Confetti from a football weekend

And clearing the premises for the next one.

COLLEGE

Tennessee 38, Florida 33: In leading the Vols to a 4-0 record and a No. 8 ranking, quarterback Hendon Hooker has thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions. He did far more than that at Florida. Hooker ran 13 times for 112 yards and passed for 102 yards to Bru McCoy, the former celebrity at Mater Dei whose winding road led him through Texas and USC.

The Volunteers are in the top ten for the first time in six seasons, coming together for Josh Heupel,  the fifth Tennessee coach since Philip Fulmer was eased out in 2008. The Vols have had only two winning SEC records since then. We’ll know more in the next four weeks, when Tennessee plays LSU, Alabama and Kentucky. Hooker, from Greensboro, N.C., is a transfer from Virginia Tech who has completed 71.4 percent of his passes and has averaged 10.4 yards per attempt.

Kansas State 41, Oklahoma 34: After four eventful and distasteful years at Nebraska, Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. The football world shrugged until Saturday, when Martinez scored five touchdowns in what has become the Wildcats’ regularly-scheduled upset of Oklahoma. The Wildcats have dealt OU four of their nine home losses since 2012. This wasn’t fluky; the Wildcats didn’t give up a sack and converted 10 third or fourth downs. Martinez ran for 149 yards and got help from Deuce Vaughn (25 runs, 116 yards). No game is a lock and no assumption is safe in the Big 12 this year.

USC 17, Oregon State 14: The Traveling Wilburys were in deep water at Oregon State and scored only two touchdowns in nine possessions. But with 1:13 left, Caleb Williams hit Jordan Addison with the 21-yard game-winner. It’s fitting that the best available free agent quarterback connected with the best available free agent receiver in USC’s first hour of need, but the Trojans’ three interceptions also extended a theme. They have 11 picks in four games, and USC has 14 takeaways and no turnovers overall.

Clemson 51, Wake Forest 45 (2 OT): If quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei is the variable, Clemson might be a constant again. His five touchdown passes, with no interceptions, got the Tigers past a difficult Wake Forest club that won Clemson’s Atlantic Division last year. The Tigers converted 16 of 23 third downs and Uiagalelei is 15-4 as a Clemson starter. That’s not always good enough when you’re accustomed to national championship bids, but the Tigers are probably a good bet to get to the College Football Playoff if they can hold off N.C. State on Saturday.

Syracuse 22, Virginia 20: When Bronco Mendenhall left Virginia, Syracuse hired UVa offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterback coach Jason Beck. Now the Orange is 4-0 and edged Virginia, 22-20, Friday night. Quarterback Garrett Shrader has thrown eight TDs with one interception. Meanwhile, new Virginia coach Tony Elliott, formerly Clemson’s offensive coordinator, is struggling to re-establish QB Brennan Armstrong. on track. Armstrong is completing only 52 percent of his passes with three scores and four picks. Last year Armstrong was one of the ACC’s best at the position, a 65.2 percent passer with an average of 404.5 yards per game, nearly double of what he’s managing for the 2-2 Cavaliers.

Texas Tech 37, Texas 34 (OT): Texas and Oklahoma can expect plenty of unwelcome parting gifts on their way out of the Big 12. This was one of the most pointed. The Red Raiders trailed 31-17 in the third quarter before they rallied. Texas is 2-2, on top of a 5-7 record when Steve Sarkisian debuted as coach in 2021. The Longhorns are having trouble replacing the injured Quinn Ewers at quarterback, but then they didn’t have a single player drafted by the NFL in 2022.

Georgia 39, Kent State 22: The Moneyball phase of Kent State’s season is over. It went to Washington, Oklahoma and Georgia and returned to Ohio with $5.2 million in the bank and three losses. But after a 49-20 loss at Washington, the Golden Flashes also banked some respect. They only trailed Oklahoma 7-3 at halftime before they lost 33-3, and rushed for 164 yards.

On Saturday, they spread some high anxiety at Sanford Stadium, trailing top-ranked Georgia only 12-10 in the second quarter and 32-22 with 12:23 left before the Bulldogs won, 39-22. It illustrated why 36-year-old Sean Lewis (pictured) pops up on several coaching candidate lists.

NFL

Jacksonville 38, LA Chargers 10: As Brandon Staley was flailed for his decision to leave Justin Herbert in this free-fire zone, a remarkable defensive effort by Jacksonville was overshadowed. The Chargers’ long run of the day was eight yards, and they had the ball for 21:33. Jacksonville leads the NFL with five interceptions, and Devin Lloyd, the rookie linebacker from Utah, has gotten wide applause.

Meanwhile, the Chargers seem a long way off from their predicted glory. Herbert’s rib cartilage won’t heal overnight, and second-year tackle Rashawn Slater is out for the season. Joey Bosa and J.J. Jackson were out of action on the defensive side, too, as was center Corey Linsley.

Miami 21, Buffalo 19: An emerging Miami defense held up through 90 Buffalo offensive plays Sunday in the tropics and gave up only two touchdowns, none to Stefon Diggs. Safety Jevon Holland, from Oregon, had a sack and a half and two pass breakups. The Bills were missing four defensive starters themselves, including Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, the two foundational safeties.

Philadelphia 24, Washington 8: Former Eagle quarterback Caron Wentz was sacked nine times by the Eagles, who made sure their fans got back on I-95 after they disrupted Wentz’s playcalling in his own stadium. Jalen Hurts averaged nearly 10 yards a pass play and kept finding Devonta Smith, the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner, who snagged eight balls for 169 yards. Better yet, Hurts is at peace with pocket passing. His 9.4 average yards per attempt leads the NFL.

Tennessee 24, Las Vegas 22: Josh McDaniels’ second chance isn’t going well. The Raiders sank to 0-3 and failed to convert 11 of 12 third downs. Davante Adams, reunited with Fresno State teammate Derek Carr, averaged only 7.4 yards per catch against Tennessee, which has now won five consecutive Sunday games after a Monday Nighter.

Cincinnati 27, New York Jets 12: Trey Hendrickson’s 2 1/2 sacks led a Bengals defense that held New York without a touchdown. But the Bengals, now 1-2, won’t get near the AFC Championship this year without better production for Joe Barrow, who was knocked down nine times and sacked twice.

L.A. Rams 20, Arizona 12: Aaron Donald doesn’t believe in ceremonial sacks. He got his 100th in his 130th game, but he made sure it was an important one, a 15-yarder on third down that put the Cardinals back on the sideline. Donald is the best inside pass rusher the NFL has seen since at least John Randle, the Hall of Famer who mostly played for the Vikings.

More to the point, the Rams continued to frustrate Kyler Murray, who had led the Cardinals to a comeback win at Las Vegas. Murray has neither run nor thrown for a touchdown in his past three games against the Rams, which includes a 34-11 playoff loss in SoFi Stadium last year.