UCLA @ Texas A&M preview

UCLA coach Jim Mora will face his most formidable season-opening opponent in five seasons at the school when the No. 24 Bruins travel Saturday to Texas A&M, where crowds of 100,000 typically fill Kyle Field. Mora will also be matched against his offensive coordinator the last four years, Noel Mazzone, who moved into the same role with Texas A&M this season.

Mazzone will have an experienced quarterback to guide in Trevor Knight, a graduate transfer from Oklahoma who beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2013 season, but transferred during the off-season after he was beaten out for the starting job by Baker Mayfield. The Aggies will be somewhat thin at wide receiver, as Devante "Speedy" Noil is suspended for the season opener following his arrest last spring, and freshman Quartney Davis tore his ACL over the summer. UCLA will also lean heavily on its passing game, led by outspoken sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen, who threw for 3,670 yards and 23 touchdowns with 11 interceptions last season. What remains uncertain for the Bruins is which running back will get the bulk of the carries, as Soso Jamabo, Nate Starks and Bolu Olorunfunmi each received considerable reps with the first-team offense, and freshmen Brandon Stephens and Jalen Starks are in the mix as well.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Texas A&M -3.

ABOUT UCLA (2015: 8-5): Kennedy Polamalu was promoted to offensive coordinator after spending the last two seasons as running backs coach for the Bruins, and Marques Tuiasosopo takes over as the quarterbacks coach after working the last two seasons as an assistant at USC. Polamalu has added his own touches to the offensive system, though he and Rosen have kept those alterations mostly under wraps in the weeks leading up to Saturday's game. On the other side of the ball, UCLA has spent a big chunk of the off-season shoring up its run defense, and a big part of that responsibility has been handed to defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener last year against Virginia. He'll be counted on to fill the void opened up by the departure of Kenny Clark, who was drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers last spring.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (2015: 8-5): The Aggies have won their first five games in each of the last two seasons, but went 3-5 the rest of the way to throw a bucket of cold water on their BCS championship hopes. Texas A&M will rely heavily on its pass rush to stymie opposing quarterbacks, and the Aggies have one of the nation's best in defensive end Myles Garrett, who led the SEC last season with 12 1/2 sacks, 19 1/2 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. On the opposite end is Daeshon Hall, who contributed seven sacks, 14 1/2 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles last season, including four sacks and both forced fumbles in the season opener against Arizona State. In the secondary, Rosen needs to keep an eye out for safeties Justin Evans and Armani Watts, the latter of whom produced a team-high 126 tackles last season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Texas A&M LB Josh Walker is suspended for the opening month following his August arrest on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend and interfering with her 911 call. Walker has started five games over the previous two seasons.

2. UCLA will have freshmen at place kicker (JJ Molson), long snapper (Johnny Den Bleyker) and punter (Austin Kent) for the season opener.

3. OT Conor McDermott returns to anchor a UCLA offensive line that allowed 14 sacks last season, the second lowest total in school history.

PREDICTION: UCLA 34, Texas A&M 30