Tag: Oregon State

Michigan State makes epic news dump during Michigan-Ohio State

Michigan State knows who their next head coach will be…

It has been no secret that Michigan State has been interested in potentially hiring Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith in recent weeks.

Friday night saw Oregon State’s regular season come to an end as the Beavers were blown out by in-state rival Oregon in what will be the final meeting between teams for the forseeable future.  Not even 24 hours later the Beavers have now lost their head coach.

Michigan State made the news official on Saturday.

The news comes right in the middle of the second quarter of No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Michigan in perhaps the most anticipated regular season game of the entire season.

Notre Dame is scheduled to play their former annual rival Michigan State again in both 2026 and 2027 – games that seemingly certainly will be coached by Smith.

Smith, a former Oregon State quarterback, led the Beavers to an 8-4 record in 2023.

Related – Future Notre Dame football schedules and opponents

Be sure to follow Spartans Wire for all of the happenings with this hiring.

Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith confirmed as the next Michigan State football head coach

Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith confirmed as the next Michigan State football head coach

The news was coming out rapidly all morning, and now it’s official: Michigan State football will in fact be bringing in Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith to take over the Spartans’ program moving forward.

Smith, the 2022 PAC-12 Coach of the Year, quickly helped turnaround the Oregon State program and will now be tasked with doing the same in East Lansing.

The news was reported by Nick Daschel of The Oregonian along with 247Sports and then confirmed by the Michigan State football Twitter/X account.

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Report: Michigan State football, Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith at ‘the five-yard line’ in regards to deal

Report: Michigan State , Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith deal at ‘the five-yard line’

It seems that the velocity keeps increasing in terms of a deal between Michigan State football and Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith.

It was reported last night by Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic that the Spartans had identified the 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year as their top target to be their next head coach, and now, on Saturday morning, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that the deal is at ‘the five-yard line.’

According to Rittenberg, some additional meetings will still need to take place between the two parties later today, but at this point, it seems like Smith will become the next coach at MSU.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith emerges as top head coaching choice for Michigan State

This would be a huge move for the Spartans heading into 2024.

Spartans Wire has picked up on reporting from Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic which indicates that Oregon State head football coach Jonathan Smith is the top target for Michigan State’s open head coaching job.

Here’s more from the story at Spartans Wire:

“According to Auerbach, who shared the report on national television before the Spartans’ match-up against Penn State, the Spartans have identified Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith as their leading candidate for the job.”

If Michigan State does get Smith, it would be viewed as a very strong hire by the Spartans, who would get a coach known for cultivating physical and tough line play, a necessity in the Big Ten. Smith would therefore go up against Lincoln Riley and USC, not to mention Oregon, Washington, and UCLA, the other Pac-12 schools moving to the Big Ten next year.

Reactions are pouring in as a response to the possibility that Michigan State could land Oregon State’s head coach:

Oregon aired Michigan State game at Autzen Stadium after report of Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith to Spartans

If this was a troll job, it was elite.

Right before Oregon hosted Oregon State, there was huge news involving Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith and his future with his team.

According to Nicole Auerbach, Oregon State’s Smith emerged as the “top target” for the head coaching vacancy at Michigan State. Auerbach added that “nothing is finalized yet” but that it is in its final stages and could end by the end of this weekend.

Bet For The Win’s Blake Schuster recently mentioned Smith as one of the seven college football coaches who are prime candidates to be poached by another program this offseason. Led by Smith, named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year last season, Oregon State is currently ranked No. 16 overall.

It appears Michigan State could have the most interest in his services.

Shortly after Auerbach’s report, meanwhile, the Oregon folks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. did a wonderful job of addressing the elephant in the room.

Potentially as a troll or perhaps just because some fans may want to watch two future Big Ten rivals, the Ducks showed Michigan State vs. Penn State on the Jumbotron.

We don’t know whether or not this was a troll job by Oregon.

But either way, we can imagine that the Oregon State fans and even potentially the players and staff are very aware of the Michigan State rumblings.

So to show the game on the Jumbotron likely did little to quiet those conversations.

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Report: Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith is top target for Michigan State football job

Report: Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith is top target for Michigan State football job

According to Nicole Auberbach of The Athletic, Michigan State football is zeroing in on their top target for their head coaching vacancy.

According to Auerbach, who shared the report on national television before the Spartans’ match-up against Penn State, the Spartans have identified Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith as their leading candidate for the job.

While nothing is final yet, and Smith still has another job to do tonight against Oregon, it seems like things are trending towards an announcement in the coming days.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith responds to Michigan State head coaching rumors

Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith gave an honest answer when asked if he was exploring coaching opportunities at MSU and other schools

Following the loss of Mel Tucker, Michigan State football is in the midst of a coaching search that has been drawing a lot of rumor and speculation around the country. Michigan State is a very attractive job right now for a number of reasons and they have been drawing the interest of some of the top coaching candidates around the country.

One of the names where it has been reported that there is some mutual interest between MSU and the coach is with Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith.

The Beavers are currently 8-3, and their three losses all came down to three points or less against Arizona, Washington, and Washington State.

