Despite the Mid-American Conference appealing the result of Michigan football's 13-12 victory over Western Michigan, which came after a booth review put an additional second back on the clock after the NBC broadcast clock had expired and allowed U-M one final play, the NCAA says the victory will not be rescinded.
The NCAA released a statement that said it has no “protocol for overturning the outcome of a game” and added the FBS Oversight Committee “does not have the authority to overturn the outcome of a game.”
According to Rule 1-1-3-b, “When the referee declares that the game is ended, the score is final.” Rule 5-2-9 also states that a rules decision cannot be changed after the ball is next legally snapped, legally free-kicked, or the second
or fourth period has ended.
While various social media posts have showed that the final play took fewer than nine seconds (which is how much time was on the clock when U-M quarterback Bryce Underwood attempted the first Hail Mary), the protocol moving forward will be to follow the in-stadium scoreboard.
The Athletic obtained a memo from the NCAA's secretary-rules editor and said it was expected to go out to conferences and officials. It clarified the protocol to be used "when a replay review requires time to be restored" in a game.
It said, in part, the "official time for all college games is the time displayed on the in-stadium clock." If that clock becomes "inoperable," the time will be held by a designated official on the field.
"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," the statement continues. "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.
"Moving forward, this timing protocol should be followed consistently at all institutions and game sites."
The MAC appealed the decision on Tuesday, Sept. 8 saying the officials did not follow this order of operations.
"It is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed," the statement said. "This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock. It was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this specific end-of-game timing situation.
“Rather than relying upon the designated game clock displayed on the program feed, the Big Ten replay crew relied upon a separate clock embedded within its replay system. The two clock feeds were not synchronized."
A few hours after the game, the Big Ten Conference said the final ruling was determined by syncing a "side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, while using a shot of the game clock in the stadium." The league released a video of how it came to its decision, which showed one second remaining when the play ended.
“The Big Ten stands by the statement released following the conclusion of the Western Michigan at Michigan game and the determination made by the replay officials,” the conference said Tuesday. “We will have no further comment on the matter.”
Had the same play happened after this now-established policy was enacted, the Broncos would have won, since replay officials would have been directed to use the official clock embedded in the broadcast and the clock would have been at zero.
In the end, U-M is the winner, and while the controversy won't go to bed, the results will be final. That said, the Wolverines in the eyes of some were treated as the loser. Michigan fell eight spots in the US LBM Coaches Poll to No. 24 and fell completely out of the AP Top 25.
Michigan (1-0) hosts No. 10 Oklahoma (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 12 (Noon on Fox) in Ann Arbor.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NCAA says Michigan football win over Western Michigan will stand
