Kellen Mond’s third-quarter touchdown to Jalen Wydermyer on Saturday appeared at first just to be cushion.

The Aggies already had a comfortable lead in the Southwest Classic against Arkansas, but the 15-yard connection made it a three-possession game. It was something they needed, but nothing major. At least on the surface.

The announcements flooded soon after.

The pass put Mond over 10,000 yards of total offense in his career at A&M, sending him past Johnny Manziel to become the Aggies’ all-time leader. It was yet another milestone for the senior, who also holds the school records for career passing yards, completions and attempts.

The questions naturally came after A&M’s 42-31 victory about whether Mond had been playing with a chip on his shoulder. Does he think about getting to the College Football Playoff? Where does this game rank among his best? Like leaders typically do, he deflected praise.

“I think I still have a lot more work to do,” Mond said. “I felt really good trusting my eyes tonight and being able to read defenses and get us out of plays. I think I still have a lot more work to do, and my growth is nowhere near where it can be. I want to continue to be hard on myself.”

If Mond can somehow get even better, the rest of the country should be scared.

He finished 21-of-26 for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns Saturday. More importantly, he committed no turnovers against a Razorbacks defense that entered the game leading the league in takeaways. As the season goes on, he only seems to improve.

He started off slowly in the first two games. The Aggies barely beat Vanderbilt in their opener and then suffered a blowout to Alabama the following week. Criticism poured in. It seemed this was no different than the Mond we had grown used to in previous seasons.

But perhaps he wasn’t getting enough benefit of the doubt. He did lose top receiver Jhamon Ausbon to an opt-out and emerging target Caleb Chapman to injury. Junior receiver Hezekiah Jones returned to the lineup this week for the first time since 2018. Mond certainly had obstacles to overcome.

Whatever the case, Mond is peaking at the perfect time as the Aggies enter the prime part of their season. He is a lot more efficient than he has been in past years. His QB rating of 154.5 and touchdown-to-interception ratio of 5:1 are his best of any season.

A victory against Florida seemed to ignite something in A&M, who have followed that up with back-to-back dominant performances. If the Aggies keep it up, they have a good chance to finish 9-1, meaning Mond would also lead them to their best season since 2012, when Manziel was quarterback.

It could be even better if the Aggies make the Playoff. Where would that put Mond among A&M quarterbacks? He likely won’t win the Heisman Trophy, but one would have to rank him ahead of Manziel in terms of his impact to the program. He’d certainly have a case for best of this era.

Of course, there is still half of a regular season to play. Mond said himself he tries not to get wrapped up in breaking records or the Aggies’ path to the Playoff, but it’s hard not to notice it’s there.

We’ve spent years talking about how good Mond could be. Now he’s finally showing us.