Swing votes in play for BCS chase

Into the vacuum of West Virginia’s coughed-it-up defeat at Louisville stepped Louisville, of course, one-loss Texas and ... anybody else?

We kept looking for bold Bowl Championship Series statements on Saturday and all we found were understatements.

* Ohio State: The top-ranked Buckeyes had to deploy their “hands” team to prevent losing an onside kick, and possibly the game, to ill-fated Illinois.

What it means: nothing. Ohio State is so far ahead of the field it could afford an off weekend and not face any BCS repercussions, but it just goes to show you.... For what it’s worth, in 2002, when Ohio State won it all, the Buckeyes needed overtime to win at Illinois.

* Michigan. Ball State, never to be confused with Foot Ball State, had two shots at the end zone with a chance to tie the nation’s second-ranked team.

What it means: Remember this if Michigan loses a close game to Ohio State on Nov. 18 and then starts campaigning to keep the No. 2 spot in the BCS.

That argument doesn’t sound as fist-pounding good as it did a week ago, when some tried to hoist a possible one-loss Michigan against 12-0 Louisville or one-loss Florida or Texas. Those three teams would be conference champions coming off season-ending wins.

* Florida. The Gators beat Vanderbilt by six. We remember days when Steve Spurrier would have beat ‘em by 60.

“Winning’s all that matters,” Florida Coach Urban Meyer said afterward.

No, what matters is getting to the BCS title game.

Two years ago, Auburn finished 12-0 and didn’t get there.

What it means: It’s an opportunity lost. With West Virginia losing on Thursday night, Florida had a chance to build its political case for No. 3 in the BCS, knowing No. 3 probably will move into the No. 2 spot behind the Ohio State/Michigan winner.

Florida’s not-so-dandy against Vandy instead allowed Louisville to steal the weekend limelight as it angled nicely into national title position.

Weekend’s biggest winners:

* Louisville. In two weeks, Louisville has risen from No. 8 in the BCS to No. 3. Last week, Bobby Petrino’s Cardinals moved up three spots, to fifth, without playing and then parlayed Thursday’s win over West Virginia into a possible national title berth. What Louisville has left: a tester Thursday at 8-0 Rutgers followed by South Florida, Pittsburgh and Connecticut.

* Texas. The Longhorns scored another please-reconsider-us win against Oklahoma State and the BCS electorate did, moving the Longhorns up two spots to fifth in this week’s BCS. If Texas finishes the season with one loss, and that one loss was to No. 1 Ohio State in September, would the Longhorns deserve a rematch?

“Our best game is still out there,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said after his team’s 36-10 win over Oklahoma State.

Status Quo:

* Auburn. A big win over Arkansas State was to be expected. Auburn’s national title hopes probably rest with beating Florida again in the Southeastern Conference title game -- but good luck getting there. Florida has clinched the SEC East, but Arkansas, by virtue of its win over Auburn, currently has the Tigers boxed out in the SEC West.

* USC, Notre Dame, California. All three scored impressive weekend wins but still need help to get into the BCS title game. USC plays Cal and Notre Dame this month, giving a one-loss winner that emerges from that scrum at least a fighting chance.

Nice Knowing Y’all.

* West Virginia. Fell in the BCS, from third to No. 10. It was fun while it lasted, but two third-quarter fumbles and a punt return for a touchdown handed your Big East dream season over to Louisville.

Weekend Wrap

First order of off-season business: Change the clock rules that have wreaked havoc and compromised the game’s credibility. You don’t think so? With 23 seconds left in the half Saturday, against Penn State, Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema exploited the new rule in which the clock now starts on the kickoff. Twice, Bielema intentionally ordered his kickoff team to run offsides, gladly accepting the penalties in exchange for time off the clock. The worst part was that the five-yard head start gave Wisconsin players a running start at a helpless kickoff return man, not that the safety of players should ever be protected.

* Deja Blue. With its win over UCLA on Saturday, California is closing in on its first Rose Bowl bid since 1959. The Golden Bears have a one-game conference lead over USC, with Arizona, USC and Stanford left to play. The last two times Cal won the conference, in 1958 and 1975, it lost its opening game of the season. This year, Cal lost its opener to Tennessee.

* Trigger-happy: Quarterback Colt McCoy of Texas and Hawaii’s Colt Brennan combined to complete 41 of 58 passes for 759 yards and nine touchdowns in leading their teams to wins by a combined score of 99-20.

Brennan is a junior, and Texas’ McCoy is a redshirt freshman. “People asked me last week if he should be up for the Heisman or not,” Brown said of McCoy. “I just don’t think personally that freshmen should be up for the Heisman.”

How about rookie of the year?

McCoy, obviously, has not been overwhelmed with the burden of replacing Vince Young, because he has thrown a school-record 27 touchdown passes.

* Coaches of the Year? Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Jim Grobe of Wake Forest warrant considerable consideration. Both have led their respective teams to success despite losing their starting quarterback and tailback this season. Stoops continues to prove that the best coaches are sometimes the ones who aren’t afraid to lose. Leading Texas A&M; by a point, Stoops let his offense go for it on fourth-and-inches from the Oklahoma 29. The Sooners made it and secured the win. Grobe has led Wake Forest to its first 8-1 start since 1944.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com