The San Diego Chargers will host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night in the first pre-season game for both teams. This is a rematch of last year's game that saw the Chargers win by a score of 27-7 on the opening Thursday of the exhibition season. I expect a similar result this year.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Quarterbacks - When these teams met last year in the pre-season, Philip Rivers was a perfect 6-for-6 with his pass attempts, driving the length of the field for a TD in last year's game. His backup Kellen Clemens was also flawless, completing all five passes for 134 yards and a TD.

2. Coaching Philosophy - Not all coaches put much stock in winning these exhibition games, and the Cowboys Jason Garrett isn't known to take these contests very seriously. He has a career record of 7-10. Mike McCoy was 2-2 with the Chargers last year, but he was 2-0 at home.

3. X-Factor - The Chargers likely want to find out exactly what they've got with first round pick Melvin Gordon. He averaged almost eight yards per carry in his career at Wisconsin, and he's had a solid training camp. He should get every opportunity to strut his stuff here against the Cowboys.

Selection: This is a play on the San Diego Chargers (10*)