Kirk Cousins goes undetected by national quarterback award early warning systems

by KJ@theonlycolors on Jul 14, 2010 9:19 PM CDT in Michigan State Spartans Football

UPDATE: Blogging research FAIL. SpartyMC points out that only seniors are eligible for the Unitas Award, so we can take the OUTRAGE level down a couple notches. Cousins' absence from the O'Brien list is still puzzling, though. As LVS notes, his less-than-stellar season-ending performances against PSU and Texas Tech on national TV may be a factor.

The preseason watch lists for the two major college football quarterback awards--the Davey O'Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award--have been released, and the Big Ten is well represented on both lists. Terrelle Pryor, Ricky Stanzi, and Scott Tolzien are on the O'Brien list. Stanzi, Tolzien, and Ben Chappell are on the Unitas list.

Conspicuous by his absence from both lists, to MSU fans at least, is Kirk Cousins. That's particularly true when you look at the numbers for returning Big Ten starting quarterbacks:

Name	Att	Comp	Pct.	Yards	Yds/Att	Int	TD	Rating
Ben Chappell	428	268	62.6	2,942	6.9	15	17	126.46
Scott Tolzien	328	211	64.3	2,705	8.2	11	16	142.99
Kirk Cousins	328	198	60.4	2,680	8.2	9	19	142.64
Adam Weber	367	191	52.0	2,582	7.0	15	13	114.65
Ricky Stanzi	304	171	56.3	2,417	8.0	15	17	131.62
Terrelle Pryor	294	166	56.5	2,087	7.1	11	18	128.81
Tate Forcier	281	165	58.7	2,050	7.3	10	13	128.15

Despite giving up snaps to Keith Nichol for much of the season and missing a full game due to injury, Cousins ranks third among returning quarterbacks in total passing yards (note that Stanzi would rank higher if not for missing two and a half games to injury). In terms of rate statistics, Cousins ranks first in TD-interception ratio, is tied for first in yards per attempt, and ranks just behind Tolzien in passer rating.

You can chalk Pryor's appearance on the O'Brien list to to a combination of Ohio State being a national championship contender and his spectacular running ability (779 rushing yards). Stanzi also plays for a team coming off a BCS game appearance and has a reputation for initating big plays (albeit many of them have been big plays for opposing defensive backs). But Tolzien is much more of a game manager (attempting the same number of passes as Cousins despite being the full-time starter for the full season), and Chappell's yardage numbers were mainly a function of Indiana playing from behind most of the season. I have to believe that most neutral observers of Big Ten football would agree that Cousins is a solid bet to be the top performing passer in the league this season.

On a national basis, Cousins has the following rankings among returning FBS quarterbacks:

25th in passing yards.
10th in yards/attempt
18th in TD passes
11th in passer rating

I can't comment on the full national watch lists in an informed manner (except to say that the names "Dwight Dasher" and "Tom Savage" sound made up), but you'd think those statistical rankings would be enough to make a list of the top 21 (Unitas) or 30 (O'Brien) quarterbacks in the country.

Needless to say, we are OUTRAGED! Well, not really. Preseason watch lists exist solely to draw attention to the existence of the awards for which the lists are issued; appearing on the watch list isn't even a requirement to win the award. If Cousins performs as well as we expect him to, with the starter's job clearly his going into the first game and a talented and deep group of receivers to throw to, he'll get more than enough attention over the course of the season. Given the way seasons in which MSU players have been hyped early for national awards (Charles Rogers in 2002, Drew Stanton 2006), it's probably better to keep the focus on team goals, anyway.

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Comments

This is probably going to turn into a whole post sometime in August.

But I think it has everything to do with the way he ended the season. His games against Penn State and Texas Tech were probably his two worst of the season. I don’t think the bowl game was his fault — I truly think if we had Dell and Cunningham, that game ends differently — but his second half in that game was truly bad. So, two nationally-televised games, he did a bit of a faceplant. C’est la vie, hope he uses it as motivation, etc., but if he had done better to close the season out, he wouldn’t be flying under the radar right now.

