Michigan State's Jonathan Smith knows Michigan State's performance against UCLA was unacceptable
Jonathan Smith addresses Michigan State's tough loss against UCLA today.
Michigan State received its third-straight loss at the hands of UCLA on homecoming weekend in East Lansing. The Spartans fell to the Bruins by a final score of 38-13 on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans started the game off hot, forcing a three-and-out on the defensive side, then coming back and scoring a touchdown on the offense's first possession. However, it was all UCLA after that.
MSU head coach Jonathan Smith addressed many of the issues in the postgame press conference, but ultimately summed it up by saying that it was not good enough on ether side of the ball and special teams
“Starting with myself, you think about this staff, we’re responsible (for) preparing these guys through the week," Smith said after the loss. "They (the Bruins) come out and execute and play with great energy, and we didn’t have it today.”
By the end of the first half, UCLA created a lead big enough to evoke boos from Spartan fans as the teams went into the locker room. The score was 24-7 at halftime, and some fans already decided it was time to leave. Smith embraced it and enjoys the passion from the fan base at Spartan Stadium.
“I like playing at a place and being a part of a program that people genuinely care, have some energy and passion behind it,” Smith said when asked about the boos. “And that’s a two-way street when ... you’re at a place that’s a high amount of care factor and passion with it. So, if you’re asking for that, you’re going to get it on both ends.”
The past two games, quarterback Aidan Chiles has finished with less than 100 passing yards and under 10 completions for the game, however, he did not play a complete game. With that said — compared to MSU’s first four games where it was apparent Chiles was taking steps forward in his play— it has been quite the step down in consistency and effectiveness from the junior, and from the offense as a whole.
“I think we missed a couple open throws early,” Smith said when discussing MSU's passing game. “Anticipating that, and then when you miss early you feel like you want to get in a rhythm. I think passing is a lot about rhythm and we have failed to get into one in the passing game the last couple weeks.”
