Some change near the top in this week’s AP football poll

OSU was on the MI 13-yard line with 8:32 remaining in the game down 17-14, facing a pivotal fourth-and-1.

The former 49ers and Stanford head coach is the type of guy who pours Gatorade on his cereal when he runs out of milk, smears his players’ blood on his face to get psyched and wears cleats as a coach on the sidelines. But we’re just looking at this game as another week.

Harbaugh’s comments that he was “bitterly disappointed in the officiating” dominated his postgame press conference and shined light on the multiple officiating inconsistencies in the game.

He – and the rest of the team’s upperclassmen – are taking responsibility for that and not pinning it on anyone else.

Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. It won’t be the Big Ten title. “There’s no heartbreak in football”. He was particularly vexed about a call on a fourth-down play late in regulation that gave the Buckeyes a game-saving first down.

How many more? We’ll see.

Alabama (12-0) stayed solidly at No. 1 and Ohio State (11-1) held the No. 2 spot after its narrow 30-27 double-overtime escape against rival MI on Saturday.

Penn State will face Big Ten West victor Wisconsin, and whichever of the 10-2 teams wins the Big Ten title will have a strong playoff résumé. Even then, there are no guarantees.

Thousands of celebratory fans who stormed the field lingered in Ohio Stadium long after they had witnessed an instant classic in the history of one of the greatest rivalries in college football. But that ultimately won’t matter; Sunday’s final rankings are the only ones that count. While many around the college football world may still somewhat pay attention to the AP and Coaches polls, the two don’t mean much of anything when it comes to the committee’s rankings and the Playoff to conclude the season. “But from our standpoint, as a MI football broadcaster and former player, I’m glad he had the players’ back and I’m glad he fought like hell for this MI team on a great, great Saturday afternoon”. “That’s for other people to decide”.

“I think a lot of guys wanted that”, senior wide receiver Rob Wheelwright said.

“Look at our defense”.

Losing that volume of experienced talent left the Buckeyes with one of the youngest teams in the country and the youngest team they’ve fielded in 46 seasons. Special teams have had success.

“How can you keep us out?” he asked.

Michigan. There is simply too much pain to process.

And he – and the rest of the Wolverines – hope the committee will do the same if it indeed comes to that.

Stock up: Wisconsin. The Badgers rallied to beat Minnesota to win the Big Ten West outright and climb a notch to enter the top five. That’s the best anybody has.

“Our resume speaks for itself”.