College Football: Week 5 Recap, Pick Results and Final Thought

There was drama for No. 1 Florida State in Raleigh, NC and three SEC matchups went right down to the wire. 

Quarterback Jameis Winston and company had to overcome a 24-7 deficit in the first quarter to keep their No. 1 ranking and a chance at advancing to a second consecutive national championship game. 

Former Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who passed for 359 yards and three touchdowns, had NC State up 38-28 with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Seminoles roared back and scored 14 unanswered points to put themselves up for good. Two rushing touchdowns from Karlos Williams in the fourth quarter gave Florida State a 56-41 victory and its first win in Raleigh over the Wolfpack since 2008. 

In his return from a one-game suspension, Winston was 26-of-38 for 365 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

The SEC had its fair share of exciting finishes on Saturday as well.

No. 12 Georgia managed to hold off Tennessee for a fifth consecutive season with the help from Heisman contender Todd Gurley, who had a career-high 208 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Gurley’s four-yard run on 4th-and-3 with 35 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Dawgs a first down in Tennessee territory and sealed Georgia's 35-32 victory at home. 

In the afternoon, a Bret Bielema Arkansas team hoped to get its first conference win since 2012 against highly-ranked rival Texas A&M. The Hogs had the Aggies on the ropes in the fourth quarter with a 28-14 lead, but Kevin Sumlin’s squad battled back.

A Kenny Hill 86-yard pass to wide receiver Edward Pope early in the fourth quarter, followed by a Hill 59-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Reynolds with 2:08 left after a missed 44-yard field goal by Arkansas, forced overtime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

It took just one play for Hill to hook up with wide receiver Malcolme Kennedy for a 25-yard touchdown, along with an Aggie defensive stop on 4th-and-1 to defeat Arkansas 35-28 in overtime. 

The Hogs rushing attack, led by Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, racked up 285 rushing yards, while Hill improved his Heisman-like numbers with 386 passing yards and four touchdowns. 

In prime time, unranked Missouri and No. 13 South Carolina played a defensive nail-biter for a second consecutive season. A Dylan Thompson 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Pharoh Cooper with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter gave South Carolina a 20-7 lead. It appeared Missouri would drop a second straight game trailing by 13 points, but the Tigers battled back. 

Running back Russell Hansbrough scored two touchdowns, including a game-winning one-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 1:36 remaining, to give Missouri a 21-20 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium.  

In the Pac-12, No. 16 Stanford got all it could handle at Washington, as the Cardinal escaped with a 20-13 victory. On Thursday night, No. 11 UCLA blew out No. 15 Arizona State on the road with an impressive 62-27 win. 

Pick Results

Overall Record: 17-8

Week 5 Record: 5-0

Note: Team in bold indicates author’s pick

Prediction: Georgia 38, Tennessee 24

Result: Georgia 35, Tennessee 32

Prediction: Florida State 38, NC State 20

Result: Florida State 56, NC State 41

Prediction: Texas A&M 45, Arkansas 31

Result: Texas A&M 35, Arkansas 28 (OT)

Prediction: Ohio State 31, Cincinnati 27

Result: Ohio State 50, Cincinnati 28

Prediction: Missouri 38, South Carolina 35

Result: Missouri 21, South Carolina 20

Final Thought

Is it time for Brady Hoke, a true Michigan man, to be fired during or after just his fourth season in Ann Arbor?

After what appeared to be a promising start to Hoke’s tenure at Michigan with the Wolverines advancing to their first BCS Bowl game since 2006 and defeating Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, things have been heating up for the winningest program in college football.

While Hoke followed his impressive first season with an 8-5 record last season, this year has been frustrating for the maize and blue.

Since starting 5-0 in 2013, which included a big win over hated rival Notre Dame at home, the Wolverines have been a disappointing 4-9.

The downfall this season started with an embarrassing 31-0 loss at Notre Dame in the teams' final meeting for the foreseeable future. Michigan managed to defeat Miami (OH) a week later, 34-10, but its been a nightmare in the Big House since.

The Wolverines were outscored by Utah and Minnesota by a combined 56-24 at home in back-to-back weeks. The quarterback situation has been inconsistent as well, punctuated by Hoke's decision to bench an underachieving Devin Gardner on Saturday in favor of sophomore signal-caller Shane Morris. 

To add to Hoke’s current downward spiral, there is concern about him leaving Morris in against Minnesota after being dazed by a big hit.  

With fans filing out of Michigan Stadium late in the third quarter and no improvement offensively the last two weeks, Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon could be forced to fire Hoke sooner rather than later. Not to mention, its the first time in school history the program has lost three games by the end of September.  

If Hoke can’t earn a win at Rutgers next Saturday night, there is no telling how much longer he'll be at the helm. 

                                 Brady Hoke's Time at Michigan

2011	Record: 11-2	W  Sugar Bowl  Virginia Tech 23-20 OT
2012	Record: 8-5	L   Outback Bowl South Carolina 28-33
2013	Record: 7-6	L   Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Kansas State 14-31
2014	Record: 2-3	TBD