On Saturday, Auburn will welcome the SEC’s most experienced quarterback into Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kellen Mond has been the Aggies’ full-time starter for the past two seasons, and he also saw significant time as a freshman in 2017 as a backup.
For the most part, Mond’s play this season has been a difference maker for his team. He’s thrown 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions in seven games. His performance seems to be a glimpse at what Aggie fans have long hoped Mond would be, as he now stands alone at the top of the school’s record books for career passing yards and touchdowns.
Mond has historically struggled against Auburn. The last time the two teams faced off in Jordan-Hare, he completed just 50% of his passes and threw a costly interception to Noah Igbinoghene that would spark a Tigers comeback. He was better in 2019, especially towards the end as the Aggies racked up yards through the air in the waning minutes of the game, but it wasn’t nearly enough to pull his team to victory.
Finally, Mond’s Aggies come into a matchup with the Tigers with the upper hand. Now in head coach Jimbo Fisher’s third season, the Aggies boast a 6-1 record and are ranked fifth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, just one spot short of the coveted four-team field. Auburn has had its fair share of turbulence, falling to 5-3 and dropping out of the Top 25 after a brutal loss to arch-rival Alabama last week.
To bring down the top-5 Aggies, the Tigers will have to pressure Mond into making poor decisions. He struggled last week against LSU—a team that Auburn dominated—completing just 11 of his 34 passing attempts. If Auburn can help Mond continue that sudden cold streak, taking down Texas A&M for the fourth-straight year will become that much easier.
Auburn kicks off their home finale at 11 a.m. CST on Saturday.
