Michigan State Football: Breaking down the situation with Jonathan Smith (Video)
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press reporter Chris Solari break down the situation with Michigan State University's Jonathan Smith.
MINNEAPOLIS – Jonathan Smith is making a difference at the quarterback position on the Michigan State football team.
Redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic will get his first career start on Saturday, Nov. 1 as Minnesota attempts to snap a five-game losing streak and seven-game road skid. Kick-off is at 3:30pm (UK time).
Smith said on his pregame radio show that Milivojevic and junior Aidan Chiles were evenly matched in varsity games this week. This is the first time in 20 games in two seasons at MSU that Smith has not started.
“I think all of us know it's not just the quarterback position,” Smith said, adding that he feels Milivojevic “can create a spark” and help the Spartans (3-5, 0-5 Big Ten) score more points. After losing to Michigan 31-20 last Saturday, they have averaged just 15.3 points per game over the past three weeks.
Chiles, a transfer from Oregon State who followed Smith to East Lansing, completed 14 of 28 passes for 130 yards and a fumble against Michigan. In MSU's first three non-conference games, Chiles completed 71.6 percent (58-for-81) of the ball for 656 yards, six touchdowns and one interception under pressure. In the four games since a Sept. 20 loss to USC to open Big Ten play, Chiles has completed 57.4 percent of his passes (58 of 101) for 524 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Milivojevic, who has replaced Chiles in each of the past four games, caught his first pass of the season after a pick-and-six against Western Michigan, in which he went 27-for-36 for 281 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He has played in 58 games this season and has scored in the last four games.
MSU's offensive line didn't help either, allowing 15 sacks in the Big Ten game – 13 for Chiles and two for Milivojevic.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. follow him @chrissolari.
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