A slow start in December 2012’s Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl opened the door to then-redshirt freshman Connor Cook, who was credited with leading the Spartans to a victory against TCU. And after a four quarterback competition ensued into the first month of the season, it was Cook who emerged, leading the Spartans to a 9-1 record in games he starts.

Fair or foul, 14 starts are 14 starts. That’s how the Maxwell years will be judged.

When head coach Mark Dantonio was asked about Maxwell in terms of the team’s Senior Day game against Minnesota on Saturday, Dantonio would not comment on whether the senior quarterback will see playing time in his final game at Spartan Stadium (noon, Big Ten Network).

“What I’ll probably do is let the game play out as we go, and I obviously have a lot of empathy I guess I would say,” Dantonio said. “I don’t have sympathy, I have empathy for what he’s gone through, and the way he’s handled it has been very, very positive.

“But aside from that, I don’t think Andrew, he’s not looking for cookies.”

Maxwell was not made available for comment this week, staying true to a trend that dates back to early in the season. He hasn’t been talking. And at this point, what’s really left to say?

The senior quarterback is arguably the most highly-criticized Spartan at any position in more than a decade, seeing the enthusiasm of his career end on a warm winter night in Tempe, Ariz. Although largely in the race to start the 2013 campaign, he saw his chances fade behind the arm of a blond-haired native of Hinckley, Ohio.

It’s Cook’s team now. For the foreseeable future, that’s the reality behind center. However, that’s not to say Cook doesn’t appreciate what Maxwell brings to the table.

Cook said he’s grown to appreciate the knowledge Maxwell has on the sidelines, always hoping to help the young quarterback navigate his way to the Big Ten Championship Game.

“When I come off to the sideline, he’s always there in my ear telling me what he sees and talking among the other QBs — same thing with practice,” Cook said. “The main thing he brings is a funny attitude to practices and games. I know against Nebraska, things weren’t really going well in the third quarter and he was cracking jokes on the sidelines and lightening up the mood.

“He’s a fun-loving guy and he brings a great attitude every single day.”

It’s unclear if Spartan fans ever will see Maxwell on the field again.

If it’s a tight game Saturday against the Golden Gophers with potential BCS game implications on the line, Maxwell won’t have a moment on the field to celebrate his career as Cousins and several of his predecessors did. And given that Maxwell hasn’t spoken to the media in weeks, it’s possible we’ll never know his thoughts on the subject.

Yet, Dantonio continues to stand behind his former starting quarterback, knowing the character of a man far trumps where the same man can throw a football on the field.

“I love Andrew Maxwell and always will, and I have a tremendous respect for him because of what he has endured,” Dantonio said. “In some ways that’s much more difficult than losing a football game. I know he had very high hopes coming into this season, and that’s hard when you’re the coach, because I don’t like to disappoint.”

To show up or not to show up?

With it being a holiday weekend on campus, conventional wisdom dictates there likely will be some empty seats at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.

But Dantonio sure hopes to minimize that effect as much as possible.

“It’s the last opportunity for a lot of people to see the Spartans play in the stadium this year,” Dantonio said. “It’s a season that has been special thus far, and it could become even more special. So I’ll go online as Tom Izzo does sometimes and say, ‘hey, we need you there. We need you there. If you’re a Spartan, you need to be there.’”

For the weekend, MSU has offered fans with student section tickets the opportunity to bring an additional person to the game for free. In addition, tickets for the game remain available on msuspartans.com and through secondhand ticket vendors such as stubhub.com.