Hours after No. 16 Michigan’s last-second win over Western Michigan, the Big Ten Conference shared a statement on social media on Saturday night explaining the controversial decision that one second remained on the clock.
After the game initially was ruled over when quarterback Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary flew out the back of the end zone, the call was changed after review, giving the Wolverines one final play which Underwood turned into a 47-yard completion to JJ Buchanan for a 13-12 victory.
While the Big Ten replay center’s audio discussion during the review was not shown on the broadcast, the Big Ten shared the audio and accompanying video feed of the review, which appears to show Western Michigan safety Micah Davis touching the ball while out of bounds with one second left on the clock.
“As shown in the provided video of what was viewed during the replay process, a side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling,” the conference’s statement read.
Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher also released a statement in the wake of the stunning conclusion, stating that he reached out to the Big Ten for an explanation on behalf of Western Michigan and that he was satisfied by the response.
“I commend Western Michigan for an outstanding effort and a well-played game, and I offer my congratulations to Michigan,” Steinbrecher’s statement said. “I also appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Big Ten office and its prompt response in reviewing the play and providing the requested clarification.”
The Big Ten officiating crew that presided over Saturday’s season opener for both teams was not made available postgame to a pool reporter.
In the immediate aftermath, Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor, while admitting that he hadn’t yet seen the replay, said that multiple people had told him that “the game was over” before the Hail Mary.
“We can’t control whether there was a second left on the clock or not. We went out the first time, we defended perfectly the Hail Mary situation,” Taylor added. “I know when I looked up at the clock it was past zeros before we touched it. I knew they’d review it.
“I wasn’t worried about our guys defending it the second time.”
New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham, after escaping what would have been a shocking loss in his debut, put it more bluntly.
“We got in the end zone on the first drive of the game and the last play of the game,” he said in his postgame interview on the NBC broadcast. “Not much in between. Not much good happening, but we’ll get better.”