The NCAA’s football oversight committee says Michigan’s wild Week 1 finish against Western Michigan should have played out differently if replay timing procedures had been followed.
In a statement released Wednesday, the committee said the result “would have been different” under the proper officiating protocol. It also made clear that it “does not have the authority to overturn the contest.”
Michigan escaped with a 13-12 win after officials put one second back on the clock in a game that had appeared finished. That decision set up the 47-yard Hail Mary from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan, and the Wolverines turned that last-gasp play into the winning score.
The MAC had already taken the issue further, filing a formal appeal with the NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff in hopes that Western Michigan would be recognized as the winner. That request has not been granted.
The controversy has still triggered changes. Before Week 2, NCAA secretary rules-editor for football Matt Young issued guidance saying timing decisions should rely on the “embedded game clock contained within the program feed.”
If that standard had been used in Michigan’s game against Western Michigan, no time would have gone back on the clock.
The Big Ten has also changed how replay review is shown on television, now giving viewers live audio of the discussions between field and replay officials along with the video the crew is seeing.
A Big Ten officiating crew handled the game, and the league maintained the officials were correct to restore the second. The FBS Oversight Committee’s conclusion, though, says otherwise.
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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 🡒]