The Mid-American Conference has reversed course and will appeal the result of the Michigan-Western Michigan game that ended in a 13-12 Wolverines victory in a controversial second Hail Mary attempt.
The first attempt fell incomplete, and time on the NBC broadcast and the in-stadium clock appeared to run out. After review, the replay officials determined their official clock had one second remaining and gave the Wolverines one more play.
Bryce Underwood found JJ Buchanan on a 47-yard touchdown for a win as time expired.
“It is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed,” the statement begins. “The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained. Instead,
the Big Ten Conference replay crew relied upon the clock feed embedded within its replay system. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded.
“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. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded, and Western Michigan would have won the game, 12–7.”
As a result, the MAC has submitted formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff and requests “those bodies recognize Western Michigan as the actual winner of the game for purposes of their respective rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations, and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority.”
It’s a different tone than Western Michigan leaders took on Sunday, the day after the game, when they held a press conference from Kalamazoo.
Coach Lance Taylor and president Russ Kavalhuna said at the time there “are no appeals in this review process” and Kavalhuna asked if one was possible. He did not believe it was: “I did want to find a way to appeal that decision, but there is none,” Kavalhuna said.
"I would just say that what the viewing public see and what the reviewing officials see are different, and that's [now] clear," Kavalhuna said. "I've looked into this pretty closely, and I used to be a federal prosecutor. I don't discern anything unfair or untoward in this process.
"Can the process be improved by having what the viewing public see as the same as what the reviewing officials see? Maybe. Frankly, that's not for me to decide."
The ending to the game has been the talk of college football, from local radio to national pundits and everybody in between. The broadcasters in the Florida State vs. SMU game on Monday night even made a joke about the lack of clock after the power went out and delayed the start time more than an hour, alluding to the clock being kept on the field.
You can read the entire statement below:
After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game. The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained. Instead, the Big Ten Conference replay crew relied upon the clock feed embedded within its replay system. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded. 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. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded, and Western Michigan would have won the game, 12–7. As a result, the Mid-American Conference has submitted formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff. The MAC is requesting that those bodies recognize Western Michigan as the actual winner of the game for purposes of their respective rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations, and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MAC appealing Michigan-Western Michigan result after 'further study'
