Analysis of a 10-3 team has to include the team’s quarterback as a focal point, and what Cousins has done for MSU is not only unique, but also unexpected.

As his final Spartan season is winding down, it can be said with absolute certainty that — despite his seldom mistakes on the field — Cousins is the best quarterback MSU football has ever seen, and that’s a testament to his skills and his character.

He wasn’t a top recruit like Jeff Smoker (2000-03), he won’t have a national championship on his resume like Steve Juday (1963-65) and he most likely won’t be a second-round NFL draft pick like Drew Stanton (2003-06).

But as far as stats are concerned, Cousins has spent his MSU years rewriting the program’s history and record books, and he’s still putting a cherry on top of his many impressive achievements.

It seems like with every game Cousins plays, he takes another record away from Smoker, leaving him at the top of several stat categories.

Cousins owns the title of winningest quarterback in Spartan history with 26 victories, and with the victory over Northwestern, he broke Smoker’s touchdown passes record, which is now at 65.

He maintains the best completion percentage — with 65 percent for 3,016 yards — passing up Stanton in both, and making him just the third Spartan to break 3,000 yards in a single season.

Although those are just three records, it’s just the tip of the iceberg compared to Smoker. With 8,831 passing yards, Cousins is just 101 yards short of Smoker’s all-time career passing yards record, and with his 22 completions against Wisconsin, he also is the all-time leader in that category.

With Cousins under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans have recorded the first-ever back-to-back 10-win seasons and earned a fifth consecutive bowl appearance — playing in the Outback Bowl against Georgia on Jan. 2, 2012 — in Dantonio’s first five years at MSU.

It’s incredible that all this comes from a kid who was sixth in line as a recruit for MSU. Consider how differently the recent program’s years could be had Cousins gone to Hope College — where he said was a likely option.

But he’s more than his athleticism and clutch plays. He’s a leader, he’s inspiring, and he’s the face of a program who players and fans alike can have faith in.

I can’t speak to Juday’s character or what leadership was like during the 1988 Rose Bowl with Bobby McAllister at quarterback, but Cousins has reinstated what Spartan Nation sees as the true character of MSU football.

“He’s a tremendous leader and obviously a valuable asset for our football team,” senior guard Joel Foreman said. “He’s a great representation of what we’re trying to do here and what Coach D has brought here.”

But I think it was more than just being a vocal leader and one who stands out by example. He’s a player who people want to believe in and have faith in — and again, that’s not to say Juday or McAllister didn’t have similar qualities, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve had the effect on the program Cousins has.

He’s always been a leader, and his teammates recognized it early on. In fact, they saw something so unique in him that in 2009 when Cousins was elected a captain, Dantonio had them vote twice — I assume just to be sure the team knew it was electing a sophomore for only the second time in history.

“Even the first day we went to be represented as a captain of this group, the other older players looked at him and said, ‘Kirk will speak for us,’ and I thought that was an unusual quality,” Dantonio said.

He has restored the character of MSU football, and humbly with his teammates, given Spartan fans something to believe in again.

This isn’t to take away from other players’ accomplishments or diminish what past quarterbacks have done, but comparatively, Cousins sits as the best overall.

I welcome arguments to the contrary, but before you do, if not Cousins, then who?