T5B5: We won?

It's pretty rare that you lose a game, but end up with the most amount of points. That's exactly how I felt leaving the stadium after the game. I completely understand what our Oklahoman brethren must have felt like at the end of the third quarter earlier this season against us. I can't even count the amount of times I said to myself "please, please, please just stay ahead for [insert any number under 45 here] more minutes." But still, even if it wasn't the definitive drubbing the Horns have laid on every school not from Oklahoma this year, the team still played well enough to end up ahead, and that is saying a lot considering the monster that this OSU team is turning out to be. I really don't see them losing more than one other game this season. To the lists!

Top Five

1. Oklahoma State's game plan: Mike Gundy and friends did an outstanding job studying and exploiting our weaknesses. When Mack Brown tried to temper the generally high expectations before the season began, he was expecting every game to look like this one and worse starting with Colorado. Yes we are good, but if you have the manlumps to continuously run it between our two best defensive players, you are going to find that right behind them is a soft spot in the linebacking corps that can be taken advantage of. Oklahoma State is, and has seemingly always been, the tepid tequila and milk to our blazing hangover induced nausea.

2. Curtis Brown: It's interesting looking back now at how terrified I was of all the big bad spread offenses the Big 12 totes at the beginning of the season, and how at this point I am more concerned about who will be able to slow us down on defense the most. We are currently fielding the best secondary in the country, they just don't have the stats to prove it yet. Curtis (second string sophomore) finalized that for me on Saturday by holding Dez Bryant to 74 yards.

3. The Defense: The way OSU played this game, it is a true accomplishment to keep them to only 24 points. Muschamp gambled and chose to limit their deep passing game, and it worked. It's good to know that our defense can win games too. Every time Earl/Ryan/anyone drops an interception, God creates a Sooner.

4. Cirque de Shipleil: Win or lose, there isn't a team remaining on our schedule that can stop Colt from throwing to Jordan Shipley. It's like cheating.

5. Tricksy Greg Davis: Regardless of what side of the perennial debate you sit on regarding trick plays, you have to agree that they are a lot of fun to watch. I appreciate the fact that the trick plays Greg Davis has installed in our offense are small deceptions designed to give those involved an extra step, rather than the silliness expected from, say, a Les Miles offense. The reverse to Shipley resulted in the longest run of the day, the fake screen to Shipley converted one of our most important third downs, the option reverse pass would have been cooler if Quan had been a little sneakier about his intentions to pass, and Colt's fake drop play action really got the defense over-excited.

Bottom Five
1. Iowa State: How dare you drop one to the Aggies? Read the emails I keep sending you, A&M is supposed to be the worst this year. The Big 12 North never plays along, how lame. The Aggies should be on this list too for giving up 35 points to the team that lost to the Aggies... circular logic fail? Whatever.
2. Clock management: What the heck happened at the end of the second quarter? Why did we wait until there were three seconds left on the clock to call a timeout and attempt to score from 70 yards out? In the time we ran off the clock we could have had two 15-20 yard plays that would have set us up for a field goal. Bizarre.
3. LSU: The wheels are falling off for the Bayou Tigers. It seems like the football Gods are having a fantastic time making every team that my coworkers root for irrelevant. At this point their only pleasure is watching Texas struggle.
4. Graham Harrell: Yes, he played a fantastic game, but from watching that game it became abundantly clear to me why Colt could lose to Tech and still win the Heisman. Harrell’s character is piss poor. Every time something doesn’t go right for the guy, he jumps up and runs straight at the nearest official with his arms raised in the air. When Colt takes a beating, even if it is a late hit, he jumps up with his arms in the air too, but he’s trying to get the crowd excited, not whine to the referees. Harrell’s a really gifted player, but guy would benefit from a few chores around the house.
5. Colorado: 58-0? Really? You couldn’t get into field goal range once? We kind of struggled against you, and then this happens? Maybe in a few years they will be decent and most importantly healthy again, but this season is not looking good for the Buffs at all. Not even a little bit.