CFB truths: 7 things we know through 7 weeks

Week 8 is officially upon us in the college football world with massive SEC matchups pitting Alabama against Tennessee and Georgia versus Texas to highlight the slate.

However, before the Saturday fun begins, let's look back at the opening seven weeks and take stock of where we're at. Plenty of stories are being told, but there's only a limited number of truths that we can lean on at this point of the season.

Here are seven that we know to be real.

1. The Big 12 is thriving on chaos

The oddsmakers targeted Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and UCF as the five programs with the best chance to win the conference title this season, installing them as 8-1 or better. Through the first seven weeks, those schools are a combined 4-11 in Big 12 play. Instead, the following has happened to start the year:

• Iowa State is 6-0 for the first time since 1938
• BYU is 6-0 for just the sixth time in the program's 100-year history
• Arizona State is 5-1, matching its win total from its last 23 games entering the season

The Big 12 has been turned upside down with Iowa State, BYU, and Texas Tech currently in a three-way tie for No. 1. Five other teams are just one game back, setting up a wild push to the end of November and the conference title game.

The conference has also supplied a number of viral moments, from Colorado's miracle Hail Mary versus Baylor to Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham providing the postgame interview of the year after the Sun Devils knocked off Utah.

Former Big 12 cornerstones Texas and Oklahoma may be gone, but the conference is thriving on the chaos that can come without the presence of an elite program.

2. Don't mess with Texas

There might be a different team standing alone after the national championship game, but nobody has made it through Week 7 in more impressive fashion than Texas. The Longhorns aren't just beating teams, they're taking whoever's on the other sideline to the woodshed on a weekly basis. In its first season in the SEC, the program is leading the nation with an absurd average scoring margin of 36 points. A road trip to defending national champion Michigan resulted in just about the most comfortable 19-point win you'll ever see. That margin is actually the smallest the Longhorns have had all season, and that includes the annual Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma, which was a 31-point blowout that somehow still flattered the Sooners.

Whether it be Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning behind center, the offense has been unstoppable thanks to Steve Sarkisian's brilliant play-calling. He'll face his toughest test this week when Georgia storms into Austin, but don't be shocked if Texas emerges with another eye-popping victory.

3. USC, Florida, Auburn are sinking

You can't tell college football's story of the last 20 years without pointing to periods of domination by USC, Florida, and Auburn. All three schools have claimed national championships and Heisman trophies during that period. Another thing those three schools now have in common is a 5-8 record over their last 13 games. The former powers have dropped from the penthouse to the outhouse with three highly paid head coaches currently at the helm of sinking ships.

Each program has been hit with issues, notably the lack of a quarterback at Auburn, defensive struggles at both Florida and USC, and some very questionable in-game decision-making by all three coaches.

The first change is likely to come in Gainesville where Billy Napier's fate was essentially sealed by a blowout to Miami in the opening week. Florida appears set to play out the string before making a move, but it's coming sooner rather than later.

Lincoln Riley is on a decade-long contract at USC, so don't expect him to depart any time soon. His press conferences have grown more ornery by the week, with the 41-year-old often firing back at reporters in a terse manner. Some of that frustration likely stems from USC's move to the Big Ten after Riley joined the program. He left SEC-bound Oklahoma for the comfortable landing spot of the Pac-12 but finds himself in the bruising Big Ten and having to make road trips across multiple time zones - not exactly the freewheeling west coast style he was looking for.

And then there's Hugh Freeze, who somehow found another SEC job despite resigning from Ole Miss in the wake of a scandal. Auburn cited his past success in the conference as a reason for his hire, but that hasn't materialized at his current program. The Tigers are 5-11 in their last 16 games and 0-4 against Power conference competition. However, he's only in Year 2 and continues to land elite recruiting classes that should keep him employed for at least another year.

4. Life on the road is hard

Conference realignment has brought a number of headaches, with outrageous travel for a number of schools near the top of the list.

Both the ACC and Big Ten feature programs forced to make cross-country road jaunts this season, including some that are longer than a trip to Iceland. Washington's journey to Rutgers and Stanford's trip to Syracuse actually both covered more miles than if the home teams involved traveled to the Nordic country's capital of Reykjavik.

The Big Ten alone has seen 13 road trips across at least two time zones this year, with the home team emerging victorious on 10 occasions.

5. Nobody takes a lead vs. Army or Indiana

Through seven weeks, two programs have yet to trail in a game. We could play a guessing contest, but the season would likely be done before someone landed on Army and Indiana. Consider last year: The Black Knights were trailing 8:40 into their opener, while the Hoosiers didn't make it to the eight-minute mark before falling behind.

That's not the case this year, as both programs have run wild over the competition to post perfect 6-0 records. It's the first time Army has started a schedule with that mark since 1996, while for Indiana it goes all the way back to 1967. Many will point to Curt Cignetti's explosive offense in his first season with Indiana as the catalyst, but the defense has yet to allow a point in the first quarter this season. Army ranks inside the top 10 in both first-quarter scoring and first-quarter defense, which easily explains why they have yet to trail.

6. Jeanty's a bad man

There are a number of truths to be told about Boise State star Ashton Jeanty's season, as the nation's leading rusher has already piled up an absurd 1,248 rushing yards. That total is higher than 109 of 134 FBS teams. However, that might not the most shocking truth for Jeanty.

He has 841 rushing yards after first contact this season. If we used only that number, he would rank third in the country. That's right, Jeanty has more yards after being hit than every other running back other than Omarion Hampton and Kaleb Johnson has in total.

Get this man to New York for the Heisman.

7. College football's in an incredible place

Sure, conference realignment and the infusion of NIL has thrown a curveball here and there, but the start of the 2024 season is showing that college football is doing just fine.

The first seven weeks have already provided a season's worth of drama and wackiness, from Northern Illinois beating Notre Dame, Vanderbilt knocking off Alabama, Minnesota taking down USC, the insane Georgia trip to Tuscaloosa, and this set of crazy scores from the past weekend:

This Saturday could be just as volatile with Tennessee facing Alabama, Texas hosting Georgia, Miami squaring off with Louisville, and Notre Dame traveling to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech.