While Cousins made the error that will be remembered, this was a team loss.

The interception is the first big mistake the sophomore quarterback has made all season, an impressive feat considering he is a sophomore.

Sophomores aren’t supposed to play with that much poise. Sophomores aren’t supposed to be the rock of an offense. But through three games, Cousins not only has been all that, he’s been the team’s best player.

Then again, very few — if any — sophomores are like Kirk Cousins.

This season, Cousins has completed 65.7 percent of his passes (46-of-70), thrown for 649 yards and five touchdowns and leads the Big Ten in pass efficiency. He’s averaging 216.3 yards per game and threw for 302 against Notre Dame, making it absurd for anyone to lay blame of the loss on Cousins’ shoulders.

Kirk Cousins deals in reality. And the reality of the situation is he undoubtedly will use this as a learning experience. It’s his nature.

“A quarterback is measured on wins and losses and how he plays in crunch time,” Cousins said. “Right now, I’m 1-2 as a starter and I made a critical error in crunch time, so I’ve got some things to work on.”

With that being said, though, he still only has started three games and this is, indeed, a learning experience. And it almost certainly won’t be the last.

Through three games, Cousins already has shown he’s a good quarterback. Imagine Cousins in his senior year, the 2011 season. He is showing all the signs of becoming a great quarterback.

While fellow sophomore Keith Nichol has played fine, Cousins has shined and earned the right to be on the field full-time. He’s shown the leadership, the moxie and all the intangibles to be the No. 1 guy.

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio seems confident in Cousins’ ability to get the job done, and how could he not be? Against Central Michigan, Cousins led the team on a long drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Against Notre Dame, he came in to run the two-minute offense late in the first half and took the team 81 yards in seven plays, sending the Spartans into the half with a one-point lead.

And then there was the interception-throwing drive late in the game. Until that point, Cousins was masterful in getting down the field. The drive started at MSU’s 20-yard line. The interception came on the 10th play of the drive. Cousins went 7-for-10 on the drive, taking the team 62 yards. His 35th and final pass attempt of the game was intercepted, his first turnover of the season.

“It hurts,” Cousins said. “I’m hurting right now. It’s part of the job, part of what you deal with. I’m a man, I’ll take it. I just have to learn from it.”

Dantonio said Cousins did an outstanding job, and the team wasn’t getting down the field without him. It’s hard to argue otherwise.

“No one feels worse than he does about this,” Dantonio said. “He will rise again.”

Matt Bishop is a State News football reporter. He can be reached at bishop20@msu.edu.