game “a big-time challenge.” He has taken notice of Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel and the offense.
“When you look at Oregon, explosive offensively,” Smith said. “Quarterback’s a good player, accurate with the ball and might be leading the country in completion percentage. And they’ve got some athletes that he’s throwing it to.
“Flip it around, and they’ve got a solid defense. I look at those guys and they just continue to improve. From game one to game four, those guys have continued to improve and played real, real well.”
Smith said he’s not going to let his return to Oregon affect his approach to Friday’s game.
“Once the thing’s kicked off, your approach as a coach is preparing the guys,” Smith said. “You get locked in on the game. And it’s not just myself, we have some other guys with connections to the place and all that. Once it’s kicked off, it’s a college football game. You kind of emotionally approach it the same.”
Oregon and Michigan State last met in the 2018 Red Box Bowl. The Ducks won 7-6 on Justin Herbert’s fourth-quarter TD pass to Dillon Mitchell.
–Field Level Media
