Welcome to college football

College football is missing some of its expected stars.

Some were booted from their teams, such as LSU dynamo Tyrann Mathieu, Georgia running back Isaiah Crowell, Tennessee receiver Da’Rick Rogers and Florida State corner Greg Reid.

Others are out for the season because of injury, including Florida State defensive end Brandon Jenkins, Michigan cornerback Blake Countess and Oklahoma guard Tyler Evans. The Sooners’ center, Ben Habern, had to give up football because of neck and back problems.

But there are always new stars to step into the spotlight.

Here is a look at 10 new players/people/things — in no particular order — that made fine debuts in Week 1 of college football:

— Freshman RB Todd Gurley, Georgia. Isaiah who? Gurley scored from 10 yards out on his second career carry, dashed 100 yards on the first kickoff return of his career and stiff-armed his way to a 55-yard touchdown run. He finished with 100 yards on eight carries, and 127 yards on two kick returns against Buffalo. Next up: A prime-time night game at Missouri.

— Redshirt freshman QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon. He beat out Bryan Bennett for a reason. He led the Ducks to 50 first-half points, completing 18 of 22 passes for 200 yards and three scores, against Arkansas State. The Ducks aren’t slowing down any time soon.

— Junior college transfer WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee. He humbled North Carolina State All-American cornerback David Amerson on a 41-yard touchdown reception and also scored on a 67-yard reverse — all in the first quarter of his first FBS game. With Rogers gone, Patterson steps in to form a potent duo with Justin Hunter. Said Hunter: “He’s got a great chance to be one of the best in the league.”

— Texas State. The Bobcats, in their first season in the FBS and playing in the WAC, stunned Houston 30-13 on the road and even earned a spot on one ballot in the AP Top 25 poll. Next is a home game against Texas Tech. Can Dennis Franchione’s squad pull off another upset?

— Freshman RB T.J. Yeldon, Alabama. The kid’s debut was no surprise to anyone watching in the spring. He darted for a 40-yard touchdown, finished with 111 yards on 11 carries and caught a 26-yard pass. He has the right stuff to run in the footsteps of 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram and 2011 finalist Trent Richardson. “We have lots of confidence that he can be an outstanding player for us, and we certainly need him to be,” coach Nick Saban said.

— Redshirt freshman QB Brett Hundley, UCLA. The Bruins suffered through quarterback problems last season while fans lost interest in the program and coach Rick Neuheisel got fired. You’ve got to wonder if Hundley would have helped because it took him all of one play — a 72-yard touchdown run — to make an impact. He completed 21 of 28 passes for 202 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, at Rice. If he leads UCLA over Nebraska this week, there will be a second star QB in Los Angeles.

— True freshman QB Wes Lunt, Oklahoma State. OK, so playing Savannah State was like playing a scrimmage against the intramural flag football champs, but Lunt successfully dipped his toes into the college football water, completing all 11 of his passes for 129 yards. Lunt bears more burden than any true freshman quarterback in the country, leading a ranked team and filling the shoes of Brandon Weeden, and we’ll see how he holds up in his road debut — Saturday night at Arizona.

— The Pac-12 Network. The new TV venture (still unavailable on satellite carriers) opened with five games, including Stanford’s escape against San Jose State, and Cal’s upset loss to Nevada. Good drama for the opening week … now, if the network can only ditch the volleyball schedule and soccer rankings along the bottom scroll in favor of some actual college football updates.

— Freshman RB Duke Johnson, Miami. The Hurricanes have plenty of issues, but Johnson is not one of them. On only seven carries, the former Mr. Florida broke off TD runs of 54 and 56 yards in a victory at Boston College. He ended up with 135 rushing yards, tops among freshmen across the country. His speed and cut-back ability make Miami worth watching.

— Junior college transfer RB Marion Grice; true freshman RB D.J. Foster, Arizona State. First-year ASU coach Todd Graham scrapped the Devils’ passing spread offense to put in his run-based attack. He has the horses to make it work, led by senior Cameron Marshall, and these two newcomers need their touches, too. Grice had 14 carries for 107 yards and three touchdowns vs. Northern Arizona, while Foster had 74 yards and a score on eight rushes. He added four receptions for 32 yards.