Difference maker: Eastern Washington had no answers for Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek

LUBBOCK, Texas – The biggest wild card in the deck came up aces Saturday afternoon.

That was Texas Tech quarterback Nic Shimonek, the fifth-year quarterback who finally inherited the keys to the Red Raiders’ high-octane offense.

He didn’t disappoint.

“I’m glad this moment finally came,” said Shimonek, who overcame a slow start to complete 26 of 30 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns.

His predecessor, Pat Mahomes, was a No. 10 NFL draft pick last spring, leaving Tech fans wondering how far the offense would fall under Shimonek.

On this day, it didn’t miss a beat. Eastern held its own for the first three series, but Shimonek used his line and his running backs to dominate the rest of the game.

“We have a lot of weapons,” Shimonek said.

Eastern didn’t do itself any favors, failing to put consistent pressure on the immobile Shimonek. “The game speed was very fast,” nose tackle Jay-TeeTiuli said.

“They’re a passing team, but that’s no excuse,” Tiuli said.

Sticking mostly to shorter routes early in the game, Shimonek completed 16 of his first 17 passes. Nine of them went for first downs, partly because of Eastern missed tackles in space.

“The tempo was fast, so we couldn’t miss tackles and make any mistakes, but we made way too many,” cornerback Nzuzi Webster said.

Shimonek toyed with the Eagles in the decisive second and third quarters, going over the top for two long scores, then playing ball-control to stifle any thoughts of a comeback.

“It’s like when I played basketball,” Shimonek said. “If I hit two or three shots, then I think I can hit seven or eight. It was a good feeling to be rolling on all cylinders like that.”