On September 5 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Western Michigan was about to pull off a win against Michigan, though it was a pretty ugly game. Still, Western Michigan was the more physical team, and they seemed poised to grind this one out. Michigan quarterback Bryan Underwood heaved a Hail Mary into the end zone as time expired, and it was incomplete. But officials claimed a secret clock showed the game had one second left. Underwood’s second attempt led to Michigan's game-winning touchdown.
Everyone knew it was nonsense. Anyone who watched knows the game was over and that Western Michigan won. After review, the NCAA’s FBS Oversight
Committee determined that replay protocols were not followed, but it lack the authority to overturn the result (via ESPN):
The FBS Oversight Committee says in a statement that "instant replay protocols were not followed in the contest’s second-to-last play" in the Western Michigan-Michigan game, and "had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different."
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) September 16, 2026
FBS oversight… https://t.co/QYxMrgHdKc pic.twitter.com/YxrIpSVt1r
The FBS Oversight Committee said in a statement that instant replay protocols were not followed on the second-to-last play of the Western Michigan-Michigan game.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 16, 2026
Had they been followed, the committee says the games outcome would have been different, but the result cannot be… pic.twitter.com/aiCbnvYwLn
The NCAA's FBS oversight committee said Wednesday that it "does not have the authority" to overturn the result of Western Michigan's controversial loss to Michigan on Sept. 5.
The committee, however, also said that instant replay protocols "were not followed" by the Big Ten, and that had protocols been followed, "the outcome of the game would have been different."
Michigan won 13-12 on a Hail Mary touchdown pass after Big Ten replay officials put one second back on the clock. The stadium clock and the one shown on the NBC broadcast showed zeros before quarterback Bryce Underwood's first Hail Mary was touched outside the back of the end zone.
In letters sent Sept. 8 to the NCAA and the College Football Playoff, Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher said "replay protocol was not properly followed" and asked that Western Michigan be recognized as the "actual winner."
"The final outcome was directly affected by a replay officiating error resulting from the failure to follow an established and specific protocol governing precisely this type of end-of-half timing situation,” he wrote.
Michigan fans stormed the field after this game, too. Like, guys—are you kidding me? We know this game was rigged.
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