Both Elliott and he had great years, but in terms of carrying his team, Cook was without peer. Lights out again and again, he didn't have a 30 yard game when the chips were down.
Gotta think Connor Cook got screwed out of the BIG Offense MVP
- Thread starter detroitjohn
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I personally think neither him or Elliott deserved it but rather CJB from Iowa. He took his team to 12-0 and the guy is a machine making amazing plays. Cook is fantastic and I think he will make a fine NFL QB but he also has a really good O-line, a stud WR and a defense that can make up for shitty games if he has them. Elliott is surrounded by ridiculous talent as well. CJ was fantastic this year.
Both Cook & Elliot will do well in the NFL I think - Cook has one of the best feels for the game I have seen in a QB in the BIG since Henne.
Both Cook & Elliot will do well in the NFL I think - Cook has one of the best feels for the game I have seen in a QB in the BIG since Henne.
Nice counter points, I still think to victor goes the spoils and Cook showed up in the big ones while Elliott floundered in his most important and toughest game of the year. Iowa's QB was great, but seemed more the manager than the difference maker.
In my mind the MVP should be given to the person that did the best job to put the team in a situation to win not someone that individually was spectacular. It's a team sport after all. It should go to the player that did the most to put his team in a situation to be successful and I think CJB did a spectacular job as a game manager for Iowa, knowing which levers to pull when including when to shoulder the load and when to defer to a hotter hand (their RB). Unfortunately, that is not what the awards are about but rather they become about who has the best stats in the conference.
I look at it this way - what would each team's record be without that player:
I look at it this way - what would each team's record be without that player:
- Ohio State - same exact record with or without Elliott
- MSU - you could argue they would be 10-2 instead of 11-1 potentially without Cook
- Iowa - Iowa likely loses 2-3 games without CJB
Except it's not an MVP award - it's an award for the best offensive player.
For what its worth, I have no issue with Elliott winning the award. And while you can make a case for Beathard for being the first team QB, people didn't see it that way, with the writers and coaches picking Cook over Beathard. Would be awful strange to then say that the second best QB is the best offensive player.
Writers and coaches have a bias. You will notice that most people stay because of their names regardless of their stats. It's the same with team rankings - the previous year often carries weight into the following year's performance. Nobody knew of Beathard last year and so it would have been difficult to pick him.
I'm quibbling here, but MSU loses more than 2 games without Cook...UM, Nebraska, probably Oregon, maybe a couple more like Indiana that they struggled with. I'm going to take a shower, I cannot believe I'm posting arguments in favor of Cook winning anything.
Let's be honest, Cook didn't lose the Nebraska game. A horrible call and poor defense did it to the Spartans. MSU did beat OSU without him though and Elliot was stopped by the Spartan D. Beatherd did well but they played too many patsies compared to MSU. I also think the outburst by Elliot whining after the loss should have been a point against him.
What was Iowa's best regular season win in the B1G?
A 10-6 win at Wisconsin.
How did Beathard do in that game? 9-for-21 for 77 yards, 1 interception, all of 3.6 (!!!) yards-per-attempt.
He and the Iowa offense sucked that game, but they pulled it out because the D held Wisky to 6 points in 4 red--zone possessions and Wisky was -2 on turnovers.
And all the rest of Iowa's B1G opponents stunk. Wisky was the only half-way decent team they played.
I can make an argument for either Cook or Elliott (I would choose Cook), but I think Beathard doesn't belong anywhere near the conversation.
Sorry man, your logic is completely flawed. Both teams played a few common opponents and one lost to Nebraska and the other beat Nebraska. Now that may not mean a whole lot but at the end of the day Michigan State could have easily lost to Oregon (dropped TD in end-zone with nobody guarding the guy), Michigan (fluke play with 10 seconds left), Rutgers (dumb QB did not realize it was a 4th down), and they barely beat Ohio State and Purdue. It wasn't like MSU was lighting teams up until they played PSU. Iowa on the other hand also played close games but they demolished a 10-2 Northwestern team and beat other good teams along the way as well. I would take 12-0 any day. We will find out on Saturday how good Iowa is but I don't care how much of a cupcake schedule you think they may play, going 12-0 in a Power 5 conference is really difficult and they only one of 2 teams that has been able to do that.
Yea but he would he have done facing defenses like UofM,MSU,and OSU? just something to think about.
Hey, guess what, we'll get to measure both on Saturday. My guess is we'll be more impressed by Cook than Beathard when the game is over.
One thing to keep in mind, MSU's OL was a mash unit for most of the season. Cook's ability to move in the pocket and his extremely quick release kept him from being sacked far more than he was. I'd argue that Iowa had the better OL most of the season. That may not be the case currently, but for the first 9 or 10 weeks of the season it certainly was.
Good question - Cook did not really do a whole lot in that game and he got outplayed. The MSU offensive line has the ability to make any QB look really good. That is not to take away anything from Cook who I think is a very good QB, but Bethard did pretty well in that game, especially in the 4th quarter. I don't think Beathard is a pro potential while I expect Cook goes in either the first or second round of the NFL. Either way, really glad that Cook, Elliott, Conklin, Allen, Calhoun, Burbridge, Bosa, and Washington are all going pro. I don't remember the last time there was this much wealth of talent across 2 teams in the BIG.
OSU and MSU- Recruiting well for their future while Michigan was in the Dick Rod/Hoke years.
Rich Rod and Hoke had higher ranked recruiting classes than Michigan State EVERY YEAR up until Hoke's final class (2014) and the split Hoke/Harbaugh class (2015).
I don't know about that.
Beathard, yes, the one bomb early in the 4th quarter. But on Iowa's next-to-last drive of the game, he only went 2-for-4 and one of those completions was a 3rd-down pass that was short of the first-down sticks. Not the best decision. That 3rd-down-pass meant a punt, setting up the MSU long drive, in which ......
Cook went 2-for-2 when throwing the ball on 3rd downs. The pass to Burbridge on the far sideline was especially clutch: that was a thread-the-needle pass and he made it PERFECTLY. Miss that pass and MSU is punting, they wouldn't have gone for it on 4th-and-8 from the 50. It's not inconceivable MSU never gets the ball back. Of course, Cook would later have the 4th-down-conversion on the option run.
Beathard's numbers were better in the aggregate, but when Cook absolutely had to make a play, he did every single time. And he does have a knack for that.
