Oregon trolls Oregon State, Jonathan Smith by playing Michigan State game during warmups

In a rivalry matchup, teams will go to great lengths to needle and pester their nemesis. And Oregon tried out a new bit on Friday ahead of a rivalry showdown with Oregon State.

With Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith reportedly the leading candidate to fill the vacancy at Michigan State, the Ducks played the first half of the MSU-Penn State game, which kicked off an hour before the Civil War kicked off, on the Autzen Stadium videoboard. And if the Ducks weren’t trying to point out that their rival might lose its alumni head coach, they hadn’t picked the most exciting game to watch.

Penn State took a 13-0 lead over the Spartans into the half, mostly on the back of a staunch defensive effort.

Autzen is showing the Michigan State game pic.twitter.com/sVbauxBIGc

— Cameron Derby (Blue Check) (@CamDerbyTV) November 25, 2023

However, the game was apparently only shown on the video board for around five minutes.

Smith emerged as MSU’s top candidate for the job this week

Smith is apparently the top candidate in play for Michigan State in the Spartans’ ongoing search for a new head football coach, according to Nicole Auerbach. Michigan State fired head coach Mel Tucker amid controversy earlier this season.

The Spartans reportedly hope to move quickly with the hire, putting someone in place prior to the flurry of transfer activity that will begin when the transfer portal window opens in December. In that regard, Auerbach added that the Spartans hope to have something sorted out as soon as this weekend, although nothing is finalized.

“Nothing is finalized yet, but the search is in its final stages and should be done by the end of this weekend,” Auerbach said on social media.

Smith, 44, played quarterback at Oregon State from 1998-2001. He’s been highly successful leading his alma mater as the head coach since 2018. Smith has a 34-34 career record entering a matchup with Oregon on Friday night, but has the Beavers at 25-12 in the last three seasons, including this one, and guided his squad to a 10-3 mark in 2022.

Oregon State has been intent on keeping Smith

With the great job Jonathan Smith has done at Oregon State, his name is being linked to other jobs. Despite being an alumnus of the school, the Beavers’ future is in limbo due to not being affiliated with a conference moving forward. At the very least, Smith’s agent is out there presenting him with opportunities.

On Wednesday, Oregon State AD Scott Barnes released a statement regarding Smith potentially leaving, saying the current focus is giving the head coach a new contract. Barnes wants to show there is a commitment to the entire athletic department in Corvallis, not just the football program.

“Coach Smith and I have had ongoing conversations for more than a month regarding his future at Oregon State and our path forward for football specifically and our athletic department generally,” Barnes said. “He has embraced our short and long term plans. My No. 1 priority is providing him with a new contract and guaranteed compensation that will help continue the success of the football program that has benefitted Oregon State University and Beavers’ Athletics.

“Coach Smith and I have also discussed our commitment to extending assistant coaches’ contracts and increasing the salary pool for his staff to retain the continuity of what they have all built together for Beaver Nation.”