No. 16 Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass on the game's final play Saturday night after the officiating crew put one second back on the clock. JJ Buchanan reeled in the 47-yard bomb from Bryce Underwood to lift the Wolverines to a controversial victory that left college football buzzing over the following question. "As I watched the first Hail Mary and the ball sailed out of the back of the end zone, I glanced at the clock, and I was pretty sure there was one second left," Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said.
"That, obviously, is not up to me. The refs went to replay, and they confirmed it and gave us one more opportunity." The Broncos appeared to have secured a historic upset just moments earlier when a prior Hail Mary attempt from Underwood sailed out of the back of the end zone with the clock on the NBC television broadcast showing 0:00 when the play ended. However, the officiating crew went to the monitor and determined that one second remained.
MICHIGAN DOES THE UNBELIEVABLE ON THE FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME 😱THEY PUT ONE SECOND BACK ON THE CLOCK AND MICHIGAN CAPITALIZES TO WIN IT!📺: NBC pic.twitter.com/dTmoS82w2C A historic throw and catch ensued as Michigan avoided what would have been a catastrophic beginning to the Kyle Whittingham era. The outcome left Western Michigan distraught and left the Big Ten officiating crew with questions to answer about a confounding call that appeared to have no justification in the moment. Maybe the clock NBC had was not synced correctly to the stadium's field clock.
Another technical explanation for putting a second back on the clock would be that, if a player who was out of bounds leapt and touched the ball, the play would immediately be over at that point. But the screenshot below shows the clock at all zeroes while the football is still in the air. Can’t seem to make sense of this one. pic.twitter.com/5xGHFCR2Sg Watching the play in real time, it's even more confounding how a second was placed back on the clock.
Western Michigan's sideline had already begun emptying onto the field in celebration and chants of "fire Kyle" could be heard in the background. The review felt like nothing more than than a crew checking the box. But the crew came back with a monumental decision, opening the door for Michigan to escape.
Terry McAulay: "The ball isn't even close to touching a player when it goes to zero... Their Hawk-Eye system apparently had a different sync... I don't see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct...
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