No one picked Texas A&M to win its Thursday night opener at South Carolina.

Except Kevin Sumlin.

Here’s five takeaways from the Aggies’ emphatic victory:

  • KENNY HILL DOMINATES ON BIG STAGE: We all whiffed on Hill, Johnny Manziel’s replacement who carved up South Carolina for a school-record 511 yards through the air. The strong-armed sophomore found a rhythm early and never let up, showcasing a wide variety of throws on underneath routes and mid-level completions to open receivers. His performance was so impressive, Hill’s Heisman odds went to 20:1 after the game.
  • FIRST-QUARTER STATEMENT STUNS GAMECOCKS: South Carolina was supposed to win this game by a couple touchdowns, right? It took Texas A&M 3 minutes and 33 seconds to take a 7-0 lead and the rest was history. The Aggies converted two third downs on a drive that was capped off by Tra Carson’s 1-yard plunge.
  • SECONDARY STILL HAS ISSUES: Texas A&M was the SEC’s worst against the pass last season and Dylan Thompson’s 366-yard, four-touchdown performance wasn’t a good way to start. Two scores were on blown coverages while the others were well-covered.
  • TRUE FRESHMEN MAKE AN IMPACT: Speedy Noil returned two punts for seven yards and caught five passes for 55 yards. Defensive end Myles Garrett was credited with a sack on an intentional grounding play and provided constant pressure off the edge when he was in the game.
  • MALCOME KENNEDY GOES INTO HULK MODE: He didn’t reach the end zone, but the senior wideout abused South Carolina’s soft zone with a career-high 14 receptions.