Big Ten releases replay video defending Michigan, Western Michigan ending

sportsSep 6, 2026702,837

Western Michigan appeared to stop Bryce Underwood's Hail Mary as the clock hit zero at Michigan Stadium, but Big Ten officials reviewed the play, put one second back on the clock, and on the retry Underwood found JJ Buchanan for a 13-12 Michigan win. The Big Ten released a statement citing NCAA rule 4-2-3-a and saying Western Michigan safety Micah Davis left the field of play and touched the loose ball with one second showing; the league said replay cameras and the stadium clock are synchronized using a strobe system 85 minutes before kickoff. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay disputed that account on-air, saying the ball was still in the air when the broadcast clock hit zero and suggesting the replay booth system ran on a different sync than the network feed. Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said from the sideline he saw the clock at zero before Davis touched the ball, and Western Michigan president Russ Kavalhuna said the school would contact the Mid-American Conference and the Big Ten about whether further review was possible. The ending erased what would have been Western Michigan's first win over Michigan in nine tries and left Michigan headed into Week 2 to host No. 10 Oklahoma.

Sickos Committee

@sickoscommittee.org

Did the Big Ten need to release their statement in the same font as the back of choose your own adventure books?

STATEMENT FROM THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Following video review, it was determined Western Michigan's #18 started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining 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.
Eighty-five minutes prior to the game, all broadcast cameras used for the replay system, including the camera on the game clock, are synced using a strobe system to ensure all cameras are aligned.
Per NCAA Football rule 4-2-3-a, "A ball not in player control, other than a kick that scores a field goal, is out of bounds when it touches the ground, a player, a game official or anything else that is out-of-bound, or that is on or outside a boundary line." and thus the clock is stopped.
BIG

64734d ago

Silly Burrito78

Turn to page 64 to get an extra second added to the clock!

Eric Garment78

"To give Western Michigan the upset win, turn to page 56. To give Michigan one more play, turn to page 59."

Hoover Street Rag20

OK, I am glad I am not the only one who thought this.

Kyle17

Michigan kept it's finger on the previous page, so the game over on page 83 didn't count.

Logan Ejupi12

The video review in question:

Jennifer Rose8

I sense a word/image generator opportunity!

Quoting this

Honda Percepción36

Mathman! Mr. TV has broken into the Big House and stolen all of the cameras! He's thrown them in one of the lakes surrounding MICHIGAN! Can you guess which one!

Eric Stephen25

far from the main thing, but what's up with that font choice

Christopher Crawford17

Just assumed this was Stranger Things erotica. bsky.app/profile/sick...

Dayn Perry11

Lol not reading all that

Sicko Spartan 🇨🇻10

The B1G reviewing any Michigan wrongdoing

Trick Jarrett9

I kind of want this to become a new notes app style meme for long posts

CDRE Fool Mental Jackass VI8

well that was certainly one of the Stranger Things

Grant7

Lololol of course we're doing fake "our clock is different" excuses now.

🏀 Champ X2 Josh Friedman6

[whispering to date while watching Cujo when Cujo first appears on the screen] That's Cujo

Aaron, just Aaron5

Given the choose-your-own-adventure nature of the conclusion of the game, most definitely yes.

Dan Weiner

@danweiner.bsky.social

Tired: Complaining about the ending of the Michigan game Wired: Roasting the Big Ten's font choice

31234d ago

tragicarpetride.bsky.social4

From the author of "A Wrinkle In Time" it's "The Purloined Second" coming this September.

muletrains.bsky.social3

the font is great. At least it's not boring, like most current font.

Ghost of Tuvix (Revived)2

Ok but about the play itself. If the clock is stopped when the ball hits out of bounds, then the game should’ve still been over because it didn’t hit the ground till after time elapsed, right?

A.M.D.1

Just remember everyone—the cover up is usually worse than the crime.

Quoting this

John W Buaas2

Dissing a font choice is the way to pitch a Big Tent over Big Ten football.

Chris Vannini

@chrisvannini.com

This Hail Mary situation is EXACTLY why all the replay review situations need to be public and transparent. There has been no explanation. Big Ten added it this year, but only for Friday games.

23234d ago

WhatAimeeWrites26

The officials cheated. The national media has to be willing to call it what it is. Western Michigan won that game.

Wizzy Probs8

You'd think the conference would want to show their work on this one...

ringneck-flush.bsky.social5

This is a multi-billion dollar industry that pretends integrity. Legal action should be looked into if nothing else to compel an explanation and financial interests of the officials involved.

Alex3

you're not wrong but if you think thats gonna stop the conspiracy theories...people still have them with ACC games.

You Came In Dressed Like a Train Wreck1

You keep looking for an explanation when there isn't one that's remotely credible. You are a journalist, no? Stop assuming good faith and start looking at the facts with appropriate skepticism, like anyone who went to j-school should.

