It doesn't matter how much technology we have, how many cameras are on site, or how many refs are in the mix on the field or in command centers. At some point in time, errors compound and chaos reigns in college football. No. 16 Michigan's incredible 13-12 victory Saturday over Western Michigan to start the 2026 season is just the latest in a long list of controversial endings in college football.
Here's a few of college football's most famous (or infamous) game-ending controversies -- depending on which side of the result you're on. The OG in the game of college football administrative malfeasance happened in 1990 when Colorado beat Missouri 33-31. The Buffs were awarded five downs (you will note four is the maximum according to the rules) and won the game as time expired on a down that obviously should never have happened.
Frankly, there's some discrepancy about whether Colorado QB Charles Johnson even scored on the down he never should have had, but you can add that to the list of stuff that went wrong on the play. As with many college football controversies in the past there's also this fun anecdote: it should be noted that the down-marker operator on the chain gang was a Missouri alum. The fifth down also had a knock-on effect on the broader history of college football.
Colorado went on to finish the season 10-1-1 and split a national championship with Georgia Tech. Texas was ranked No. 3 and vying for a spot in the BCS title game, but was trailing the Cornhuskers 12-10 with time running out in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Longhorns were driving, hoping that they would have a chance to kick a game-winning field goal, but it wouldn't come easy.
With Nebraska's Ndomakong Suh bearing down on him, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw a pass out of bounds on third down as time seemingly ran out. Nebraska celebrated as if it had won the game because the clock showed triple zeros as the ball landed harmlessly on the turf out of bounds. Texas coach Mack Brown, shaking his head and yelling "no" at the officials, held one finger in the air to signal that his team had a second left to try to win the game.
After a video review Brown was proven correct and the officials gave Texas a final play. Hunter Lawrence's 46-yard field goal snuck through the uprights for a 13-12 victory and the Longhorns went to the BCS Championship Game where they lost to Alabama 37-21. All Cowboys quarterback Mason Rudolph really had to do was just run backwards as fast as he could to burn 4 seconds off of the clock as No. 22 Oklahoma State was trying to hold off Central Michigan's massive upset bid.
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