Here’s everything you need to know about the rematch of last year’s season opener between Rice and Texas A&M.

When: Tonight
Where: College Station, Texas
Game Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Current Line: Texas A&M (-32)

Game Buzz: Texas A&M entered the season as a question mark in the minds of some. The Aggies lost three first-round picks from last year’s electric offense and returned plenty of players from last year’s porous defense. But sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill has fit coach Kevin Sumlin’s system perfectly, and the defense appears improved. A blowout win against Rice feels like a foregone conclusion.

SATURDAY DOWN SOUTH PREVIEWS

NO. 7 TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Players To Watch:

  • QB Kenny Hill
  • WR/KR Speedy Noil
  • LT Cedric Ogbuehi
  • LG Jarvis Harrison
  • DE Myles Garrett
  • MLB Jordan Mastrogiovanni
  • CB Deshazor Everett

Keys For Texas A&M:

  • Avoid giving up big plays. Rice doesn’t have any scary talent on offense with receiver Jordan Taylor (foot) out. A&M is going to put up points all year, so the defense needs to condition itself to make the other team drive the field and earn every point.
  • Develop the talented freshmen. Texas A&M’s talented recruiting class already has contributed, but it can offer more as the season goes along. With such a tough SEC West, the Aggies need as many contributions as possible from the Class of 2014.
  • Keep the starters healthy and fresh. This goes along with the previous bullet point. The Aggies need a strong first half so the team can stay as fresh and ready for the rest of the SEC schedule as possible.

Glaring Weakness To Watch: Run defense — This is more retroactive than it is based on the first two games of the season. Rice pounded its way to 306 yards against A&M last year, leading to a season full of misery for the Aggies’ run defense. A solid effort against the Owls’ traditionally strong running game would start to make Texas A&M look more like a complete team.

Most Interesting Part Of The Game: The current count is 125 points in two games. How much can Hill and the offense score this time?

Team Buzz: Sumlin and the Aggies may be the sexiest program in the country right now. How will the young talent perform with so much hype?

RICE OWLS

Players To Watch:

  • OT Caleb Williams
  • QB Driphus Jackson
  • WR Dennis Parks
  • DT Christian Covington
  • CB Bryce Callahan
  • S Julius White

Keys For Rice:

  • Move the chains. If the Owls can’t sustain drives, it could turn into a long, long night for Rice. The defending C-USA champions need to keep the Aggies offense on the sideline as much as possible.
  • Develop Jackson as a passer. Taylor should be ready for the C-USA opener next week, but Jackson to this point is a dual-threat quarterback who lacks enough ability as a passer to keep defenses honest.
  • Don’t give A&M’s receivers cushion. As productive as the Aggies have been on offense, they haven’t produced many explosive plays. Hill is a system quarterback who will shred any defense that gives him easy 7-yard completions. Contrary to what you may think, Rice needs to press A&M off the line of scrimmage and force some third-and-long situations at the expense of a few big plays.