Western Michigan Robbed?

It’s only week 1, and we have our first major controversy in the College Football world. It was an odd week with the weather delay in Baton Rouge and the power outage in Tallahassee delaying both games significantly. However, what happened in the Big House on Saturday night left many fans livid.

Underwhelming Underwood

Western Michigan went into the game as 27.5-point underdogs. Walking out of Ann Arbor is always a challenge, but for the Broncos, they weren’t even supposed to lead this game. This wasn’t an offensively dominated game. Bryce Underwood was underwhelming, completing 12/22 pass attempts for 170 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. We have yet to see Underwood show us his worth after receiving a $12.5 million NIL deal. Western Michigan’s offense doesn’t pop off the stat sheet either, but the sophomore Aveion Chenault had 6 receptions for 53 yards, leading his team.

End of Game Recap

However, those performances were overshadowed by the late-game controversy that left everyone in silence. Western Michigan had the lead 12-7 with 9 seconds left on the game clock. Michigan had the ball around midfield, so the pass had to go to the end zone. Underwood rolled out and tossed the ball downfield to the back of the end zone, where Western Michigan swatted it down with no time left on the clock. The head coach of Western Michigan, Lance Taylor, was holding up the “W” and walking to center field to shake Coach Whittingham's hand. But the refs were taking the play to review. Everyone saw the clock at zero while the ball was still in the air, but they had to go through protocol to confirm the call on the field. On the replay we see a Western Michigan player jump from out of bounds and swat the ball down. By rule, since he jumped from out of bounds once he touched the ball, the play is dead and the clock should stop. Even when we take that into consideration, there is still no time left before he touches the ball. It seemed clear and obvious to everyone except the officials. Yet, when they returned to the field, they put an extra second on the clock. At this point, countless people around the country are standing up, just bewildered. It’s still a Hail Mary, though. What are the odds…? Underwood launches it again to the end zone, and it’s caught. End of the game.

The Controversy

Even if you weren’t watching the game Saturday night, you probably saw the replays all over social media. Ball in the air and no time on the clock. The MAC reached out to the Big 10 asking for clarification of how they followed protocol in the situation. The Big 10 explained that they saw one second left on the clock, but in a very brief and basic message back. The MAC accepted the explanation initially, but now they came out and said protocols weren’t properly followed, and they are asking for the NCAA to reverse the result of the game.

Our Stance

In my opinion, to be blunt, the officials blew it. There was clearly no time on the clock, and the game should have ended there. The NCAA most likely isn’t going to reverse the outcome of the game either. In sports there's always going to be human error, and that’s something you can’t change. However, the Broncos were robbed of a win that night.