Ric1

As someone in the media, you actually could make a difference talking about this!

Quoting this

obnoxiously pitt girl64

the ACC: the actual worldwide leader in sports?

Katie Shook48

Only for Friday games is some Zara ass return policy LOL

By the Belt: A MAC Sports Blog24

Wait, hold on, the transparent replay system is conditionally attached to Friday games? What sense does that possibly make?

Ivan Bologna of the Fightin' Bolognas17

This. Also, there was no fair catch. Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.

Artist Formerly Known As Whoopty-Hell 🦋2

WTF! Since when have rules been made that only apply to one day a week. 😂😂

Bryan Fischer

@bryandfischer.bsky.social

Hey, so about that expanded replay review access Big Ten...

16334d ago

Drew Magary

@drewmagary.bsky.social

(watches the end of Michigan/Western Michigan) oh yeah Western Michigan got fucked over

15834d ago

Drew Magary85

This is why football needs a buzzer when the stadium clock hits zero

Coinman of the Month7

Big 10 statement like "we sync every clock in the stadium for the live feed every game" then "but we have a secret clock only we can see and that's the real one."

alkali1

This was interesting (Big Ten replay analysis) youtu.be/7xm4MKMNqlo

Donny is a loser1

Conner Stallions was in the review booth

Alex Kirshner

@alexkirshner.com

I think the Big Ten is going to have something on this soon and it's going to be about the game clock we saw on TV vs. the game clock as it was "supposed" to be run. The bar for this to be satisfactory to reasonable people is going to be pretty high

14034d ago

Jœy AF29

Lmao everything in America is fake as shit now. All the liars and cheaters win regardless of what we see with our own eyes

𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤 𝘗𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵9

Clearly, Western Michigan should have subscribed to ClockPro+

Slippery Pete7

Time is a flat circle. There is no justification. They can spin some bullshit narrative about a second heretofore unheard of clock that’s the “real clock”, but it’s all laughable fraud played out in public.

107 Reasons Why7

They'll just lie, what do they have to lose?

Michael Breitsch3

I mean, if they had a satisfactory explanation, you would kind of expect it to have been released immediately after the game, no? You know, right after they made the ruling?

ajsstormchaser.bsky.social2

My guess: They're gonna say it was 10 seconds left actually, we just never fixed it on the field.

Quoting this

Joe Sheehan18

“The clock? You don’t know it. It goes to another school.”

Andrew K. Gardner4

Real weird for there to be a clock everyone sees and then a secret clock that they get to bring out for special occasions, like a treat. But just for Michigan.

Shaker Samman3

“Time is just a construct. Open your mind’s eye, brother. Michigan gets an extra second.”

Seth Abramson

@sethabramson.bsky.social

That pro-Notre Dame call by ACC refs—Notre Dame is in the ACC for most sports—is the reason folks think college football is rigged and becoming meaningless. Western Michigan got robbed. Wisconsin got robbed. The higher-ranked team always gets the call. I can't take much more.

11933d ago

And I Smiled 😃3

I stopped watching 2 years ago because you are right. It's all payola now. Who better than refs to use anonymous prediction market accounts to get a better payday.

Shellbell🔔🔵1

Agree, I’ve lost all interest in my favorite sport (college football)

JP Acosta

@acosta32jp.bsky.social

My favorite part of this is the video the Big Ten providing not actually having the clock and video of the play showing at the same time bsky.app/profile/chri...

9034d ago

William Bordewick11

Apparently anything can happen out there if you just show a screenshot of 1 second and video from behind the play

Rob Fini3

I hate to give them credit, but this is something the NHL actually does right with the overhead goal cam in the last minute of play

Timothy Burke

@bubbaprog.xyz

if this is true NBC's feed should not have been able to be synced differently than the replay officials', because they say it's the same! and yet it was? which one seems more likely to have gone out of sync, the actual broadcast production or the Big Ten replay booth connected to the production?

7234d ago

Timothy Burke79

also if your last sync was five hours ago that is more than enough time for significant drift due just to shit like cosmic rays so maybe this is all silly anyway

Charlie Fillenwarth10

Don’t worry. The Big Ten investigated the Big Ten’s replay of the Big Ten’s stadium clock that resulted in a Big Ten win, and the Big Ten has found that the Big Ten did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, the Big Ten confirms that the Big Ten will just have to accept a Big Ten victory.

Triton Buccaneer5

Why is this statement in the form of the back of a paperback?

Paul Schmidt3

This is EXACTLY my question. It doesn’t make any sense

Robert Tomlinson3

There can't be a difference between the TV cameras and the "broadcast cameras" mentioned in the statement, no?

Would be good to have the full video from the Big Ten from when the ball is snapped.

Bruce Feldman

@brucefeldmancfb.bsky.social

On the Michigan ending: Big Ten needs to explain how the clock wasn’t synced up. Am told the Hawk-Eye replay system gets recalibrated every quarter to avoid anything like this. Weird situation given the video NBC showed. This is not quite like the first down line graphic on a broadcast.

