Let's start with the positives. Nic Shimonek played great after Patrick Mahomes went down with an injury during the Texas Tech-Kansas game.

Kingsbury himself says Shimonek "was awesome. There's not a harder worker on the team. I had seen him do that in practice... He threw some incredible passes. Made all the right reads, had some great checks."

I know Jett Duffey (AKA The Quarterback of the Future) is waiting in the wings, but Shimonek will be the guy if Mahomes can't go to work next week. You might see Duffey suited out though, since he's likely now the next guy after Shimonek.

Kingsbury is often short as far as injuries go, and the media and fans get frustrated with him about that. Many inquiries were asked about his star QB after the game, and a seemingly frustrated Kingsbury said he couldn't confirm anything until he knew exactly what was going on.

During the post-game presser, Kingsbury was asked about a comment he made in an on-field interview when he said Patrick "could be OK." This is when we see that Kingsbury snark flash - something we've seen only a few times before. We've seen Kingsbury's inner troll before.

Kingsbury responded that he knew the injury wasn't too serious because he "didn't see the trainer jump off the side of the stadium."

That's a great line. Not only does it imply that Patrick Mahomes isn't out for the season, it also alleviates the pressure that Mahomes is the be-all, end-all of this Red Raider team.

Patrick Mahomes is a great talent, but he isn't Superman. There has to be a trust that Nic Shimonek or Jett Duffey can lead this offense in an efficient manner. Will the entire playbook be open to Shimonek like it is for Mahomes? No. But Kliff Kingsbury's system is built for quarterbacks to put up numbers.

That's exactly what the Texas Tech quarterback will do next week against Kansas State. Whoever the quarterback is.

  • MORE

    Video of Patrick Mahomes' Injury

  • BONUS

    Texas Tech-Kansas State Highlight Reel

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