The No. 8 Aggies (4-1), scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions Saturday night in route to a comfortable 42-31 win over the Razorbacks (2-3). While the A&M defense was largely unimpressive, the offensive output made the margin of victory refreshingly large compared to the consistent nail-biters between the two teams at AT&T Stadium.

It was a big night for quarterback Kellen Mond, who not only had an excellent night throwing the ball (21-26, 260 yards, 3 TD), but also became A&M’s all-time total yardage leader with a third quarter touchdown pass to Jaylen Wydermyer. The senior passed Johnny Manziel, who racked up 9,981 yards in his two seasons in Aggieland.

The Aggie offense didn’t start out hot, punting after a four-play drive to start the game. Arkansas, on the other hand, marched right down the field on a 12-play, 87-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard pass from Felipe Franks to Traylon Burks. The Razorbacks touchdown seemed to spur the Aggie offense into action, as Mond (21-26, 260 yards, 3 TD) was 4-4 on an 8-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Ainias Smith (6 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD).

Smith wrapped up A&M’s next drive as well, finishing a 5 play, 58-yard drive with a 15-yard scoring dash. Arkansas would then put together a solid drive that ended with a missed 49-yard field goal attempt, and the Aggies went back to work again. On a drive that saw Mond hit Wydermyer (6 catches, 92 yards, 2 TD) for 14 and 20 yards on a pair of 3rd and long situations, the big tight end was reward with his first touchdown catch of the year, a 6-yard lob in the back corner of the end zone.

“Our competitive nature, to keep matching…was very good,” coach Jimbo Fisher said.

With the help of some critical missed tackles and a 36-yard pass from Franks (23-31, 239 yards, 2 TD) to Burks (7 catches, 117 yards) on 4th and 2 their own 49, Arkansas was able to score on a 1-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Morris to cut the lead to 7. Nonplussed, the Aggie offense went right back down the field, going 74 yards in 7 plays for a 4-yard touchdown run from Isaiah Spiller (21 carries, 82 yards, 2 TD).

It looked like the Razorbacks were going to make things interesting again on their next drive, as they benefitted from a pair of personal fouls on A&M to move the ball inside the Aggie 30. But the defense made two of its biggest plays of the night, with Myles Jones sticking with tight end Hunter Henry for a 4-yard loss on a misdirection play and defensive end Tyree Johnson sacking Franks on 3rd and 7 to push Arkansas to the edge of kicker A.J. Reed’s range. Reed missed from 49 again, and the Aggies went to the locker room up two scores.

“The other big play in this game…was us getting that stop right before halftime,” Fisher said.”It was really big. If they score there, no matter how well we played, they get the ball back to start the second half and it’s 28-28.”

A&M essentially put the game away in third quarter, outscoring Arkansas 14-3. Reed would hit a 34-yard field goal to cut the lead to 11, but the Aggie offensive surge continued. Mond hit Wydermyer for a 15-yard score to break Manziel’s record and put A&M up 35-17, then freshman Devon Achane applied the dagger with a brilliant 30-yard run to finish a 6-play, 69-yard drive and score his first collegiate touchdown.

A&M not only scored on six consecutive possessions, but didn’t give up a sack for the fourth consecutive game and didn’t turn the ball over against a defense that had thrived on turnovers coming in.

“It’s a good feeling (to have no turnovers). That’s the goal for the offense not to turn the ball over. We used the film and just trusted our eyes and were able to execute and find holes and in the zone and when they played man, we found ways to make plays,” Mond said.

The Razorbacks didn’t go away, scoring twice in the final frame, including a 14-yard run by former Aggie Rakeem Boyd (18 carries, 100 yards, 1 TD) with 39 seconds left to ensure Arkansas beat the 14-point spread.

“Hats off to those guys; they competed until he end of the game,” linebacker Buddy Johnson said.

While the Aggie offense was stellar with 442 yards of offense, the defense gave up 460, as A&M had another unbalanced game with one unit covering for the other.

“Defensively, I wish we hadn’t given up that last drive. We’re a work in progress and we’ll keep grinding,” Fisher said.

Smith said that the Aggies can still do more than what they’ve shown in the first five games of the season.

“We can definitely elevate. There’s never a time when we’re playing to our full potential. We can always better ourselves from each game. We have to keep going and keep elevating and that’s what the plan is,” he said. “We’re all playing for each other. And I’m loving it.”