It’s rare in the SEC that three true freshmen quarterbacks would see action on the opening weekend of the season.

Back in the day, it was a thrill for a freshman QB just to dress out and throw in the warmups for the first game.

Not so with Florida’s Tim Tebow, Georgia’s Matthew Stafford and Arkansas’ Mitch Mustain. They all acted like it was no big deal on Saturday to play in front of 80,000-plus and on regional or national TV.

Each of those new QBs may not yet know where the library is on campus, but they certainly have located the end zone.

Tebow scored on a 1-yard TD run in Florida’s 34-7 victory over Southern Miss. Stafford threw for a TD and ran for another in Georgia’s 48-12 blowout of Western Kentucky. Mustain ran for 4-yard TD in Arkansas’ 50-14 loss to Southern Cal.

For Tebow, he’s stuck on the depth chart this season behind senior Chris Leak. Matthew demonstrated enough success to probably earn more playing time on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to South Carolina for Georgia’s SEC opener.

And Mustain? Well, he was promoted to being the starter for Saturday’s expected non-conference erasing of Utah State.

When Tebow entered Saturday’s Southern Miss game for the first time just before the end of the third quarter, flashbulbs began popping like the start of a rock concert. Tebow responded by putting his team in the wrong formation.

Still, he scored a few plays later on a run in which he stiff-armed Southern Miss defensive back LeVance Richmond in the facemask, and then kept his knee from hitting the ground at the 1.

"When I looked up after I got the snap and just saw it would probably be me and him, I just tried to make a play," Tebow said. "I was just trying to hold onto the ball and do the best I could and try as hard as I could. That’s all I was thinking about. I turned around and he (the official) had his arms up, so I was happy."

Stafford had fallen to third on the Georgia depth chart to start the season. But in the season opener, he was 3-for-5 for 40 yards and led two TD drives, including his 13-yard scoring strike to tight end Coleman Watson.

Georgia coach Mark Richt insists fifth-year senior Joe Tereshinski III still is the starter. But it’s clear Stafford has made a move.

Like Tebow in Gainesville, the sellout crowd in Georgia’s Sanford Stadium of 92,746 gave Stafford a standing ovation when he entered the game.

"If you didn’t feel it, you were dead," Stafford said.

Richt said his plan to redshirt Stafford has changed.

"I was really leaning toward redshirting him," Richt said. "We kept practicing and watching him, and he practiced very good. He probably practiced second-best. He practiced well enough to make us feel like maybe we ought to just play the kid."

The only reason for the Razorbacks’ crowd to stick around after Southern Cal jumped up 44-7 midway through the fourth quarter was to see if Mustain got a chance to play.

The Hogs’ faithful roared when Mustain came in and looked totally at ease, running the no-huddle, shotgun attack that he operated at nearby Springdale (Ark.) High for new Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Mustain drove Arkansas 80 yards in five plays, ending it with his short TD run. He finished 4-for-6 for 47 yards and an interception.

His performance seemed so natural that Arkansas coach Houston Nutt moved first game starting quarterback Robert Johnson to wide receiver, and then named Mustain the starter.

Mustain, who is getting most of the QB reps in practice this week, doesn’t appear to be looking at his promotion as a big deal.

"I have the same attitude," Mustain said. "It’s a new game plan to work on, but you still have to come out here and stay focused."

Nutt said it’s obvious Mustain’s teammates believe in him.

"When he stepped on the field Saturday night, he earned a great deal of respect," Nutt said. "Now, he’s got to do it from start to finish. Now, he’s got to do it with everything on top of him."