However, the Pac-12 is dissolving, and Oregon State is looking like they will have to join a conference like the Mountain West, so this could be the perfect time for someone like Jonathan Smith to use his success to land a job at an historic Big Ten program, and it looks like he is definitely interested in making that move.

This week, Smith gave a very honest answer when asked by Portland area radio host and PAC-12 columnist John Canzano if he was exploring opportunities at other schools like Michigan State:

READ: SpartansWire Michigan State Head Coaching search Power Rankings

‘I’m not trying to be sarcastic here. I’ve got an agent that’s got a job,” Smith said. “He best be finding out what is out there and people calling. That’s how that works. I can tell you from his side, he best be working just because I’m paying him so much. They get a percentage and I’m making a couple million bucks. I’m not trying to be sarcastic. Any coach, they’re aware of what’s potentially out there if their agent is doing their job. I’m not trying to dodge the question. I’m trying to be truthful.’

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.

Oregon State and Washington State win court ruling, setting up more Pac-12 chaos

This is absolutely wild, but it’s par for the course in the Pac-12. The death of a conference could not be more dramatic.

The 2-Pac just won. The Pac-10 just lost. The Pac-12’s death — and how that will be resolved — continues to be one of the strangest dramas we have ever seen in college sports.

Jon Wilner of the Wilner Hotline offered this basic summary of what happened and what it means:

“After a two-and-a-half-hour hearing, Whitman County (Wash.) Superior Court Judge Gary Libey granted the schools’ request for a preliminary injunction that confirms they are the only remaining voting members of the shattered conference.

“The Pac-12 ‘will be governed by the two universities that have not submitted their notices of intent to withdraw,’ Libey said.

“However, Libey stayed his ruling until the end of the week as the defendant, Washington (acting on behalf of all 10 departing members), seeks an appeal from the Washington Supreme Court in Olympia.

“But the ruling Tuesday evening begins to clear the way for WSU and OSU to control more than $400 million in revenue for the current fiscal year and whatever long-term assets the conference maintains following the departure of 10 schools next summer.”

Oregon State and Washington State are in position to potentially recover a lot of lost revenue, but the court battles are far from over.

Reactions came in fast and furious, as you will see below:

Notre Dame football makes another move up the latest US LBM Coaches Poll

The Irish move up again

When you have a statement win like [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] had against Pittsburgh, it typically reflects in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

That’s exactly what happened after Week 9’s action, the Irish benefitting from teams ahead of them ([autotag]Oregon State[/autotag], and [autotag]Utah[/autotag]) losing on Saturday. No surprise in college football, every weekend seems to bring at least a few upsets.

Although the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] is a long-shot, making a New Year’s Six bowl game is still within the realm of possibilities, the chances seem to be increasing with every win Notre Dame racks up.

Find out below where the Irish landed on the most recent update of the coaches poll below.

New revelations should help Washington State, Oregon State in Pac-12 litigation

Wazzu and Oregon State believe they should have control of #Pac12 assets. New developments appear to bolster their case.

Washington State and Oregon State received what appears to be very good news for the two schools in their legal fight against the Pac-12 Conference.

Without going too deep into the weeds, WSU and OSU — the so-called “Pac-2” — filed a lawsuit against the Pac-12. The purpose of the lawsuit is to gain control of the Pac-12’s assets, given that the other 10 members — by leaving the conference for other conferences — have relinquished the right to sit on the board and thereby have any rights to those assets.

Relinquishing their spots on the board — Washington State and Oregon State have argued — cuts off the 10 departing schools from having any say in conference matters. It prevents them from being able to claim any portion of Pac-12 revenues attached to bowl game and NCAA Tournament distributions, among many other things.

The big news is that Washington State and Oregon State just gained a much stronger legal position due to a sworn statement from Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, unearthed by Jon Wilner of the Wilner Hotline.

“Weeks before the Pac-12’s collapse, Kliavkoff issued a sworn statement to San Francisco Superior Court in which he stated that UCLA and USC had, in fact, already relinquished their board positions after announcing they would be joining the Big Ten,” Wilner wrote.

That statement by Kliavkoff was a declaration to the court filed on July 12. The key portion of the statement is as follows:

“The University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California, are no longer among the member institutions represented on the Board of Directors.”

In September of this year (one month ago), Kliavkoff attempted to convene all of the current Pac-12 presidents and chancellors. That’s when Washington State and Oregon State stepped in and filed their lawsuit, claiming that only they had any say in conference business and any control over conference assets. The point WSU and OSU were making: Leaving for another conference created an automatic trigger which removed those schools from the Pac-12 board. Leaving was tantamount to a declaration of departure from the conference.

This sworn statement from Kliavkoff appears to affirm the legal argument Washington State and Oregon State were making all along.

A hearing on this matter is scheduled in Whitman County (Washington) Court for November 14.

If Wazzu and OSU win in court, the schools would presumably gain control of Pac-12 assets and could invite a large number of Mountain West schools into a reconstituted Pac-12 Conference. The key point is that WSU and OSU would be able to retain Pac-12 New Year’s Six bowl and NCAA Tournament distributions, shared with the new members of the Pac-12 Conference. At least, that would be the likely plan for the Cougars and Beavers.

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