Jimbo Fisher was worried about his team’s preparedness against South Carolina.

Texas A&M lost a practice last week because of election day. Fisher said he still believed his team prepared the best it could, but the loss of that day did give him a bit more anxiety heading into a road matchup with the Gamecocks on Saturday.

His fears were quickly assuaged.

Kellen Mond broke the school record with his 68th career passing touchdown a week after becoming the leader in total yards. The defense didn’t allow a touchdown and nearly pitched a shutout. In all, it was the most dominant performance we have seen out of A&M all season.

The Aggies certainly strengthened their case as a contender after a 48-3 victory that was so lopsided it fueled rumblings of a coaching change at South Carolina. Georgia and Clemson, both of whom were ranked ahead of the Aggies in the AP poll, lost, too. That put A&M in an enviable position as they threatened to move into the top 5, depending on how far the Tigers fall.

The offense was unstoppable against the Gamecocks, converting 12 of 16 third downs and amassing 530 total yards with no turnovers. Mond had an early connection with tight end Jalen Wydermyer, who scored 2 touchdowns in the first half to help A&M to a 21-0 halftime lead. He is coming into his own as a blocker and pass catcher in his sophomore season.

South Carolina had no answer for the run, either. Isaiah Spiller rushed for more than 100 yards for the 3rd time this season.

The defense was unmovable, giving up just 150 yards all evening. The Gamecocks could get nothing going as Kevin Harris, who entered the game as the SEC’s 2nd-leading rusher, finished with a mere 39 yards. The Aggies had 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.

Fisher is typically not quick to overstate the importance of a win, but even he let that guard down a bit.

“I think the poise of our players and our leadership on both sides of the ball allowed that to happen, and we continually keep pounding,” he said. “They’re trying to dominate the play. That’s how you end up dominating the game. You don’t worry about what the results gonna be. You worry about that play and then go to the next play. I think we’re learning that, and in turn we’re seeing the big picture come together.”

The wire-to-wire control is what was most impressive. The Aggies could have let up coming out of the locker room with a huge lead, but they did just the opposite. They added 3 more touchdowns before the Gamecocks finally got on the board with a field goal.

We will have a better idea of where A&M stands in the national picture when the poll comes out. Even with the big victory against Georgia, Florida is unlikely to jump them. The Aggies have another road test next week against Tennessee, which blew a lead to Arkansas (a team A&M handled with little difficulty) in the 2nd half on Saturday.

If A&M can turn in another performance like this, they will make themselves impossible to ignore.