Michigan’s wild finish against Western Michigan had all the ingredients to turn into a rules argument, but the Big Ten says the extra second on the clock was the right call.
The conference issued a statement Saturday night explaining why replay officials restored one second after it looked like Bryce Underwood’s first Hail Mary had already hit the turf as the clock expired. The key detail, according to the league: a Western Michigan player who had already stepped out of bounds touched the ball with one second remaining, which the Big Ten said is treated the same as the ball going out of bounds.
The conference also released footage of the replay officials talking through the call before deciding to put a second back on the clock. In the league’s view, the timing matched up with the contact on the ball, and the decision was correct.
That explanation may not satisfy everyone, but the Big Ten’s video makes its case plainly. The replay booth caught something that was easy to miss in real time: the defender’s foot was already out of bounds when he made the contact.
For Michigan fans, the ruling at least removes the sense that this was some kind of replay gift. The league’s position is that this was not a “Spartan Bob” situation. Michigan State should not have gotten that extra second in that old example, but this time the officials followed the rules and got it right.
None of that changes how rough the night looked for Michigan. The Wolverines were out-gained on the ground, and they scored only on the first and last possessions of the game.
The offensive line had trouble. Bryce Underwood didn’t look any better than last season. Special teams may have been even worse.
There were plenty of negatives. The one that matters most is the one Michigan can point to: it won the game, even if it didn’t look that way for much of the night.
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