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After an offseason ravaged by the coronavirus, Jimbo Fisher and his Texas A&M Aggies will welcome the Vanderbilt Commodores to College Station on Saturday to kick off the 2020 season.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the entire country last year, TAMU finished the 2019 season 8-5 with all of their losses coming at the hands of the murderer’s row slate of Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and LSU. With several returnees including senior quarterback Kellen Mond calling the shots under center, the Aggies were picked to finish fourth in conference by the SEC Media and enter the truncated 2020 season ranked tenth in the Associated Press poll.
After making a bowl in 2018, the historically downtrodden Commordore program regressed back to the mean in 2019 with a 3-9 campaign that witnessed them follow up an embarrassing home loss to UNLV with a an upset victory of then No. 21 Missouri. Despite the poor mark, Vandy athletic director Malcolm Turner stuck by longtime head coach Derek Mason and brought him back for another season.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Point spread: Vanderbilt (+30.5) vs. Texas A&M
Point Total: O/U (45.5) -110
Money line:
The Best Bet
With a senior quarterback returning and a veteran offensive line, Texas A&M enters the fall as a darkhorse SEC West contender for a reason and should have no issues pushing Vanderbilt around Kyle Field. However, with several opt-outs on both sides including Aggie receiver Jhamon Ausbon, this one could be sloppy at points.
Pick: Vanderbilt +30.5
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