Morning Six Pack: October 28, 2012

Another Saturday in the books. Enjoy these six college football stories from around the country.

Stewart Mandel: Unbeaten Irish legitimize BCS contention, trample Sooners in Norman

Are the Irish for real? It's been the question of the season. But after its 30-13 victory over No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 5 Notre Dame is now a bona-fide BCS contender, says Stewart Mandel.

No Redemption For Razorbacks, Just More Frustration In Little Rock Loss

There was no redemption in the Rock for Arkansas on Saturday. Instead, players got just another dose of disappointment. Rather than avenging an earlier loss at War Memorial Stadium, the Razorbacks were just frustrated by an Ole Miss field goal sailing through the uprights as time expired in the Rebels' 30-27 win.

Hoke confirms Robinson has elbow injury, should be okay for Minnesota

Things went south quickly against Nebraska Saturday night when Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson left in the first half with an elbow injury.

Wallace's play silver lining for the Tigers

Freshman quarterback Jonathan Wallace was the lone bright spot for the Tigers during their 63-21 loss to Texas A&M. Wallace played full-time in the second half and threw the first two touchdown passes of his career.

Washington upsets No. 7 Oregon State

Bishop Sankey ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns, Travis Coons kicked a 30-yard field goal with 1:20 left and Washington took advantage of four interceptions from Oregon State's Sean Mannion in a 20-17 upset.

Quotable:

But once the lights went on at Bryant-Denny Stadium, all talk of Mississippi State’s schedule went out the window, replaced with mouth-agape awe at just how effective a machine Nick Saban has built in Tuscaloosa. Quarterback A.J. McCarron was again nearly flawless, the defense forced turnovers at crucial moments and snuffed a State drive in the end zone, blocked a field goal and generally kept the Bulldogs out of striking distance until Saban emptied the bench on the Bulldogs’ final drive, which allowed Mississippi State to finally score.

Beginning at about the midpoint of the second quarter, however, most of the talk in the stadium was beginning to turn toward LSU and Texas A&M, a pair of teams expected to give Alabama stern tests over the next two weeks. Alabama will need to be on its toes next week to generate points against the Tiger defense and stop a resurgent running game, while against Texas A&M, the defense will face its biggest challenge of the year in the form of a talented young quarterback and a veteran wide receiver corps.

If Alabama can get through those two games unscathed, then simply take care of business against Western Carolina and Auburn, it sets up a meeting with the Jekyll/Hyde Georgia Bulldogs and then, ultimately, the best team of the three mentioned above. Alabama has the future in its own hands, and only Alabama can let it slip away now.

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