College football’s most chaotic finish of the young season got even messier this week, with the Mid-American Conference stepping in after Michigan’s wild 13-12 escape over Western Michigan.
What looked like a finished game Saturday night turned into a replay-room argument with a scoreboard twist. Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary sailed through the back of the end zone, and for a moment it seemed to close the book on Michigan in a 12-7 loss. But the Big Ten officiating crew reviewed the play, put one second back on the clock, and Underwood found JJ Buchanan in the front of the end zone for the winning touchdown.
The whole controversy centers on that extra second - where it came from, and why the broadcast clock appeared to be one second behind the official game clock. That mismatch has only fueled the confusion around how the ending was handled.
The Big Ten tried to explain its ruling late Saturday night. In its statement, the league said the review showed Western Michigan’s No. 18 began his jump from an established out-of-bounds position, with his left foot down, and touched the ball with one second left. The conference also said the replay decision was made using “a side-by-side view of the play and game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium.”
But the MAC wasn’t buying it. On Tuesday afternoon, commissioner Jon Steinbrecher took the unusual step of publicly challenging the result and the replay process, saying the conference believed the Big Ten had gotten it wrong. The MAC then went further, submitting formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff.
“As a result, the Mid-American Conference has submitted formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff,” the statement read. “The MAC is requesting that those bodies recognize Western Michigan as the actual winner of the game for the purposes of their rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations, and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority.”
The conference’s move puts an already controversial finish into even stranger territory, with the result now being challenged in a way that could ripple beyond the final score.
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Michigan Win Sparked A Debate Fans Should Care About
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Former Wolverine Adds Real Emotion To Oklahoma's Michigan Return
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Sullivan also took time to look at Michigans recent win and to push back on the criticism aimed at Oklahoma quarterback Bryce Underwood. Those comments offered a reminder that even in a matchup built around familiar faces and old ties, players are still trying to keep the focus on football. For Sullivan, the sentiment is real, but the challenge remains the same: go back to a place he knows well and handle the moment without letting it take over. [Read more 🡒]