Reporter Takes Subtle Jab At MSU At Lovie Smith’s Introductory Press Conference

Illinois officially announced Love Smith as the school’s next football coach on Monday during a press conference. Smith, who was fired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year, was asked by a reporter about how the Fighting Illini are going to compete with Ohio State and Michigan for Big Ten titles moving forward.

Lovie asked how long until Illinois can compete with Ohio State & Michigan for Big Ten titles. Probably worth noting MSU's won 2 of last 3.

— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) March 7, 2016

As Ben Axelrod notes, Michigan State, who wasn’t mentioned in the reporter’s question, has won two of the last three Big Ten Championships.

Illinois finished 5-7 last season under interim coach Bill Cubit.