PHOTO: Jonathan Smith and Northwestern’s new quarterback, Aiden Chiles.

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Thomas Shanahan | @Thomas-Shanahan-23

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By TOM SHANAHAN

Northwestern quarterback Aiden Chiles’ successful transfer to another Big Ten school might say more about Jonathan Smith’s failure to protect him with an offensive line at Michigan State than Chiles developing under Chip Kelly as his new offensive coordinator in Evanston.

And now — for the third time this season and second straight week — a former Michigan State quarterback faces his old team when Chiles leads No. 25-ranked Northwestern (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) against Michigan State (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) at noon Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

Chiles put in the work at MSU, and it looked like he might have turned a corner with last year’s Boston College victory to improve to 2-0 and on the way to 3-0 after beating Youngstown State. This was my story from last year noting his diligence to become a field general: Mom, teacher, principal and the education of a quarterback – Tom Shanahan Report

But it turned out Boston College was a bad team that finished 2-10. The sacks continued — 51 in all — until Chiles lost his confidence.

I remember after the Nebraska game — when Ashton Lepo blocked at right tackle like a matador — Smith said in the post-game interview he didn’t see O-line problems standing out. But after watching film on Monday and meeting with the media, Smith admitted problems. Lepo lost his job.

Now Lepo is a starter at No. 18-ranked Oklahoma State. He must have lost his confidence, too, under Smith’s offensive staff.

Smith dug a deeper hole for new Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald to fill than George Perles inherited in 1983 and Mark Dantonio in 2007. Perles and Dantonio had some NFL talent to build around.

If Smith was still in East Lansing, the Spartans don’t come back in the fourth quarter to beat Toledo. The Eastern Michigan game is a closer score, with former MSU quarterback Noah Kim scoring against the Spartans. And Notre Dame would have routed the Spartans instead of MSU keeping the game competitive.

Michigan State would be 1-5 and might have quit for the second straight homecoming game. That didn’t happen under Fitzgerald despite a 38-37 loss in overtime last week against Illinois with the return of former MSU QB Katin Houser (until his second-half injury).

There’s also this to consider: Without Smith hired as MSU’s coach in 2024, the 2026 Spartans might have a veteran QB with either Houser or Sam Leavitt, although that’s assuming they weren’t offered more NIL money to transfer. Based on the story I wrote on Houser, he enjoyed MSU and was likely to stay more than Leavitt.

Smith getting the job and Chiles trusting him turned out to be bad moves all the way around. Smith’s 10-3 record at Oregon State in 2022 and his 8-4 mark in 2023 were seductive. But it turned out he was a mismatch for Big Ten football and Michigan State’s fanbase.

One final note: By noting the advantage of a veteran QB in 2026, I’m not criticizing Alessio Milivojevic. He’s giving the Spartans all he’s got while learning on the job.

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NOTE: All facts cited in this story were researched by me as part of writing “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans” and “The RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.”

I’ll put my facts on the true pioneers of college football integration versus Bear Bryant fairytales against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.

Click here for my first-place FWAA story on the 1962 Rose Bowl, Segregation and Alabama.

— Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter with two books on college football integration, “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans,” and “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.” They are the most accurate accounts of college football integration in the 1950s and 1960s. They also debunk myths about the 1970 USC-Alabama game. The false narrative co-opted the stories of the true pioneers who stood up to Jim Crow and the KKK.

— Two children’s books also explain Michigan State College Football Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty’s impact on integration through the Underground Railroad and the Hawaiian Pipeline: “DUFFY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD” and “HOW DUFFY PUT HAWAII ON AMERICA’S FOOTBALL MAP.”

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PURCHASE LINKS, non-fiction books

— RAYE OF LIGHT, August Publications or on Amazon.

— THE RIGHT THING TO DO, August Publications or on Amazon.

PURCHASE LINKS, children’s books

— DUFFY’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, Order from Barnes and Noble here and Amazon here. 

— HOW DUFFY PUT HAWAII ON AMERICA’S FOOTBALL MAP, coming soon on Barnes and Noble and Amazon.