I’m sorry, but Western Michigan got absolutely screwed Saturday night.
There really isn’t a better way to put it.
Western Michigan appeared to pull off a massive upset over No. 16 Michigan after Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete and the clock hit 0:00.
Game over.
At least that’s what everyone thought.
Even Underwood admitted afterward that he saw zeroes and thought Michigan had lost.
Then, somehow, the Big Ten decided Michigan deserved one more second.
Officials reviewed the play and determined Western Michigan safety Micah Davis had touched the ball while established out of bounds with one second remaining, which would stop the clock. Michigan was given another play, Underwood launched another Hail Mary, and JJ Buchanan caught it for the touchdown.
Michigan wins 13-12.
How convenient.
The problem is that the clock shown during the broadcast appeared to reach zero while the football was still in the air.
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay questioned the decision immediately, saying the ball wasn’t close to touching Davis when the clock shown by NBC reached zero. A producer also told McAulay that NBC’s clock was synced with the stadium clock.
So where exactly did this extra second come from?
The Big Ten claims its replay cameras were synchronized before the game and released video defending the decision. The MAC later said the Big Ten provided video and audio that confirmed the conference’s explanation.
That’s the official explanation.
I’m still not buying it.
We’re supposed to believe that the clock everyone watched hit zero, Western Michigan celebrated, Michigan’s own quarterback thought the game was over, and then the Big Ten’s replay system discovered Michigan actually deserved another shot?
And of course Michigan immediately scores on that extra play.
You couldn’t write it any better.
Western Michigan was seconds away from walking out of the Big House with one of the biggest wins in program history. Instead, we’re talking about a mysterious extra second that completely changed the outcome.
Whether you want to call it rigged, an officiating disaster or a replay-system failure, Western Michigan has every right to feel robbed.
Michigan didn’t need one Hail Mary to win Saturday night.
They needed two.
And I’m still trying to figure out why they were allowed to throw the second one.
