Week 1 is finally here. There’s a lot to know about Thursday’s 21-game slate and the games that will be played this weekend. Some notable names will return after serious injuries last season, and many freshmen will get their first chance to show what they’re made of on the field. And what did coaches say this offseason?

Utah quarterback Cam Rising is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him last season, but remember he led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 championships. Can he do the same for the Utes in their first year in the Big 12 Conference? And can Alabama freshman cornerback Zabien Brown earn a starting role this season?

Our reporters discuss records that could be broken this season, five freshmen you need to know, and other important topics coming up in Week 1.

Big names back from injury

from Utah Camshaft up:

Cam Rising’s absence last season due to a serious knee injury — suffered in the Rose Bowl the season before — took the Utes off the track before they could really get going. Rising’s return should immediately lift the Utes back into the nation’s elite, given how successful they were in his previous two seasons as starting quarterback. Remember, both seasons ended with trips to Pasadena.

In 2021, he was a first-team All-Pac-12 quarterback as he led the Utes to the conference title. They repeated as champions in 2022, and while Rising was relegated to honorable mention all-conference honors, his passing statistics — 3,034 yards passing, 26 touchdown passes, eight interceptions — were just as good. With a talented receiving corps, Rising should come away with another productive season as Utah tries to make a name for itself in the Big 12. — Kyle Bonagura

Conner Weigman of Texas A&M:

The Weigman era in College Station has been one of promise, but also frustration. He set a straight Texas A&M freshman passing record in his first start of 2022 with 338 yards, threw for four touchdowns against Ole Miss before throwing for two touchdowns in an upset of No. 6 LSU at the end of a 5-7 season. He started last season by throwing for five touchdown passes in the opener against New Mexico.

He played three complete games last year and looked to be the No. 27 overall prospect in 2022 with 909 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions, but a foot injury against Auburn ended his season as the Aggies limped to a 7-6 finish. New coach Mike Elko lured Collin Klein from Klein’s alma mater, Kansas State, to revitalize the offense, and his first priority was to fix an offensive line that had struggled to keep up with Weigman and his other QBs. Weigman said this week that he’s finally back to 100 percent and ready to get started. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there on August 31st.” — Dave Wilson

Riley Leonard of Notre Dame:

While it wasn’t technically his last game in a Duke uniform, the Riley Leonard era in Durham unofficially ended with one final throw and a brutal tackle in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame last September. He’d come back from an ankle injury and hobbled through two more games, but the magic was gone.

Coincidentally, that injury took him from the losing side to the winning side, with Leonard transferring to Notre Dame in December. He sat out spring training, but he insists his ankle is fully healed and stronger than before, meaning the Irish have a potential superstar at QB. In 2022, the last season he was fully healthy, Leonard was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, throwing for 20 touchdowns and running for 13 more. — David Hale

Five freshmen to keep an eye on

Jeremiah Smith, wide receiver, Ohio State: The dynamic pass catcher will start alongside returners Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate against Akron in Week 1. Despite all of Ohio State’s elite wide receiver talent of late, Chris Carter still holds the program’s freshman records for catches (41), receiving yards (648) and touchdowns (8), set in 1984. Could Smith, expected to be heavily reliant on the Buckeyes, make a run for those records in 2024?

Jordan Seaton, left winger, Colorado: Seaton’s Year 1 transition is an intriguing layer to one of college football’s most compelling stories. The five-star tackle is a clear upgrade on a Colorado offensive line that struggled to protect Shedeur Sanders in 2023. But like most first-year offensive linemen, Seaton will likely experience ups and downs. Can he mature quickly and minimize mistakes during a long-awaited fall in Boulder?

KJ Bolden, safety, Georgia: The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back has impressed as a playmaker since arriving in Athens as a midyear enrollee. Coach Kirby Smart is keeping his depth chart under wraps ahead of Georgia’s Week 1 opener against Clemson, but Bolden is certain to play defense early and he could push for a starting role in the second half of the season as the Bulldogs’ latest standout freshman contributor.

