Top Five Bottom Five Tuesday

Let's do this, best and worst five aspects of the Horns' game against FAU.

Disclaimer: I am VERY content with our game on Saturday, but in an effort to remain balanced am including a bottom five.

Top Five

1. Colt is back! I have been a fairly vocal member of the Malcolm in the Middle fan club since I heard he was the qb selected to lead the scout team in preparation for our game against USC. I thought, he must be good. Then 2006 rolled around, and holy babies he was good! Come 2007 he was all but forgotten and seen as a placeholder between fantastic dual threat qbs. And now, finally I feel like he has turned the corner towards becoming a truly memorable player. Sure, sure it was just against FAU (who did win a bowl last season), but it sure as heck could have been worse. He saw all the open receivers, chose the right time to use his underrated feet, stayed composed even when the offensive line wasn't dominating, and distributed the ball selflessly all over the field.

2. What is "blockedpunt?" I've listed the zero in the 2007 "blocked anything" column as one of my main concerns coming into this season. Any point before Oklahoma would have worked fine, really, but thanks for listening. I heart Earl Thomas.

3. Put the Tight in Tight end... what? Blaine Irby, welcome to Texas football. Blaine had such a great coming out day (maybe the gayest two sentences on this blog? not that there is anything wrong with that), that ESPN even took notice from their great ivory pedestal. 

4. Blake Gideon:What planet are you from? How did you sneak in with such low national recruiting attention, only to freaking explode into a starting role? I had pretty strong reservations about this guy coming into this game, but at one specific point in the first quarter, when he sniffed out a screen in the backfield and freaking punted the would-be receiver into old age, I drunkly announced his induction into my family for all those in earshot. He was caught out of place once or twice, but he so outplayed my expectations that I really can't complain.

5. Deo... Curtis Brown? The coaches mean business. For real this time. Deon Beasley would have been my choice of starter, based on his performance last year, but he didn't start the game. Curtis must actually have outperformed Beasley in practice. Flabbergasted and overjoyed by the coaches sticking to their word on the depth chart.

Bottom Five

1. No FFs. We were ahead in turnovers, so it's tough to say anything. We did capitalize on a mistake they made, but didn't force any mistakes. With the talent laden front seven that we have, I expect this to improve as DollahWill Mu$champ prepares them for UTEP. 

2. No Sacks. We didn't allow any real sacks, but we did not get any of our own either. I attribute this to the linebackers being used to help out the secondary rather than applying pressure on the quarterback. Even if the linebackers didn't actually get any sacks, the pressure would have been enough to get Roy Millertime or Orakpo out of a double-team long enough to hurt someone. 

3. Cornerbacks: I'm looking at you Ryan Palmer. This choice describes the game perfectly for me. A unit that accounted for the only forced turnover of the game is listed as bottom five, with emphasis on the player who made the interception. He was one of the most electric players on defense, but he made as many mistakes on defense as any one else. As a senior, I expect him to be playing at a different, cleaner, level than the true freshman, and in this game he just wasn't. He needs to focus and really become the elite cornerback everyone knows he can be.

4. Charlie Tanner's Injury: No fault of his own, just dumb (terrible) luck. Even though it gives future star Michael Huey a chance to prove himself, any injury in the offensive line is bad news. Charlie was having an incredible game until he went down with a sprained ankle, so here's to hoping he gets better quickly.

5. My F-ing Ticket: I just graduated from UT, got a job, and moved to Houston. I bought season tickets anyway, because I just can't stay away. I had been laying awake at night due to my excitement about the VY jersey retirement, the new stadium, and the beginning of my favorite season. These days, student season tickets are conveniently emailed to you, so that all you have to do is print the tickets off, regardless of your location or condition. The ticket office must assume that people gain responsibility after they graduate, as they send just you hard copies in the mail. They were wrong. 

I left my ticket in Houston, and didn't realize until I was in Austin. 

I still feel great about it. I deserve all the criticism your internal monologue is throwing at me.

Any one else have something noteworthy happen to them? Send me an email and I will gladly post the best ones.