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.

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.