Michigan State’s Smith on way out

The up-and-down tenure of John L. Smith at Michigan State is coming to an end.

Smith will finish the season as the Spartans’ head coach, but he won’t be back in 2007.

“What we asked John L. Smith to do when he got here, he has done a lot of it,” Michigan State Athletic Director Ron Mason said Wednesday. “It hasn’t shown up on the field like we wanted.”

The Spartans are 22-23 under Smith.

“If we prepare as hard as hard as we can, and play as hard as we can, hopefully we can be rewarded with a bowl game,” Smith said. “It would be a heck of a going-away party.”

The Spartans play host to Purdue on Saturday, then finish the season at home against Minnesota and on the road at Penn State.

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The NCAA ruled that two former Oklahoma players, including one who transferred to Montana, cannot play this season and will lose a year of eligibility for accepting payment for more work than they performed at a car dealership. Offensive lineman J.D. Quinn, who transferred to Division I-AA Montana, must pay $8,137 to the charity of his choice. Quarterback Rhett Bomar, who transferred to Sam Houston State, must pay $7,407.