It was Cousins’ first victory against the Hawkeyes in three tries.

“When you look at the football game you got to start with Kirk Cousins and how he played after last year.” MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Three touchdowns, zero sacks, zero interceptions. (He) played tremendously and game balls goes to (him).”

With poor showings in road games this season, the spotlight was on Cousins to get the offense in rhythm. Having only two interceptions and four picks, he faced heavy criticism for not being effective away from Spartan Stadium.

So like any senior captain, Cousins put the responsibility of a quick start on his shoulders. He responded to the critics on MSU’s first two drives, throwing touchdown strikes to senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham and junior running back Edwin Baker.

In minutes, the team stole a 14-0 lead and only improved on it as the game went on.

“It was a total team effort,” said Cousins, who clearly didn’t believe he deserved all the credit. “No one person stood out today, but it was a total team win.”

Maybe so, but more so than any player in the locker room, the Iowa game perhaps means the most to the MSU signal caller. He grew up in Iowa, was raised a Hawkeyes fan and frequently visits relatives in the Hawkeye State.

On his previous trips, he’s never had family bragging rights so in several ways Saturday’s game was about redemption.

“It’s special to be able to win and go out on the right note,” he said. “I guess when I go back to visit my grandparents every summer… I can feel a little better about the vacation than I felt last summer.”

In the team’s first victory at Kinnick Stadum since 1989, Cousins and the rest of the Class of 2011 also passed last year’s seniors for the most wins in school history with 34.

Cousins said he didn’t know it before, but after the game reflected on what a big accomplishment it was.

“(It’s) something that we’ll take with us the rest of our lives,” he said. “But with the nature of what Coach Dantonio is doing here at Michigan State there are a lot of things that have been first time or best ever.”

For school’s all-time winningest quarterback, next weekend will mark his last game in Spartan Stadium. But at this point, he wasn’t ready to consider that. With one loss and all their goals still ahead of them he settled for being excited about the team’s first place position in the Legends Division.

“We’re right where we want to be with two weeks to go,” Cousins said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”