Jayden Jackson, defensive tackle, Oklahoma: Brent Venables has compared Jackson to former Sooners nose guard Dusty Dvoracek and this month praised the defender’s “different level of maturity” in his first year. It’s part of the reason Jackson is scheduled to start alongside veteran TCU transfer Damonic Williams in Week 1 against Temple. Time will tell if Jackson is ready to battle against SEC offensive lines, but his 6-2, 300-pound frame should make him an immediate impact run defender.

Zabien Brown, cornerback, Alabama: The Crimson Tide are without six cornerbacks from last fall, and will need to replace starters at both cornerback positions. The obvious candidates for those roles are veteran Alabama transfers Domani Jackson (USC) and DaShawn Jones (Wake Forest). But Brown — one of the Crimson Tide’s three top-100 defensive back signees in 2024 — has stunned the coaching staff in Tuscaloosa and should be in the picture early and often, whether or not he earns starting duties somewhere down the road this fall. — Eli Lederman

Notable Off-Season Quotes

“Honestly, every player is technically a transfer. We just signed a whole crop of guys coming out of high school.” — Clemson’s Dabo Swinney on the school’s lack of additions through the transfer portal.

“We pay players.” — Baylor coach Dave Aranda, on how the Bears have improved their recruiting.

“I don’t have a bad day, man. I might have a bad moment, I might even have a bad hour, but I never have a bad day. I don’t have that. ‘Cause I set my own thermostat.” — Colorado coach Deion Sanders to rapper Lil Wayne.

“It says in Hebrews, ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for.’ I have all the confidence in the world in the people in our building.” — Florida coach Billy Napier ahead of a pivotal third season with the Gators.

Records that can be broken this season

Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel already has four seasons of 3,000 yards passing on his resume, but if he were to reach 4,000 in 2024 — or, more specifically, 4,353 — he would surpass Case Keenum for the FBS career passing yardage leader. Is that a long shot? It’s worth noting that Oregon’s QB threw for 4,508 yards last season , and if the Ducks play up to expectations, there’s a scenario in which Gabriel has 15 games to reach that mark. — Happy

The NCAA record for most wins in a season is a three-way tie of 16 between Yale’s William Rhodes in 1894, Chicago’s Amos Alonzo Stagg in 1899 and Yale’s Walter Camp in 1899. Teams could play 17 games this season, with a regular season, a conference title game and possibly four playoff games (18 games if they play Hawaii and get an exemption). There’s a good chance someone will equal or surpass that record in the near future. — Wills

This isn’t technically kept by the NCAA for record-keeping purposes, but there seems to be a chance that the career games played record could fall this year. Unofficially, the record stands at 69 games, tied between Minnesota’s Nyles Pinckney (2016-21) and the Clemson trio of James Skalski (2016-21), Will Spiers (2016-21) and Will Swinney (2017-21). UTSA’s Oscar Cardenas enters this season with 57 games played (thanks to four games in his redshirt season, plus 12 games during the COVID-impacted 2020 season), meaning that reaching 70 games is within reach. He’ll need to stay healthy, of course, and UTSA will need to reach a bowl game, but the alleged record is in play. It’s possible that other players are in the mix, but participation stats aren’t as readily available en masse as most statistics. — Bona guara

Let’s talk placekickers. Since 1956, only three have surpassed 90 career field goals made: NC State’s Christopher Dunn (97 in 2018-22), Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez (96 in 2013-16) and Auburn’s Daniel Carlson (92 in 2014-17). This fall, though, Boise State’s Jonah Dalmas is in position to reach that group and then surpass them all. The Broncos’ fifth-year kicker enters 2024 with 80 career field goals, just 17 shy of Dunn’s career NCAA record. Dalmas, a two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist, has made field goals in each of his three seasons as Boise State’s full-time kicker. There’s a good chance he’ll score 100 career field goals this fall and finish the season as the NCAA’s the best field goal of all time. –Leatherman