EAST LANSING — Some things can only be learned through experience.

Jonathan Smith’s first taste of the Michigan State football - Michigan football rivalry last year provided a baseline for the fervor and intensity that arrives annually. The importance placed on it across the state, within each program, among the fans and alums. And the late-game, on-field confrontation between the two teams.

The Midwestern flavor of rivalry was new to a Southern California native who had previously spent his entire football career on the West Coast.

“I think about the preparation and using more of that fuel – that passion – for our preparation. And then obviously playing with it, within a disciplined approach,” Smith said Monday, Oct. 20. “In football, it comes down to doing your job at a high, high

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