“There was a point in time where I was very close to kind of pulling myself out of the game and not trying to be a hero,” Cousins said. “Because at the end of the day it’s about the team, it’s not about me.”

Fortunately for the Spartans (10-1 overall, 6-1 Big Ten) Cousins decided to tough it out, and with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning three-yard run with 4:32 remaining, he delivered a gutsy performance in MSU’s 35-31 win against Purdue (4-7, 2-5).

“It’s just him being resilient and a competitor,” head coach Mark Dantonio said of his quarterback’s effort. “He’s got toughness. He’s the leader of our football team, and when your leader does things, people follow.”

Cousins first showed signs of being bothered by his injuries midway through the first quarter when he was hit hard and threw an interception that was returned 35 yards for a touchdown. Shortly after the play, Cousins went into the locker room to receive a pain-killing shot to his shoulder.

Maxwell came in and played the next drive, completing two of three passes before the Spartans were forced to punt.

However, Cousins was back on the field for the next possession, which ended with a 19-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Edwin Baker.

Continuing to get abused in the second quarter, though, Cousins said he wasn’t sure at halftime if he would be to go through the pain in the second. But after speaking with trainers, receiving more treatment and warming up for the second half, he said he felt good enough to play.

“We just had to make the decision and go with it,” Cousins said. “And I said, ‘Let’s at least try,’ and after the first series, I felt I could do it.”

The third quarter was not pretty for MSU, as the Spartans fell behind, 28-13, heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

But in the fourth quarter, Cousins and senior receiver Mark Dell took over the game, connecting five times for 58 yards and one touchdown.

Cousins gave most of the credit to his go-to target Saturday, but Dell said Cousins was the reason MSU was able to outscore the Boilermakers 22-3 in the final quarter on the way to the win.

“When he went in for the touchdown, it showed how much toughness he has,” Dell said. “He’s definitely the leader of our team and helped out with our win.”

Dell, who also caught a crucial two-point conversion after the touchdown that drew the Spartans to within one score, finished the game with eight catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Cousins was able to bounce back from the injuries and poor throws early in the game to complete 28 of his 37 passes for 276 yards and four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).

“I thought Cousins played very well,” Dantonio said. “I think the key to being a great quarterback is being able to overcome a throw that goes the opposite way, being able to respond and be resilient, being able to get back up after getting his shoulder dinged or getting back up after his ankle injury.”

Next week, Cousins and the Spartans travel to State College, Pa. to take on Penn State with a shot to win at least a share of the Big Ten championship.

And although Cousins likely still will be feeling the effects of his injuries, he said he’s not going to let anything get in the way of what he and the team want to accomplish in Happy Valley.

“With one week left, there’s not a whole lot of reason to baby it because we got a month off after that,” Cousins said. “So let’s give it all we got because that’s it, and we’ve got a lot to play for.”