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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 29, 2009

Kirk Cousins

Q. Since you grew up in Illinois, what were some of the main rivalries that you grew up with, and when did you really start to learn and understand the importance of the Michigan and Michigan State game?
KIRK COUSINS: Well, that's a great question. When I was in seventh grade I moved from outside of Chicago into Holland, Michigan, on the west side of the state, and the very first Michigan-Michigan State game that I had a taste of living in the state and now having friends that associated with one school or the other was the 2000 game.
I remember watching that game and kind of getting an understanding of what this game is all about, and it's just -- my understanding of that has grown ever since then. So it's obviously very intense.

Q. You've started four straight games. Would it be a shock if you didn't start a fifth?
KIRK COUSINS: I would be surprised. I feel like I've played well minus probably three or four plays. I would be surprised, yeah.

Q. You've said all season long you just want what's best for the team, whether it's you or Nichol, when you throw a touchdown pass and get removed, do you feel that's not what's best for the team or does that throw you off for the rest of the game?
KIRK COUSINS: It is tough to get a rhythm sometimes when you're going in and out of the game.
As I said before, it's not the ideal situation to score, establish a rhythm, feel like you've got something going and then not be in there. But, again, it's the coaches, it's their call. All I can do is play when I'm asked to play, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.

Q. What about reps in practice? Do you feel like you would benefit if you got all the, quote-unquote, starter reps during the week? Do you feel like that's any kind of a factor?
KIRK COUSINS: I think any time you can work with the number one offense and with those receivers and with those linemen and running backs it helps, so it wouldn't hurt to be with those guys all the time.
But I think also there's benefits to working with the number two offense and understanding that those guys may have to play on Saturday and probably will play on Saturday at some point. So to work with them is not a problem at all either, and you just roll with what you're given.

Q. The running game has been so important in this series in years past. What do you guys need to do to become more productive in that way?
KIRK COUSINS: Well, I feel like we have run the ball. At times we haven't. But I think the bulk of the work is we have running the football just fine. We can't be turning it over and we have to be in a mindset where we're going to establish the run. But I feel like obviously running the football is a mindset, first of all, and I think we have that.
We just need to stay patient with it. You're not going to best a ten-yard run every play, but if we just keep patient with it and keep allowing our running game to get going, I think as the games go on, as the game goes on, you start to wear a team down and you have a better chance of running it in the second half as opposed to the first half.

Q. How would you evaluate yourself in the last game?
KIRK COUSINS: I feel like I played fairly well. I felt like I was a little bit less accurate than I had been in the first three games, not sure why that was, but that would be my analysis. I was a little less accurate, and I need to be very accurate to have success. That would be my one thing that I would like to improve on.
And the one interception was obviously a critical error by me. I felt like I played a pretty good game. I felt like I brought some leadership and intensity, but, again, we fell short, and that goes right to the quarterback.

Q. Are you at all frustrated with yourself that you haven't been able to show the coaches that you should be the guy?
KIRK COUSINS: Well, I'm frustrated with losing. I'm not a person who wants to go 1-and-3. That's unacceptable. Losing is unacceptable, and that ticks me off, and I'm frustrated with that.
We just work harder. We go back and work harder, and this feeling that I have now, this feeling that I've had the past three weeks is terrible, and I don't ever want to feeling it again, so I'm going to keep working and keep pushing. I want to make it clear to the coaches, as you said, that I need to be out there playing for this team to win.
Again, what they decide is best and I'm just going to have to work harder at practice and on Saturday to do that.

Q. There was kind of this perception before the season started, you know the play book better than Keith, but Keith is a better athlete, that kind of thing. I mean, you've probably heard that before. But given that and given the fact that you've played a significant amount of these games, is there any moments in these games maybe during a play or after a play where you're thinking to yourself, competing against a guy like him, I've got to stay within myself? Is there ever moments where you've caught yourself thinking that?
KIRK COUSINS: I don't really worry about what I need to do to stay on the field. I'm worried about winning. I'm worried about the Spartan football team winning. That's my main concern.
I think if I stay within myself and focus on what I need to do as a quarterback, what Coach Warner has taught me to do, then we'll be fine. I don't really focus on what someone else could have done or what I need to do to stay on the field.

Q. What are some things you're saying to your teammates, because you are a captain? To maybe set aside the quarterback, let's talk about you as a captain. What kind of things are you maybe delivering to them?
KIRK COUSINS: Telling them to stay focused, stay up. It's not a time to panic, get down. We can't allow a spiral downward. We need to come together in this time, circle the wagons and stay like we're playing for one another.
Just try to make sure everybody has a positive attitude, and also talk to guys, get a little response from them.
I mean, a leader needs to listen to the guys around him to understand where they're coming from and hear them out. So I make sure I'm talking to the O-line whether it's during games or during the week, what do you see, what's going on, who do you feel we need to be doing offensively, move the football. And talking to defense, what can we do to help you guys.
So just constantly trying to get information from the guys on the team to know where they're coming from so we can move forward.

Q. Can you talk about your connection with Blair and then maybe his rise and his work ethic from where he was to the Big Ten leader in numerous statistics?
KIRK COUSINS: Yeah, I think Blair is an example of when you do the little things right, when you pay attention to detail what can happen.
Blair is a phenomenal athlete, don't get me wrong, but there are more athletic guys out there who aren't leading the Big Ten in receiving. So when you pay attention to detail, do little things right, work harder than the guy next to you, work harder than anybody around, good things happen, and I think that's a testament to what Blair has done. He's going to continue to have success, and it's a joy to play with him.
I was telling him, even in these losses, playing with those receivers has been very fun.

Q. If you're able to lead this team to a win over Michigan, how far do you think that would go towards silencing some of your critics out there?
KIRK COUSINS: I don't know. I mean, critics say what they say. We can win, and I could have a great game, and there's probably still critics. They can think what they want. All I know is this game is personal and we need to win it, and we'd better win it.

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