Apparently Smith has no answers for Illinois loss
Until Saturday’s 23-20 loss to hapless Illinois, most fans were split on John L. Smith. Some were convinced that he wasn’t ready for the Big Ten from the get go. Others thought he brought a refreshing style of football to East Lansing and that he’d ultimately turn MSU’s program around. After the Illinois game, there seems to be far fewer fans on the JLS bandwagon.
One quote in particular after the game has many fans concerned. It seems eerily familiar to Bobby Williams’, “I don’t know” answer when he was asked if he had lost his team. Smith was asked about when he knew the Spartans were unprepared for the Illini. His response was:
“All week. That’s the way we practiced, what you saw. We can’t get them to go. Apparently I don’t have the answer. Can’t get them to go hard in practice. We’ve got to continue to look for the answer.”
If these coaches don’t know how to motivate these players, many fans believe that it’s time to find a coaching staff who does.
Fans are also genuinely embarrassed by the way Smith slapped himself at the end of his press conference. Even fans who were once firmly in support of Smith seemed to be surprised and shocked by it. The slap was apparently a reference to Charlie Weis’ claim that he was slapped last week in Spartan Stadium. Video of Smith’s slap lead ESPN’s Sportscenter and even made it to the front page of CNN.com. It is CNN’s “Most Popular” video download.
What is apparently clear is that the rest of this season is about Smith’s survival as MSU’s head coach. You have to wonder if he saw his coaching career flash in front of his eyes on Saturday.
Illinois vs. Michigan State postgame roundup:
- LSJ - A new low
- LSJ - MSU-Illinois notebook: Injuries add to insult for Spartans
- LSJ - Illini dominate both sides of ball
- LSJ - QB adds ‘Juice’ to offense
- LSJ - Schulz: Sinking season suddenly one of survival
- ML - Flag-planting attempt an issue again
- ML - Smith’s post-game comments may add more heat after loss to Illini
- DN - Banged-up Spartans lose Stanton, Ringer
- DN - Smith has no answers after Spartans fall hard again
- MSU - Spartans Fall To Illini
