East Lansing -- His long, wavy hair was really starting to annoy Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Part of him desperately wanted to cut it. The other part wanted to keep it growing longer and longer because of what it represented -- a perfect season.
Cousins, who has a clean-cut, All-American boy image, hadn't gotten a haircut since before preseason practice started.
"I said, 'We'll go until we lose,'" Cousins recalled.
After eight straight victories to start the season, the Spartans, with their bushy-haired quarterback, finally lost last week at Iowa. A day later, Cousins headed to the barber.
"When you keep winning, it makes you want to let it go," he said. "But it had gotten pretty long. I was getting comments. My grandparents didn't like it. I got it cut pretty short."
The trip back from Iowa City was a tough one for Cousins following that 37-6 rout. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown.
Not bad.
But he also threw three crucial interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
"On the plane coming home, I just knew he was soul-searching," coach Mark Dantonio said.
Cousins said he was asking himself a lot of questions.
"I was just trying to go back and figure out why," he said. "Why did that happen?
"I felt like I played pretty well, besides those three turnovers. There were three plays that were just terrible and they determined the outcome of the game. They killed us offensively.
"You're just trying to replay everything in your mind. Why did I throw off my back foot? Why did I throw into double coverage? Why did the ball flutter? It was harder to get an answer for these.
"I don't know if I've ever thrown three interceptions in a game, going back to Pop Warner football. Usually after I throw one, I learn from it and it doesn't happen again."
After all the time spent reflecting and eventually watching the tape, Cousins came to the conclusion he just tried to do too much. He pressed. He tried to force passes when he should have been more patient, even if it meant having to punt.
"I think one of my weaknesses in general would be putting too much pressure on myself," Cousins said. "I felt like I had to make something happen.
"As the pressure built (with an 8-0 record, No. 5-ranking), maybe that made it tougher to execute."
Some of that pressure is off now. The perfect season is gone, no more national championship dreams, the hair has been cut.
Cousins just wants to regroup and win these final three games to clinch a share of the Big Ten championship.
Keshawn's replacement
Redshirt freshman Bennie Fowler is emerging as another offensive threat for the Spartans while junior Keshawn Martin has been out with a foot injury the last two games.
Fowler scored a touchdown on a reverse and caught a key pass on a fake punt at Northwestern and then came back with a nice third-down catch to keep a drive going at Iowa.
"I was just waiting to get my opportunity," Fowler said. "I'm behind some receivers that have done some great things here. I just have to wait my turn."
Fowler (Detroit Country Day) is 6-foot-1, 206 pounds, with impressive speed. He appears to have the game-breaking talents to fill a role similar to Martin's as a receiver/return specialist.
"That's not something you coach; that's something you recruit," Cousins said of Folwer's combination of size and speed. "He was still an unpolished player, in terms of his development (earlier this season).
"What we've seen from him the last couple weeks is he's starting to play like a veteran."
Earlier wake-up call needed
Michigan State has been outscored 30-3 in the first quarter of its five Big Ten games.
"It's embarrassing," Cousins said of the slow starts. "It's been a combination of penalties, turnovers, missed assignments. It hasn't been just one thing you can point to.
"We need to start faster. That will be a point of emphasis."
Nov. 4, 2010
