Projected top 4 after Week 13

Harbaugh drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty earlier in the game after an offside on MI (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten, No. 3 CFP). After the Buckeyes’ thrilling double-overtime win over MI on Saturday, there is little doubt that Urban Meyer’s squad looks like one of the four best teams in the nation.

This is where it gets complicated.

Michigan’s quest for a spot in the College Football Playoff might not be completely over, but if the billed winners-take-all stakes of Saturday’s game between MI and Ohio State are to be believed, then the Wolverines could be done competing for anything but a win in their eventual bowl game. With Michigan leading by three points, Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett lunged toward the 15-yard line for the first down, and the refs awarded him the spot that kept Ohio State’s drive alive.

The sitting and waiting, even though nationally most pundits seemed to agree Sunday that the Buckeyes have cemented a spot in the College Football Playoff final four.

And all they did was go out, beat the No. 3 ranked team, which also just so happens to be the school’s biggest rival. We will have to wait and see, but one of its criteria is conference championships, which Ohio State won’t have.

They may move up from 21st in the Playoff rankings, but not close enough for a shot at the title. Coach Jim Harbaugh said his team lost only because of poor officiating, and afterward players made a case for their inclusion in playoff. McSorley has two or more touchdown passes in four of his last five games.

Ball was spectacular early, topping 100 yards in the first quarter, and efficient late, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to rally the Badgers.

A case can also be made for MI, at 10-2 with victories over three division champions – the Badgers, Nittany Lions and Colorado – this season. That’s despite the fact the committee has already indicated it thinks Ohio State has a better resume than the team it lost to.

“I had an incredible day at Ohio State, and it was an wonderful atmosphere to be a part of”, Gant stated. Alabama, 2. Ohio State, 3. Either Penn State or Wisconsin would be the Big Ten champion, but MI defeated both of those teams. 3 and 4 in total defense in the Big Ten, with the Badgers allowing 292 yards a game and the Lions 346. The Spartans finished the regular season fifth in the Big Ten in total offense at 395 yards per game.

Right behind them is the crop of Wisconsin, Penn State, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Alabama maintained the top spot in the poll, followed by Ohio State, Clemson, Washington and MI. But the Wolverines also had control of their destiny in their own game, with many failed chances to beat Ohio State. The comments made by Harbaugh were stretched throughout the presser, and he failed to answer numerous reporters’ questions, instead speaking about the officiating rather than his team.