Offensive player of the week: Justin Stockton only Red Raider to produce

It’s safe to say this Texas Tech football team took a significant step back this year on the offensive side of the ball.

It seems like that’d be obvious, considering the Red Raiders lost a first-round quarterback to the NFL, but most fans and media outlets—Viva The Matadors among the rest—believed Nic Shimonek could step right in and keep the offense moving with similar success.

It takes strength to admit when you’re wrong, and ultimately, we were all wrong. Last season, Patrick Mahomes threw for 5,052 yards, 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 11 ¹⁄₂ games. Through 11 games, Shimonek has thrown for 3,451 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Sure, those would be great stats for an Alabama or Wisconsin quarterback, but in the Air Raid offense, that’s just not enough to do any damage in the Big 12.

Shimonek once again experienced limited success against TCU on Saturday, turning the ball over twice and failing to lead his offense down the field for a single touchdown. This happened against a TCU defense that was missing its leading tackler and its strong safety.

The only effective player on Tech’s offense was Justin Stockton, who ran for 124 yards on 21 carries, averaging nearly six yards per run. He also caught two passes for 13 yards, sadly tallying more receiving yardage than All-American candidate Keke Coutee.

This game was certainly one to forget, but scoring points will only become more difficult this week against the vaunted Texas Longhorns defense in Austin. Prayers up.