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The NCAA on Wednesday, Sept. 16 acknowledged that the controversial ending of Michigan football’s narrow victory vs Western Michigan should never have happened.
In a statement summarizing a review of the end-of-game processes, the NCAA said that instant replay protocol was not properly followed after the conclusion of what appeared to be a game-ending incompletion by Bryce Underwood.
“Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different,” the NCAA statement reads.
That outcome would have resulted in a 12-7 victory for Lance Taylor’s Broncos over the then-16th-ranked Wolverines. As it stood, Big Ten officials put one second back on the clock, with Underwood completing a Hail Mary to JJ Buchanan in the end zone for a 13-12 victory on the final play of the game.
The NCAA’s acknowledgment that Western Michigan should have won the game — which comes after the Mid-American Conference sought to have the result overturned — also states that it has no power to overturn the result of a game.
The NCAA cited two rules on the subject:
- Rule 1-1-3-b: When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final.
- Rule 5-2-9: No rule decision may be changed after the ball is next legally snapped, legally free-kicked or the second or fourth periods have ended.
This is what the NCAA had to say of the final moments of the game, when a second was erroneously added to the game clock.
“When a replay review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the replay official’s decision will be based on the embedded game clock contained within the program feed. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game-clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.”
NBC, which was broadcasting the game, appeared to show both the embedded clock and game-clock graphic that had struck all zeros by the time a Western Michigan player had touched the ball. Curiously, the NCAA’s statement directly contradicts what NBC broadcaster John Fanta said when he claimed the broadcaster isn’t the “official arbiter of timekeeping.”
“Now, the official time of the game is kept by the Big Ten,” Fanta said. “Our cameras are not the official arbiter of timekeeping within the game. That is the Big Ten and game officials’ responsibility. After the game last night, the Big Ten released a statement and raw video from its replay process that showed how and why the decision was made.”
Regardless, records will indicate Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12.