We’ve made it people. The 2014 college football season kicks off tonight. With the season finally here, I give you the best matchups of the weekend from the Southeastern Conference.
No. 21 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 South Carolina - 6 p.m. Tonight, SEC Network: The 2014 college football season starts off with a bang as the No. 21 Aggies travel to Columbia, S.C. to face the No. 9 Gamecocks. The Gamecocks are 7-0 in Thursday-night season openers since Steve Spurrier took over in 2005.
With no more Johnny Football, the Aggies will start sophomore Kenny Hill at quarterback tonight. He should feel comfortable standing behind an offensive line that returns five starters from last season.
The Aggies wide receiving corps is without Mike Evans this year, but senior Malcome Kennedy returns as their second-leading receiver from 2013, and they add true freshman stud Speedy Noil, who stepped on campus as the No. 3 ranked receiver in the 2014 recruiting class.
Leading rusher Ben Malena is gone, but the ground game is led by Trey Williams and Tra Carson, who combined for over 700 yards rushing last year.
Luckily for Hill, Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, is no longer in a Gamecocks uniform. But South Carolina does return a solid linebacking corps this year led by Skai Moore, who had 56 tackles last year as a true freshman. They also return two starters in the secondary to challenge TAMU’s receivers.
Like Texas A&M, South Carolina is breaking in a new quarterback. Fifth-year senior Dylan Thompson takes over for Connor Shaw with some good experience under his belt — he’s 3-0 as a starter in his career.
Wideouts Shaq Roland and Damiere Byrd return as well, averaging 18 and 17 yards per catch last season, respectively.
Thompson is fortunate to have sleeper Heisman candidate Mike Davis in his backfield. The junior is coming off of a 1,183 yard rushing season, and f the Aggies can’t stop Davis, it could be a long night.
A&M returns seven starters from a defense that ranked 96th or worse in rushing, passing, scoring and total defense.
Boise State vs. No. 18 Ole Miss - 8 p.m. Tonight, ESPN: We get two kickoff treats tonight as BCS buster Boise State plays No. 18 Ole Miss in Atlanta. Boise’s last trip to the Georgia Dome in 2011 resulted in a 14-point victory over Georgia. It gets tougher for Boise this time around, as they are without prolific passer Kellen Moore and head coach Chris Petersen.
Ole Miss is entering its third year under Hugh Freeze. Returning with him is an extremely talented defense led by defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche and All-American safety Cody Prewitt. They return seven other starters from the unit. Offensively, they get quarterback Bo Wallace, who had more than 3,300 yards passing last year, back.
Sophomore wide receiver Laquon Treadwell will be his go-to target, averaging 8 yards per catch as a true freshman last year.
No. 16 Clemson vs. No. 12 Georgia - Saturday 5:30 pm, ESPN: Georgia has revenge on its mind after suffering a 38-35 loss to Clemson in last year’s season opener.
The ‘Dawgs have a new quarterback in fifth-year senior Hutson Mason, who enters with two and a half games experience under his belt. Mason has a plethora of talented wideouts to throw to including Chris Conley, Michael Bennett and Malcolm Mitchell.
Georgia’s backfield is loaded with tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, too. Heisman candidate Gurley rushed for more than 900 yards last year despite being banged up for a good chunk of the season.
Marshall is fully recovered from a season ending ACL tear in 2013.
Clemson is without the dynamic duo of Sammy Watkins and Tajh Boyd on offense, but their defense returns six starters including defensive end Vic Beasley who racked up 13 sacks last season. The Tigers’ defensive line could exploit an inexperienced Georgia offensive line, who returns just one lineman who started all 13 games last season.
No. 13 LSU vs. No. 14 Wisconsin - 9 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: Both teams enter the matchup with talented running back corps.
Wisconsin’s ground game is led by Heisman candidate Melvin Gordon who had a ridiculous 1,609 rushing yards last year. The Badgers return four starters on the offensive line, and get redshirt junior quarterback Joel Stave back too.
LSU’s run game is led by senior Terrence Magee and true freshman Leonard Fournette. Magee had 600+ yards in back-up duty behind Jeremy Hill last year, and Fournette is one of the most hyped up true freshman in the country. The No. 1 ranked running back prospect in the 2014 recruiting class was compared to Michael Jordan and Adrian Peterson during SEC Media Days.
The Tiger defense returns seven starters from a unit that finished the year giving up just 143 yards on the ground per game. Wisconsin gets back just three starters from a unit that finished 7th in total defense last year.
Follow Morgan Moriarty on Twitter @Morgan_Moriarty
In this Jan. 1, 2014, file photo, South Carolina running back Mike Davis (28) gains yardage against Wisconsin during the second half of the Capital One Bowl NCAA college football game in Orlando, Fla. Steve Spurrier says 1,000-yard rusher Mike Davis hadn't practiced last week and might not be ready when the ninth-ranked Gamecocks open the season against No. 21 Texas A&M tonight.
