Michigan clock controversy escalates as MAC appeals to erase Hail Mary victory over WMU, alleging refs broke replay protocol

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

(CNN) — The Mid-American Conference announced it had submitted formal appeals on Tuesday to recognize Western Michigan University as the winners of Saturday’s game against Michigan, which was won on a controversial last-second play.

The Wolverines defeated the Broncos 13-12 on a final-play Hail Mary pass from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan – a play that many believe shouldn’t have happened. A play before, the clock appeared to run out as Underwood hurled a long pass to the end zone that fell to the field incomplete.

A replay review by officials determined there was one second left, despite replays showing the clock appeared to have hit :00 before the play was over. The Big Ten provided an explanation for the call, stating that a clock that was not seen on TV or in the stadium was the official clock and that reading was used to allow the final play.

On Tuesday, MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said the Big Ten had violated replay protocols and WMU should have been declared the winner.

“After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game,” Steinbrecher wrote in a statement.

“The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained. Instead, the Big Ten Conference replay crew relied upon the clock feed embedded within its replay system. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded.

“This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock. It was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this specific end-of-game timing situation. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded, and Western Michigan would have won the game, 12–7.”

Steinbrecher wrote that the MAC is asking the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff recognize the Broncos as the official winner of the game “for purposes of their respective rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations, and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority.”

The final moments of the game have been replayed and analyzed as much as any in recent memory.

With nine seconds to play, Underwood dropped back to pass, scrambled and heaved a last-ditch pass that sailed out of bounds. The clocks on the scoreboard available to viewers at home and those in the stadium appeared to show zero when the ball hit a WMU defender’s hands.

Officials called for a review and spent a long time looking at the play. They eventually decided that the official clock – which was different than the TV clock and the stadium clock – showed there was one second left in regulation.

That extra second allowed for one more play to be called. Underwood’s second heaved prayer resulted in a touchdown, handing Michigan an unlikely win.

In the overnight hours after the game, the Big Ten released an explanation and video, revealing the existence of the unseen clock.

Western Michigan and the MAC initially said they accepted what transpired and took the high road in postgame comments.

The victory didn’t help Michigan keep its place in the AP rankings released on Tuesday. The Wolverines slipped out of the Top 25 poll and face a matchup against No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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