7934d ago

Alex Ip 葉清霖

@alexip718.com

The MAC folded. They should've stood up for Western Michigan

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

FOM MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE COMMISSIONER DR. JON STEINBRECHER

Upon the conclusion of the Western Michigan-Michigan football game, the Mid-American Conference and Western Michigan contacted the Big Ten office to seek clarification regarding the replay review and the placement of time back on the game clock.

The Big Ten explained that the ball touched a player who was out of bounds before the clock reached 00:00, resulting in one additional play being awarded. The Big Ten subsequently provided video and audio of the replay, which confirmed the explanation provided to us.

I commend Western Michigan for an outstanding effort and a well-played game, and I offer my congratulations to Michigan.

I also appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Big Ten office and its prompt response in reviewing the play and providing the requested clarification.

6334d ago

Alex Ip 葉清霖17

The NCAA should mandate hot mics for all review center officials like what we have at the ACC. Make the refs walk through their decision making live, and defend themselves in the press conference

Charlie Fillenwarth2

Western Michigan is their own entity. They have the ability to investigate and even bring litigation on this. They don’t have to bend over for their conference not wanting to lose money.

Your Canadian Girlfriend1

MAC wants to keep these money games being played by their members and BIG10 schools. It's all about the money. Western Michigan was supposed to play a "good" game and not win.

Quoting this

Timothy Burke80

the thing is, there is absolutely video or a photo with the moment the ball is touched AND the stadium scoreboard in view, so I guess we'll have a provable answer at some point

i bought spirit airlines4

trying to figure out if this is describing an obscure application of the illegal touching rule, because the plain reading is um not true

nathan gruenholz3

still didnt fold nearly as bad as dabo swinney

Alejandro Zúñiga

@byazuniga.bsky.social

Michigan fans stormed the field, but the players didn't want to celebrate. "Sick to my stomach," "not how we want to win," and "not feeling too good" is how the Wolverines described the near-disaster against Western Michigan. 247sports.com/college/mich...

3633d ago

Luke5

WMU won that game fair and square.

Art Moreorless1

Fans are storming the field for a win over Western Michigan in what's supposed to be a cupcake game? That's WEAK

Bryan Mac

@bryanmac.bsky.social

When I went to bed, all I saw was “boy I can’t wait to see what bullshit Michigan fans come up with to explain this” I awoke to a world where those same people are arguing that the Big Ten manufactured this replay review conversation after the fact to cover their scheme. Life comes at you fast.

4834d ago

Bryan Mac24

This was the original sin of this whole shebang: we assumed Terry McAuley knows how cameras and broadcast feeds work?

Space Coyote21

The problem with conspiracy here is that it then relies on UM successfully completing a 48 yard Hail Mary the next play. A conspiracy to give them at best a 1% chance to win is a pretty bad one. Now there was the missed face mask earlier (a missed O hold on same play). But it’s all mostly just dumb

Mat1

Also... Does anyone recall how the B10 has treated Michigan over the past several years? *That's* the organization that's suddenly bending over backwards to do Michigan a solid?

RedditCFB

@redditcfb.com

The MAC issues a statement saying they’ve accepted the explanation offered by the Big Ten.

3434d ago

DGM40

The Big Ten has released a photograph of the game clock operator for Michigan vs. Western Michigan.

Michael Mullady12

So this reads as they paid us some more money and we’re happy now

Roberts Poll11

It's doesn't clarify how two allegedly synced clock feeds (NBC broadcast and replay booth) are no longer synced.

Jason Collette4

the bank account hit #,000,000

Quoting this

katie dzwierzynski27

if i was a western michigan fan this would not satisfy me

Christina Stephens (🐯🏈💜💛)20

This is too nice, someone should be suing someone and begging an injunction against clocks.

Toss16

The MAC is screwing up negotiations, if they had held out a bit longer before accepting the B1G’s explanation we probably would’ve given them Rutgers as a peace offering

cyrus15

also included was a check for a million dollars for some reason anyway. no problem here!

Lil Bona X11

the word “cuck” has beaten into the ground in recent years, but this is absolutely cuck behavior no more le epic bacon MACtion memes, send that conference to the fcs

Major7

For an extra $2 million

Brad?6

"If we push this the Big 10 will stop scheduling us for million dollar bodybag games, so sure, Michigan wins. Hooray."

dep3

I’d want this commish ousted immediately. What do you mean you’re just rolling over and taking it?

Chuck🏳️‍🌈3

This is the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen

Morgan2

This reads very much as "we don't care, just pay wmu their money for showing up".

Hoover Street Rag

@hooverstreetrag.org

Dear Michigan social media: I know that you have certain frameworks for posts you need to make after every win, but have you maybe thought for two seconds about what this actually looks like given the opponent and situation?