EAST LANSING, Mich. - John L. Smith will not return next year as Michigan State's football coach but will complete the rest of this season, with the Spartans struggling again in the Big Ten.

Michigan State coach John L. Smith calls out to an official during the second quarter of a college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan State has called a news conference to discuss the football team's coaching situation, associate athletic director John Lewandowski said Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. The news conference was to feature school President Lou Anna Simon, Lewandowski said. The Spartans, under coach Smith, are coming off a 46-21 loss at Indiana and are 4-5 this season and 1-4 in the Big Ten. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Smith is in the fourth year of a six-year contract that pays him about $1.5 million annually.

"The performance on the field has not lived up to what we hoped it would be," athletic director Ron Mason said during a new conference Wednesday. "It comes time to make a change, and that's where we're at."

Just two weeks ago, the Spartans pulled off the greatest comeback in Division I-A history by rallying from 35 points down to beat Northwestern 41-38. But typical of Michigan State's inconsistency under Smith, the Spartans (4-5) lost 46-21 at Indiana last Saturday to fall to 1-4 in the Big Ten.

Smith has been under pressure at Michigan State. School officials gave him a vote of confidence after last season's losing campaign, but were looking for better results in 2006.

Smith did not immediately return message.

Smith is 22-23 record in four seasons at Michigan State. He led the Spartans to the Alamo Bowl in his first season, but the team did not qualify for a bowl in 2004 or 2005.

Michigan State was 5-3 in the Big Ten his first season, then went 4-4 in 2004 and 2-6 in 2005.

The decision comes nearly four years to the day after Michigan State fired Bobby Williams with three games left in a season that was disappointing on and off the field.

Smith has a 132-83 career record in 18 seasons as a college head coach.

He was hired at Michigan State after having solid success at Louisville, where he went 41-21 and made five consecutive bowl trips from 1998-2002.

Smith, who also coached at Utah State and Idaho, took over a Michigan State program that has rarely contended for a Big Ten championship since the late 1960s. The Spartans last went to the Rose Bowl after the 1987 season and haven't won a share of the Big Ten title since finishing in a four-way tie in 1990.

This season, the Spartans started with three straight wins and led Notre Dame by 16 points in the fourth quarter. But Michigan State squandered the lead, lost 40-37, and hasn't been the same since.