The Second That Changed a Game
An Explanation of the Western Michigan, Michigan Controversy
With week one of college football kicking off last week, it has not taken long for the first controversy of the season to come. This time, it involves whether the Michigan Wolverines’ last second hail mary counted in their game against the Western Michigan Broncos.
The number 16 ranked Wolverines had scheduled to play the Broncos in their opening game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 5. For Michigan, they were looking for this game to be a tune up, an opportunity to knock the rust off against an unranked team from the Mid-American Conference (MAC). However, things began to turn south for the Wolverines as they were only winning 7-6 against the Broncos going into the half, as the Michigan offense could not seem to get anything going. Things would only get worse as Western Michigan would get two more field goals in the second half to go up 12-7 with very little time left in the game.
Starting on their own 25 yard line, Michigan had 26 seconds to go down and score to win. Quarterback Bryce Underwood would throw two straight incompletions, then complete a 28 yard pass to get to the Broncos’ 47 yard line. With only seven seconds left and a field goal out of the picture, Underwood let it fly to the endzone where it was knocked down with no time left. However, after video review, the officials deemed there was one second left on the clock, giving Michigan time for one more play. Underwood would drop back and throw it to the endzone, where receiver JJ Buchanan would catch it, winning the game for the Wolverines 13-12.
Fans were furious after the officials robbed the Broncos of a historic upset with a call that seemingly had no justification. Many felt that the clock had hit triple zeros after Michigan’s first hail mary attempt. However, after the game, the Big Ten came out with a statement saying that the officials made the right call. The statement read that number 18 for the Broncos had been out of bounds before he jumped to deflect the ball. This meant that as soon as he touched the ball, the play was dead; when matched with the game clock, there was still one second left when he did.
Later that night, the MAC also put out a statement where they agreed with the ruling, saying that the Big Ten explanation looked to be correct. Even Broncos head coach Lance Taylor did not blame the referees for his team losing the game during his post game interview. However, as the topic began to explode over the internet, with many rules analysts and experts disagreeing with the outcome, the MAC and Western Michigan changed their stance on the topic. On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the MAC requested an appeal, saying that the proper relay protocol was not followed when making that crucial call. However, the NCAA denied their appeal as the FBS Oversight Committee does not have the power to change the outcome of games.
As both teams head into week two of the season, they hope they can forget the craziness that their first game has brought. However, this is definitely not the last controversy the college football world will see this season.
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