Jonathan Smith explains if his past influences his approach to Oregon trip with Michigan State

Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith has coached 22 years in the collegiate ranks. He’s faced Oregon 13 times, including every year from 2014-23 while he was on staff at Washington and then leading Oregon State.

Oregon State is Smith’s alma mater. He played quarterback for the Beavers from 1998-2001, taking part in an additional four rounds of the in-state rivalry with the Ducks.

Plus, six members of Smith’s Spartans staff coached for him at Oregon State. So they, too, are well acquainted with Oregon, and what it will be like when Michigan State plays the Ducks Friday night in Autzen Stadium out in Eugene.

“We know through experience how tough it is, that atmosphere and where we’re playing at,” Smith said earlier this week. “We’re just going to try to prep our guys for a tough road environment.”

Smith is 2-4 against Oregon as a head coach, including 1-1 against Lanning. The Beavers bested the Ducks, 38-34, in 2022, Lanning’s first year running things at Oregon. Last year, Lanning and Co. avenged that defeat, 31-7, in what was Smith’s final game coaching Oregon State.

Smith is used to this, facing Oregon but also detaching the emotion that comes with the opponent.

“You get locked in on the game,” Smith said. “It’s not just myself, we’ve got some other guys with connections to the place and all that. And once it’s kicked off, it’s a college football game that you emotionally approach the same.”

On one hand, if there’s a good time for a short week, it’s this one, considering how much Smith and his staff already know about Oregon. On the other hand, even though Michigan State ushered in 61 new players this offseason, Lanning and his group has an understanding of what Smith likes to do, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

“I think it’s a two-way street,” Smith said. “You look at it that way. Obviously, their scheme’s — the last couple of years — been consistent, and so we’ve studied and game planned against [them], and that’s a two-way street. Same with us offensively, they’ve been able to kind of know — and again, the offenses aren’t exactly the same year in and year out, right? They’re always developing. But I don’t know if there’s one side that gets an advantage with it.”

Dan Lanning weighs impact of familiarity with Jonathan Smith, Aidan Chiles on Oregon-Michigan State game

Not only was Smith coaching Oregon State last year, but that’s where Michigan State starting quarterback Aidan Chiles was developing.

They’re now both at the forefront of a rebuilding Spartans program Oregon will welcome in Friday night. While Smith called the familiarity he has with Lanning and the Ducks a “two-way street,” Lanning similarly described his understanding of Smith and a Beaver-influenced Michigan State staff as a “give and take.”

“Yeah, I think it probably gives a benefit to both teams,” Lanning said Friday afternoon on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

“Jonathan runs an unbelievable program. He’s done a really good job there. He continues to be aggressive and gives you pictures that are different from some other teams you’re going to see. But then he has that same thing that he’s going to see with us. So there’s a little bit of give and take where you can prepare for each other. But he’s got a new team, and we have a different team here as well.”

Smith posted a 25-13 record, including a 16-11 mark in Pac-12 play, over his final three seasons at Oregon State. That stretch included a 38-34 win over Lanning’s Ducks in 2022.

Chiles, however, didn’t start a game in his lone season at Oregon State. He arrived as the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 12 quarterback in the 2023 class and sat behind then-Beavers starter DJ Uiagalalei. That said, Chiles completed 24-of-35 passes with four touchdowns and no picks, plus recorded three rushing scores, in nine games of action as a true freshman.

He followed Smith to Michigan State, where he became QB1 and has experienced a roller coaster start to his sophomore campaign. The Spartans are 3-2 with a Big Ten road win over Maryland under their belt. But Chiles has already thrown eight interceptions, as opposed to just five touchdowns, while completing only 56.3% of his passes. He’s been up and down, at times flashing great passing ability downfield, not to mention his three additional rushing touchdowns so far in 2024.

“Well, he’s a talented player, and he probably throws the ball down the field as well as anybody right now in college football,” Lanning said Friday, when discussing Chiles on “SportsCenter.”

“And he’s really elusive with his feet. What we have to do is try to be advantageous when the ball’s in the air, take advantage of some of those opportunities when they do throw it and try to go attack it.”