Texas A&M Opens as Slight Favorite vs. Florida

The Texas A&M Aggies are visiting the Florida Gators to begin SEC play.

Nov 5, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators running back Trevor Etienne (7) pushes Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Jacoby Mathews (14) back in the second half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies will begin SEC play on Saturday when they travel to "The Swamp" to take on the Florida Gators.

After their 52-10 win over McNeese State, the Aggies enter the matchup as a slight favorite over Florida. FanDuel currently has Texas A&M as a 3.5-point favorite in the game despite being the road team.

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Trey Jones III (9) reacts to a play during the fourth quarter against the McNeese State Cowboys at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The Gators won their Week 2 matchup over Samford, 45-7, but the team is still recovering from its 41-17 season-opening beatdown against Miami. Regardless, the Aggies know that the Gators still pose a threat, especially at home.

"We're playing in Gainesville," Aggies defensive back Will Lee III said. "It's going to be a loud stadium. And we know how Florida gets. I just feel like us being together as a family and understanding what we're going to do ... we'll be fine."

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said that the Aggies will have no choice but to be ready for SEC play.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," he said. "Next week we're going down to The Swamp, and the expectation is we're going down there and playourfootball. ... That's where we're at. ... "We will go back and study the tape for them and figure out how to clean stuff up. Now, (we're) turning our attention to next week. First SEC game, a road game. We know what both of those things mean for this program.

Texas A&M and Florida will kick off on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.