Western Michigan got the kind of confirmation that stings twice.
On Wednesday, the NCAA’s FBS oversight committee said the Broncos should have beaten Michigan in the controversial finish earlier this month, according to ESPN’s Jake Trotter. The issue, the committee said, was that instant replay protocols were not followed by the on-site officiating crew when the clock got the extra second that changed everything.
The committee also said it did not have the authority to change the result, Trotter reported, so Michigan will keep the win even though the game, by the committee’s own account, should have ended differently.
“The outcome of the game would have been different,” the committee admitted if instant replay protocols had been followed properly and the extra second had not been added to the clock, according to Trotter’s report.
That leaves Western Michigan with the bitter reality of a result that the committee now says should have gone the other way. Instead of a Broncos win, the game stood as a 13-12 Michigan victory after the extra second led to the final play.
The sequence at the Big House was as wild as it sounded. As regulation ended, officials added a confusing second to the clock, and on the next snap Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood found wide receiver JJ Buchanan for a walk-off Hail Mary touchdown.
It remains one of the season’s most stunning finishes. But by the committee’s account, it should never have happened that way. The Broncos, it said, should have won 12-7.
For Western Michigan, that’s as close as it gets to validation without the actual win.
In Other News...
Why L.J. Cason Really Left Michigan Still Stings For Wolverines Fans
L.J. Casons return to Ann Arbor this week carried a little extra weight for Michigan fans who remember how much promise surrounded him before injuries and offseason turnover changed the picture. The three-star guard arrived under Dusty May, spent his lone season in the program during the national title run and then saw that year interrupted by a torn ACL, a sequence that made his exit feel less like a routine transfer and more like another reminder of how quickly the roster shifted.
Cason said Mays departure for the Dallas Mavericks played a major role in his decision to enter the portal, and he ultimately landed at Miami. Even so, coming back to receive his championship ring gave him a chance to reconnect with the program and speak about what he sees ahead for Michigan, a conversation that only added to the lingering what-if feeling among fans who wondered what his next chapter might have looked like in Ann Arbor. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Faces Pressure To Hold Off Rivals For Key Legacy Recruit
Marquis Ray has already made two trips to Michigan Stadium this season, and each visit has only deepened the sense that the Wolverines are in the mix for one of the more important in-state prospects on the board. The Saline standout carries a Michigan offer and, just as notably, legacy ties through his father, Marcus Ray, giving the pursuit a built-in familiarity that has helped him keep building relationships with the coaching staff since that offer arrived in June.
The competition is far from limited to Ann Arbor, though, with Kentucky, Illinois and Pitt all still in the picture as Ray works toward a decision that could come by winter. For Michigan, the appeal is obvious: this is the kind of recruit who matters beyond rankings, both because of where hes from and because of what his last name already means around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Hail Mary Controversy Now Has An NCAA Admission
The final sequence of Michigans win over Western Michigan has moved from a one-off officiating gripe to something the NCAA itself has now addressed. The FBS Oversight Committee acknowledged that instant replay protocols were not followed correctly on the games last plays, a confirmation that gives fresh weight to the debate around how the finish was handled.
Even so, the result is staying put. NCAA bylaws do not allow the game outcome to be changed, so Michigans victory will remain official, even as the Mid-American Conference pushed for Western Michigan to be recognized as the winner for ranking purposes. For the Wolverines, it means the record book is safe, but the controversy around the ending is not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]