NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Vanderbilt Commodores and coach Derek Mason know only too well just how big an opportunity they have in their season opener.The can kick off the year with a win at home, and against a Southeastern Conference opponent to boot.Its something theyve failed to do in each of the past two seasons under Mason, and now they get to try again Thursday night when they host South Carolina on national television.We need momentum, and I think thats what were talking about, Mason said. Were talking about a chance to see something we havent had an opportunity to do since Ive been here.Vanderbilt hasnt opened the season with a victory since 2011 against Elon. The Commodores bounced back nicely the last time they opened a season losing to an SEC team, going 9-4 in 2013 after losing to Mississippi. But Mason, whos revamped his coaching staff almost entirely since arriving on campus in 2014, is just 7-17 and is expecting to build on last years 4-8 record.Were a team thats got to earn respect, Mason said. That drives this team.South Carolina has won seven straight in this series and even got its lone SEC win against Vandy last season after Steve Spurrier stepped down. Now Will Muschamp is in charge trying to turn around the Gamecocks after a 3-9 record that was the leagues worst. It doesnt help that the schedule has the Gamecocks on the road for their first three SEC games to kick off the season, making this opener even more crucial.As all first ball games, you go in expecting anything and making sure your players are able to adjust to all the different things that pop up throughout the game, Muschamp said. There are going to be some new things and youve got to be able to adjust as the games goes. Thats going to be really important, especially for us.---Here are some things to watch Thursday night:QB SHUFFLE: Muschamp has held off on naming a quarterback starter until game-time with nobody rising up to grab the job, and the coach says the Gamecocks could use at least two quarterbacks against the Commodores. Senior Perry Orth has the most experience, starting eight games a year ago with a 78-yard TD pass helping beat Vandy 19-10 in Columbia. Freshman Brandon McIlwain enrolled in January, while freshman Jake Bentley arrived in June.VANDYS QB: For a change, quarterback is not a question for the Commodores. The 6-foot-4 Kyle Shurmur won the job after starting both of Vandys two SEC wins last season as a freshman.GROWING UP: Mason keeps calling this an older team, and he has eight juniors or seniors on offense with the age difference most noticeable on defense where all 11 starters are at least juniors. Thats in addition to eight returning starters on offense and as many as 11 who started multiple games on defense last season.YOUNG RECEIVERS: Needing to replace play-making receiver Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina is looking at its youngest wide-outs. Sophomore Deebo Samuel and freshman Bryan Edwards will both start against the Commodores. Backups include Chavis Dawkins, Korey Banks and Radrecous Davis, all freshmen. I think they are all talented guys and in different ways, Muschamp said. Edwards enters with the most hype, a 6-3 leaper who earned a game-breaking reputation in high school.DEFENSIVE VANDY: Mason is running the defense for a second straight season, and the Commodores expect to improve after ranking 28th in yards allowed in 2015. That was just a taste of what we can do defensively, linebacker and safety Oren Burks said. Weve gotten a taste of that, and were hungry for more.---Online:AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org and AP-Top 25 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Cheap Jerseys China . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Wholesale China Jerseys . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. http://www.cheapjerseysforwholesalestore.com/ . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. Cheap NFL Jerseys . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A month ago, Rays starter Jake Odorizzi was the epitome of frustration, leading the majors in no-decisions with only three wins in 19 starts. He was mentioned as a trade target at the deadline, but stayed as Tampa Bay dealt Matt Moore to the Giants instead.Since the All-Star break, hes been one of the best pitchers in the American League -- 4-0 with a 1.66 ERA that is an American League-best for a pitcher with 25 or more innings. Hes struck out 33 batters while walking seven, part of a resurgent starting rotation thats helped the Rays play .500 baseball since the break.And as much as facing the team with the ALs best record would seem to slow that down, Odorizzi (7-5, 3.72 this season) has fared well against the Rangers prior to Fridays meeting. In three career starts, hes 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA, and that drops to 0.71 in two appearances at Tropicana Field.The Rays hope to regain some momentum after seeing a four-game win streak end with Fridays 6-2 loss.Pretty disappointing game to say the least, Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Fridays game. We got outpitched, outhit, outdefended. They didnt make any mental mistakes; we made a handful. So a pretty disappointing effort.Heading in the opposite direction from Odorizzi is Rangers starter A.J. Griffin, who comes in 5-2 with 4.68 ERA, but has seen his effectiveness dropp consistently as the season progresses.ddddddddddddGriffin had four quality starts in his first five appearances, but none in his last 11. The same pitcher who had a 2.93 ERA at the end of June had a 5.84 ERA in July and has a 7.41 ERA in August.A big part of that struggle has been a consistent inability to avoid the home-run ball -- he gave up just two home runs in his first six starts, but has allowed at least one in 10 straight starts, including seven in his last three outings. His last start saw him give up 11 hits -- including three home runs -- for six runs in a 7-0 loss to the Tigers.The Rangers havent had many weaknesses, but starting off road trips poorly has been one of them. Coming out of the All-Star break, they dropped six of their first seven on the road, and opened their next road trip losing three of four. So to open a five-game road swing with an emphatic victory Friday night was encouraging for manager Jeff Banister.I feel good about how theyre playing in general, but obviously we need to continue to play well on the road, Banister said after their fifth straight road victory. We get an opportunity (next week) to go home and play where we like to play, but we need to play better on the road. ' ' '