Urban Meyer didn’t spend much time on the clock issue from Michigan’s Week 1 win over Western Michigan. Instead, the former three-time national champion zeroed in on who was talking afterward - and who wasn’t.
On the latest episode of his The Triple Option show, Meyer said he was more bothered by Western Michigan’s president weighing in on the extra second the Wolverines received than by the controversy itself. He argued that the players should have had the chance to speak for themselves after a loss that felt brutal in the moment.
“Who gives a [expletive] about the president of Western Michigan?” Meyer said.
“I mean, sure, they got to make a statement. I want to hear from the dudes that did it.
The AD, the coach, and the player did not do that. I mean, the AD, the president, and the coach did not win that game.
You know who did? The players.
I want to hear from them. Your heart was just taken from you.”
Meyer said he felt for Western Michigan’s players and head coach Lance Taylor, and he wondered what a coach can even say in that kind of aftermath. His bigger takeaway was that the Broncos left Ann Arbor with far more respect than they came in with.
“The reality is, Western Michigan has a really good team. … They were the better team on the field in Ann Arbor, and certainly in the second half they were, ” Meyer said. “The fourth quarter … The Broncos from the Mid-American Conference were the better football team on the field.”
Michigan’s uneven performance has already cooled plenty of the buzz around both quarterback Bryce Underwood and head coach Kyle Whittingham, and the pressure doesn’t get any lighter with Oklahoma coming to Ann Arbor in Week 2. For a fan base already uneasy after Saturday, that matchup now carries the kind of anxiety that can turn a bad week into a loud one.
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Michigans Opener Already Sparked A Response Fans Will Notice Against Oklahoma
Rod Moore did not sugarcoat Michigans season-opening showing against Western Michigan, calling it well below the standard the Wolverines expect. The reaction inside the program was immediate, too, with team captains calling an emergency player-only meeting to address what went wrong and to reset the tone before the schedule tightens up.
The response showed up on the practice field, where the defense ramped up its physical intensity in preparation for Oklahoma. Edge defender Dom Nichols also drew attention for both his strong play and his work ethic, a reminder that Michigan is trying to turn a flat opener into a sharper, more urgent version of itself before a much bigger test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Win Is Now At Center Of A Stunning Official Fight
The final sequence of Michigans 13-12 win over Western Michigan has turned into more than a narrow nonconference finish. A reviewed Hail Mary added one second back onto the clock, and that extra snap led to the game-winning catch that kept the Wolverines on top. The Big Ten later backed the decision after its own video review, treating the ending as a properly administered piece of officiating in a game that was already tense enough on the field.
Now the dispute has moved from the scoreboard to the offices that govern the sport. The Mid-American Conference has formally appealed to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff, asking them to recognize Western Michigan as the winner. For Michigan, the result stands for now, but the unusual fight over a single second has made this one of the more talked-about finishes of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Win Sparked A Debate Fans Should Care About
Michigans disputed 13-12 win over Western Michigan did more than send people scrambling through the rule book. It also reignited a familiar gripe about how college football handles the last moments of a close game, with ESPNs Rece Davis arguing that fans would be better served by a single shared game clock and by live access to replay officials conversations so the process feels less opaque.
The sequence at the end of the game made the frustration easy to understand: the broadcast clock hit zero, but replay officials restored one second after using a synchronized system, and Michigan turned that final snap into the touchdown that decided it. Officials and conference representatives backed up the replay process, and Western Michigan president Richard N. Yensen acknowledged the clocks did not match while saying he did not view the outcome as unfair, but the larger transparency debate is unlikely to fade soon. [Read more 🡒]