The wait is over.

It’s finally time for football.

Texas A&M kicks off its 2022 season at 11 a.m. Saturday, hosting a Sam Houston State program in transition. The Aggies, ranked 6th in the AP poll, hail the return of last year’s starting quarterback, Haynes King, who in 2021 played in just 1 full game before being sidelined by an injury early in the second game of the season.

Two years removed from an FCS national championship, Sam Houston begins its second and final year in the Western Athletic Conference. The Bearkats will join Conference USA in 2023.

Texas A&M has won all 12 previous meetings, but the teams have played just twice this century and they were by far the most competitive in the series, with the Aggies winning 47-28 and 65-28. Prior to that, they had shut out the Bearkats in 7 of the first 10 meetings while allowing a total of just 26 points over those 10 games.

The Aggies have hosted 9 games in the series, including the previous 5. Sam Houston hosted 3 of the first 7 games between the programs, the last one dating all the way back to 1935.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher enters his 5th season in College Station and has never lost a season opener at home, going 8-0. He is 11-1 in all season openers, and Texas A&M is 15-2 since 2000 when it opens the season at Kyle Field.

If the past 2 meetings are any indication, this game should be a high-scoring affair with plenty of fireworks on both sides. Here are 5 things to watch for on Saturday:

1. Ainias “Swiss Army Knife” Smith

Given the nickname by Fisher for his ability to play many roles, Smith is the only player in Texas A&M history to gain 250-plus yards as a receiver, rusher, punt returner and kick returner. The senior is one of just 10 players in SEC history to accomplish the feat, and one of just 3 players in the SEC to do it in the past decade.

Smith most assuredly will be a big factor on Saturday, as he looks to extend his streak of 23 consecutive games with at least one reception, which dates to the 2019 season. He needs 52 receiving yards to break into the top 20 on the all-time list at Texas A&M. Smith also needs 2 TD catches to move past the great Mike Evans and into 5th place on the program’s all-time career receiving touchdowns list.

He looks to be King’s go-to receiver this season after leading the Aggies in 2021 with 47 receptions and 6 TD catches.

Smith is 8 receptions away from becoming only the 11th player in Aggies history to snag at least 120 passes in their career and is 58 punt-return yards from breaking into the top 10 on Texas A&M’s all-time list. He ranked 11th in the nation and 3rd in the SEC last season with an 11.3 yards-per-return average.

2. Devon Achane

The leader in TDs last season for Texas A&M with 11, the junior running back led the SEC by averaging 7 yards per carry. In 9 kickoff returns Achane averaged 33.4 yards, including a 96-yard return for a momentum-changing touchdown in the victory over Alabama.

He will be a key on Saturday as the Aggies try to control the ball with a solid ground attack.

3. Maroon Goons

For Achane to have a productive afternoon, he will need the Aggies offensive line to be dominant. It’s a veteran group led by junior Layden Robinson and sophomores Bryce Foster and Reuben Fatheree II, who were both named Freshman All-Americans last season.

The group helped Texas A&M churn up yardage on the ground with Achane and Isaiah Spiller both reaching 100 yards in 3 games last season. The offensive line helped the duo combine for 10 100-yard games in 2021.

It’s a fun group to watch and one that should be among the best in the SEC this season.

4. Antonio Johnson and a stingy secondary

It remains to be seen if the Aggies defense can equal or better the numbers from last season, when it finished 3rd in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 15.9 points per game. Six of that unit’s top 10 tacklers return, with junior defensive back Antonio Johnson among the leaders after recording a team-high 53 solo tackles in 2021.

Johnson paced a secondary that led the SEC by allowing just 2,312 total passing yards for the season. Senior Demani Richardson and junior Jaylon Jones will also be patrolling the defensive backfield, along with Tyreek Chappell and Myles Jones.

5. A quick start

Look for the Aggies to try to get off to a fast start on Saturday. It has paid off for them over the past 4 years under Fisher.

In that time, Texas A&M is 26-4 when scoring first and a perfect 24-0 when leading after the first quarter. An early score is just what King needs to settle back into his starting role at the controls of the Aggies’ offense.