Vote for change? Not this week

What you missed if you took a nap Friday and woke up Sunday:

Not much.

The big-ticket event turned out to be Test Pattern University versus Cal Poly Status Quo.

No. 1 Alabama coaxed two touchdowns out of its offense, like a kitten from a tree, in a win over 3-7 Mississippi State, Florida embarrassed another so-called quality opponent, Washington remained winless in Seattle and USC picked up another win while moving no closer to national title contention.

Associated Press voters, asked Sunday morning to submit ballots, phoned in “same as last week” and rolled over for two more hours’ sleep.

Computer operators involved in the Bowl Championship Series standings put their menacing machines on autopilot and went shopping for new pocket protectors.

There was more continental drift this weekend than movement in the BCS standings.

The “big” news was Ohio State’s using a win over Illinois to nudge Georgia out of the No. 10 BCS spot.

Everything above 10 stayed the same.

The BCS top five remained Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma and positions six through nine remained USC, Utah, Penn State and Boise State.

Exciting stuff, huh?

The top 15 in this week’s AP poll was the same as it was last week, which is hard to do even if you’re not trying.

The weekend was mostly about payback for last year: USC vs. Stanford, Oregon vs. Arizona, Ohio State vs. Illinois, Alabama vs. Mississippi State and Boston College vs. Florida State.

Same as it was, though, is about to change.

The eye of the hurricane -- Miami, by the way, cracked the BCS at No. 23 this week -- is about to give way to a storm’s back end.

As we approach the season’s bell lap, there’s a chance all bell can still break lose.

The tipping point could come Saturday in Norman, where Oklahoma looks to hand Texas Tech its first loss.

An Oklahoma victory could ultimately leave three schools in the Big 12 South -- Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Texas -- at 11-1.

That leaves open the possibility of the second- and third-place teams from the Big 12 South playing for the national title.

(For a complete-scenario explanation, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to my P.O. BCS box.)

Just so you know, Texas Tech has never defeated Texas and Oklahoma in the same season, but there’s a first time for everything, even in Lubbock.

Another huge game looms in Salt Lake City, where Brigham Young (10-1) seeks to spoil 11-0 Utah’s bid for a BCS bowl.

Utah is No. 7 in this week’s BCS standings, one spot behind USC, and can be the first non-BCS school to earn a second major bowl berth. In 2004, Utah defeated BYU in Salt Lake City, earning a Fiesta Bowl trip as Utes fans held up signs to the defeated Cougars: “Where’s your God now?”

Intently rooting for BYU this week will be Boise State, which is No. 9 in the BCS but figures to get shut out of a big game unless Utah loses.

It could be a repeat of 2004, when Utah finished No. 6 to clinch a BCS bid and Boise State, undefeated at No. 9, got left behind.

There are so many story lines yet to be played out, yet so few that involve one-loss USC sneaking into the BCS title game.

Penn State will clinch no worse than a Rose Bowl bid if it defeats Michigan State in State College this week. If Penn State loses, Ohio State or Michigan State will be Pasadena-bound.

Oregon State heads to Tucson on Saturday only two wins short of earning its first Rose Bowl bid since Jan. 1, 1965.

Standing between Corvallis and chaos is a road win at Arizona and a home victory against Oregon in the annual Civil War game.

Weekend wrap

Ball State improved to 10-0 for the first time in school history with a win over Miami of Ohio on Tuesday night. The Cardinals’ reward was a drop of three positions, to No. 17, in the BCS.

Vanderbilt is bowl-eligible for the first time in 26 years after picking up its sixth win Saturday at Kentucky. Vanderbilt started the season 5-0 before losing four straight, so nailing down win No. 6 was a relief. “It feels like a ton of bricks has been taken off our back after this game,” wide receiver/defensive back D.J. Moore said. Vanderbilt’s last postseason trip was to the Hall of Fame Bowl in the 1982 season.

Big East turnarounds. Rutgers, which started 1-5 with the lone win over Division I-AA Morgan State, is now 5-5 and 4-2 in conference play. South Florida, which rose to No. 10 in the AP poll after a 5-0 start, has lost four of its last five. The Bulls are 6-4 overall and 1-4 in Big East play.

Winning with Dixie D. Alabama is No. 1 in the BCS despite ranking No. 52 nationally in total offense. The Crimson Tide is one position ahead of 1-9 North Texas.

For what it’s worth, Alabama scored one offensive touchdown in a 20-6 win over Tulane earlier this season. Saturday, Alabama-Birmingham (3-7) scored four offensive touchdowns in a 41-24 win over Tulane (2-8).

Alabama is No. 3 in total defense, trailing Texas Christian and USC. The Trojans, over their win-over-Stanford weekend, lost their No. 1 rating to the Horned Frogs. USC remains No. 1 in scoring defense, allowing an average of 8.3 points per game.

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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PLAY IT FORWARD

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1. The Big Ten end of this year’s Rose Bowl game should be settled on Saturday provided Penn State does not somehow climb back into the national title race. Penn State wins the Pasadena bid if it beats Michigan State at home. Ohio State is Rose Bowl-bound if it beats Michigan and Michigan State wins. And Michigan State wins if it beats Penn State and Michigan upsets Ohio State.

2. The race in the Big 12 South division could get dicey if Oklahoma hands Texas Tech a first defeat this week in Norman. That could lead to a three-way tie among Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, in which case the representative to this year’s Big 12 title game would be determined by highest ranking in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

3. Oregon State, the dream continues. After an 0-2 start, the Beavers are 7-3 and two wins from clinching their first Rose Bowl berth since the 1964 season. Oregon State plays at Arizona this week before closing with the annual Civil War game against Oregon, to be played in Corvallis on Nov. 29.

4. Utah needs a home win against Brigham Young on Saturday to win the Mountain West Conference title and probably clinch its second bid to a BCS bowl game. Watching closely will be undefeated Boise State of the Western Athletic Conference, which is poised to take the BCS spot if it finishes undefeated and Utah loses.

5. How about them apples? Washington and Washington State, a combined 0-20 against major college competition this season, play for nothing but pride when the schools meet in the annual Apple Cup game at Pullman. Washington and Washington State rank 117th and 118th, disrespectfully, in national scoring average. Based on those numbers, Washington will prevail, 13.90 to 12.64.

-- Chris Dufresne