Kellen Mond, No. 7 Texas A&M Dominate South Carolina 48-3 in SEC Action

No. 7 Texas A&M rolled to a 48-3 victory at South Carolina on Saturday and announced its candidacy for the College Football Playoff in the process. 

Now 5-1 on the year, with a Week 2 loss to No. 2 Alabama the only blemish on their record, the Aggies have put themselves in a position to challenge the Crimson Tide for the SEC West title. It certainly won't be easy. Texas A&M will finish the season on the road at Tennessee and No. 24 Auburn while hosting Ole Miss and LSU. 

Should the Aggies go undefeated the rest of the way—and Alabama stumble at any point—they can establish themselves as the best team in their division and setup a potential berth in the SEC title game. 

On Saturday, quarterback Kellen Mond established himself as one of the best to ever suit up for Texas A&M as he completed 68th career touchdown pass, a school record. 

Texas A&M's defense handled the rest as they allowed just 150 yards without allowing a point until there were less than six minutes remaining fourth quarter.

Notable Performers

Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Aggies: 16-26, 224 yards, four touchdowns

Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M Aggies: 18 carries, 131 yards

Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M Aggies: three catches, 35 yards, two touchdowns

Collin Hill, QB, South Carolina Gamecocks: 8-21, 66 yards, two interceptions

Kevin Harris, RB, South Carolina Gamecocks: 13 carries, 39 yards

Jimbo Fisher Finds His Footing 

Jimbo Fisher's first two years at Texas A&M didn't provide the immediate satisfaction that led the school to lure him away from Florida State. In Year 3, the head coach seems to finally have the program ready to compete for conference titles—if not far more elusive trophies—once again. 

Consider how Fisher has kept his team together since a 52-24 loss at Alabama in Week 2. The Aggies responded with a victory over No. 4 Florida, 41-38, and have now won their fourth consecutive contest. That's not the way things have typically gone for A&M under Fisher. 

After the Aggies were handed their first loss of 2019 by Clemson in Week 2, they went on to lose two of their first three SEC games. It was a similar story as in 2018. The Aggies lost to then-No. 2 Clemson 28-26 at home in the second week of the season only to suffer another loss two weeks later in their ensuing conference game against No. 1 Alabama. 

Whatever contributed to those slides has been eliminated this time around. There's been hardly any panic from the Aggies. That continued on Saturday. After TAMU went three-and-out on its first drive, the Aggies came back with a touchdown on their following possession. The 12-play, 52-yard march downfield ate up nearly six minutes of the first quarter and helped settle down a limited-capacity Williams-Brice Stadium. 

Fisher aided the cause with some nifty play-calling including a run on fourth-and-one inside the red zone that set-up a three-yard touchdown pass from Mond to Ainias Smith to grab an early lead. 

The Aggies controlled the game from start to finish with Fisher leading the way. He's finally got his program running the way he wants. Higher expectations are sure to follow. 

Aggies Defense Dominates Again

Perhaps Texas A&M's defense isn't as porous as Alabama made it look. 

Since giving up 52 points to the Crimson Tide, the Aggies have allowed just 21.5 points per game with their most dominant performance of the season coming Saturday on the road. 

TAMU allowed just 68 yards in the first half against the Gamecocks (2-4) and didn't give up a single red zone opportunity. That's despite South Carolina holding the ball for at least 21 minutes. Up until Saturday, the Gamecocks had averaged 29.2 points per game. The Aggies did what no other team in their conference has done by holding their opponent to three points in the victory. 

Instead, an SC team that averages 163.4 rushing yards per game could only muster 50. 

The Aggies can, in part, thank cornerback Myles Jones, who led the team with four solo tackles while safety Kledrick Carper picked up an interception early in the second quarter—safety Leon O'Neal Jr. would pick off a pass later in the game, as well. 

All of it combined for one of the best performances the Aggies' defense has displayed this season. They'll need more of that to continue their hunt for an SEC title, if not more.

What's Next

The Aggies will remain on the road for a second consecutive week as they travel to unranked Tennessee with kickoff slated for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. South Carolina will look to avoid a three-game losing streak with a trip to Ole Miss on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.