That said, I think Cousins is going to have a gigantic season, so long as the offensive line can allow him more than a second and a half to throw the ball.

PP-TPW.
The Only Colors

by LVS on Jul 14, 2010 10:00 PM CDT reply actions

I think Cousins

is the best QB in the Big Ten. The Rivalry Esq has been doing a series on returning Big Ten QBs and rated Cousins the QB with the best mechanics.

Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

by Seer on Jul 14, 2010 11:35 PM CDT reply actions

I expect a big year from Cousins

He really played well overall last year. Especially when you consider it was his first year starting, we had a sub par running game, and the fact that Dantonio continued to shuffle Nichol in for some series through out the year.

Now that he’s clearly the number 1 and with the skill position talent around him, he should put up some big numbers. If the O-line steps up and improves our running game then watch out.

by Stones1981 on Jul 15, 2010 7:27 AM CDT reply actions

who cares!

lets just win about 10 games or more. i’m sure cousins and spartan fans would enjoy that much more than any individual award.

by vermurle on Jul 15, 2010 8:06 AM CDT reply actions

In my time...

As a college athlete, winning x-amount of games is a separate accomplishment from being recognized for your individual ability and how that helps your team. Not to be egotistical, but anyone who says that winning those awards isn’t a big deal is a liar.

I enjoyed winning games and tournament games, but I enjoyed all-conference selections and National recognition just as much.

by SpartyOn37 on Jul 15, 2010 8:23 AM CDT up reply actions

Johnny Unitas Award

The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award goes to the nations top senior quarterback. Believe me, if Ben Chappell made the list, Cousins would have as well if he met the criteria of being a senior. I am thrilled to have Cousins on board for 2 more years of eligibility so I’m not too upset that he cannot be considered.

by SpartyMC on Jul 15, 2010 10:16 AM CDT reply actions

Blogging resarch FAIL

Thanks. I’ve included an update to the post above.

Fight for The Only Colors: Green and White!

by KJ@theonlycolors on Jul 15, 2010 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Thanks for the stated correction

Rittenberg made the same mistake regarding Terrelle Pryor’s “omission” in his original post on this topic, a reference which has now mysteriously disappeared.

by Con-T on Jul 15, 2010 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions

Nick Foles is on the list...

…and he used to be on the team.

That counts, right?

by Spartan-Football on Jul 15, 2010 1:12 PM CDT reply actions

Under the radar

LVS is right, TV/media want no part of a reality these days that doesn’t promote audience frenzy and hype, which then drives advertising dollars. It also helps address the 9-second attention span challenge.

Cousins looked a bit less mature play-maker-wise last year than, e.g., Stanzi on the national stage. The Iowa QB looked crappy last year versus MSU till the last drive…unfortunately for us the set of downs the media will focus on with the drama and the heroics of Iowa’s last-second win.

If Cousins, who is steadier than the others already, can also grab some of those last-minute hero-worship moments versus ND, IA, PSU,, WI, and MI this year, THEN he becomes marketable for such lists. Whether the players realize it or not, the lists’ management teams are marketing mechanisms for themselves and absolutely require drama/heroics on a big stage/national TV. MSU has not had the depth to put up such heriocs since 1999. However, I believe our turn again is more and more imminent as the Dantonio system continues to take root.

by GreenWhiteGreen on Jul 15, 2010 2:06 PM CDT reply actions

If Cousins improves even slightly

with increased reps (thanks to not sharing time with Nichols), his accomplishments will seem more impressive than last year and he will be on the O’Brien list. One thing that would help would be some semblance of a running game, which we lacked last year.

As far as winning ten games or more this year, we’ll need that running game to compelement Cousins on offense, and major improvements in the defensive secondary and/or defensive line.

by TheCrestedHelm on Jul 16, 2010 8:58 AM CDT reply actions