Thursday, August 28, 2014, 6:00 PM

Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC

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In an early SEC battle, the Texas A&M Aggies will open their season on the road against a tough opponent in the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Johnny Manziel-led Texas A&M Aggies finished the 2013 season with a 4-4 record in the SEC and a 9-4 record overall, then went on to win the Chick-fil-A Bowl over the Duke Blue Devils. They ended up with the fifth-most points in the nation, but they gave up 32.2 points per game, which was 96th in the country.

Johnny Football won't be there to be the quarterback for the Aggies this year, so sophomore Kenny Hill and freshman Kyle Allen will battle it out for the starting job. Deshazor Everett is one of the best defensive backs in the conference, but the Aggies are expected to struggle on defense again this season.

The South Carolina Gamecocks were able to end their 2013 season on a six-game winning streak and finished with a 6-2 conference record and an 11-2 record overall. They gave up just 20.3 points per game last year, which was good for 12th in the country.

If the Gamecocks want to finish in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive season, they will need to get great contributions from quarterback Dylan Thompson and running back Mike Davis. Thompson will begin the season as the starter for the first time, while Davis will look to match or better his 1,183 rushing output from last year.

Josh's Pick: Take South Carolina

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