Michigan Hail Mary Win Shadowed By Game Clock Decision

For the final play of the game, while trailing 12-7, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood sailed a pass into the back of the end zone, where Western Michigan safety Micah Davis caught the ball out of bounds with 0:00 on the broadcast clock.

After an official’s review, officials determined there was one more second left on the game clock. With one second left, Underwood once again sent the ball into a crowd of players in the end zone, where Michigan wide receiver JJ Buchanan caught the ball to win Michigan the game 13-12.

This decision left many viewers and people across the college football world confused. The game was officiated by the Big Ten Conference, where the official rulebook states that if a player touches the ball out of bounds, the clock stops the second they do.

While the officials understood this rule, it left many people confused about what they had just seen. Not realizing the game clock and the broadcast clock aren’t synchronized, many people felt Western Michigan was wronged.

Western Michigan president Russ Kavalhuna told ESPN on Sunday night that he didn’t think the Big Ten’s replay process that put a second back on the clock, “And that’s because what the TV viewers see in a pivotal question is different than what the review process shows, and if there is, let’s try and fix that. And if there isn’t a real reason why we can’t have those things synced up, then we should sync them up so that everybody who’s watching at home doesn’t start to wonder what happened.”  

Kavalhuna wanted to see if there was an appeals process; he would ask for a review to determine whether the Big Ten’s clock was more accurate than the one shown on the broadcast. 

“There is no mechanism to appeal. That just doesn’t exist,” he said. “If there were an opportunity to do that, what I would ask is, ‘Hey, are we sure that the sync that the Big Ten used is better than the sync that the broadcasters and all my fans saw?'” 

Kavaluhana added that he did not believe the Big Ten conference was “trying to change the process or apply it inequitably,” but he believes his players deserve evidence showing why the Big Ten’s clock was more accurate. 

The BIG 10 released a statement two hours after the game stating that “It was determined Davis started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position left foot and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock,” the conference said, citing the rule that stops the clock on such contact. “A side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling.”  

Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher told ESPN on Sunday that the review process was properly followed and while he didn’t like it, he felt that it was ultimately correct.

“I have confidence in the integrity of the process and integrity of the people involved,” Steinbrecher said. “The process was followed, and given that, you have to go with that decision.”

Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said the team didn’t feel the refs took the game away from them, and the team isn’t looking for pity. The Broncos hope to build on last season and win the MAC conference this season.