While I have you here a second, let’s take about that phantom second that allowed Michigan to escape an upset threat from Western Michigan.
The Hail Mary and the clock controversy that proceeded it somewhat overshadowed an awful showing from Michigan, and not a particularly good weekend for the Big Ten, overall.
Thanks to some help from a Big Ten replay crew and a second that you apparently had to be inside a special room to see, the Wolverines avoided what would’ve been one of the most embarrassing losses in program history, but the outlook for Kyle Whittingham’s first season looks shaky.
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Here’s what lingers on my mind after Week 1:
Michigan is headed nowhere fast
Before the season, I wrote these words: No chance Michigan will regret having the reputable Whittingham on its sideline instead of disgraceful Sherrone Moore.
I nearly came to eat those words, after one game.
I’m not all-in on the Whittingham era, and I think it’s likely Utah will be happier with its new coach after Year 1 than Wolverines fans will be with theirs. But, I admit I didn’t have a 13-12 squeaker over Western Michigan on my Bingo card.
The most concerning part for Michigan: It didn’t feel like a fluke. Instead, it’s more evidence that Bryce Underwood isn’t the quarterback recruiting analysts (and Michigan booster/bloviator Dave Portnoy) made him out to be.
The Wolverines will need to win more rock fights to inch its way to bowl eligibility, and it’s becoming clear Michigan errored by not dipping into the transfer portal and grabbing a proven starter ahead of Whittingham’s first season.
Freshman Tommy Carr is Underwood's backup. Adding a quality transfer while rostering Underwood would’ve created some offseason controversy, but it could’ve helped Michigan avoid controversy against WMU.
Underwood’s career completion rate has slipped below 60%, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 12-to-10 remains problematic. He’s providing insufficient return on investment. Whittingham isn't responsible for signing Underwood or for what happened last season, but I’ll point out that throughout Whittingham’s long coaching career, he’s never developed a quarterback who went on to be selected in the NFL Draft.
Six ranked opponents await Michigan, including Oklahoma next weekend. The Wolverines better keep the replay booth on their side.
Big Ten woes stretch extend from Michigan to Wisconsin
Luke Fickell leads out of the starting gate in the race to become the first coach fired. Fickell and Co. continue to make the Wisconsin job look harder than it ought to be. After a competitive first half, Wisconsin lost 41-13 to No. 5 Notre Dame at Lambeau Field.
Fickell is 17-22 at Wisconsin, and his boss, athletic director Shawn Eichorst, is not the guy who hired Fickell. That’s a recipe for a buyout check.
Wisconsin fans might wind up becoming experts on New Mexico this fall. Lobos coach and Spotted Cow beer enthusiast Jason Eck keeps polishing his resume for the Badgers’ looming coaching search.
Eck, a Wisconsin native who played for Barry Alvarez, started his second season at New Mexico with a 38-7 pasting of Central Michigan.
Come to think of it, Michigan might want to look at Eck, too.
Let’s rework the college football polls
Bad though Wisconsin (and Michigan) were, neither served the most embarrassing result of Week 1. The booby prize goes to Big Ten mate Rutgers, which celebrated its 37-21 loss to Massachusetts (winless in 2025) with a fireworks show, in a peak display of college football’s zaniness.
Nobody expected much from Rutgers anyway, though.
We did expect a lot from Oregon, but how many gamblers are fading the Ducks after they gutted out a 34-27 win against Boise State? There’s a healthy debate about whether the game showed Boise State is legit or if Oregon is overhyped and destined for an also-ran finish.
Why not both?
Credit Oregon for playing an opponent with a pulse. Many of their Power Four peers wouldn’t go near Boise State in Week 1.
But, this offered our first glimpse at Oregon since that blowout against Indiana to end last season. My eyes tell me the polls need reworked after the Ducks entered the season at No. 2.
Put it this way: That game was closer than it should’ve been for a supposed national championship frontrunner, funded by one of the nation’s deepest war chests.
If I had a ballot, I’d rework the preseason rankings by making the following changes: Get Oregon out of the top five, get LSU into the top five, get Michigan out of the Top 25, and get Boise State into the Top 25.
Hunting for a new sleeper team after Auburn, Oklahoma State miss mark
Auburn apparently cannot have nice things. Not on offense, anyway. The curse of firing a coach who never supplied a losing season in eight years on the Plains persists.
The Tigers hired coach Alex Golesh to fix the program’s yearslong scoring woes. The idea was, Golesh would ignite the program’s slumping quarterback play. Golesh bringing South Florida transfer Byrum Brown along with him seemed smart.
Alas. Auburn’s offensive warts remain unhealed.
Brown threw three interceptions in his Auburn debut, and although the Tigers held off Baylor, 17-16, by stopping a 2-point conversion at the 2-inch line, I’m cooling on my preseason prediction that Auburn would be the unranked SEC team to finish in the Top 25.
The hot seat under Baylor coach Dave Aranda gained a few more degrees. Aranda’s got just a few more degrees of heat to go before his seat combusts into a pile of ash.
For Auburn, there’s solace in being 1-0, but this debut from the new coach, a new quarterback and a roster heavy on USF transfers did not inspire belief that Golesh’s Tigers are ready for SEC defenses — or Top 25 material.
While on the subject of sleeper picks that looked better in August than September: Oklahoma State got skunked by Tulsa, 24-10, in Eric Morris’ debut.
Although Morris isn’t in the American Conference anymore, Tulsa is. So, we can’t pin Morris’ debut on the step up in competition. Call this what it was: a flop from a coach who brought dozens of players with him from North Texas, including prized quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
Athletic directors looked at Curt Cignetti’s instant success with a bundle of James Madison transfers and thought: If he can do it, we can do it!
Morris and Golesh, like Cignetti, were successful Group of Six coaches who brought talent with them.
Copycats are learning that Group of Six transfers (and coaches) are a dime a dozen, but Cigs don’t grow on trees.
Three and out
1. Yes, the opponent was ECU, not LSU, but Keelon Russell lived up to the hype in his first career start at Alabama. He can run, he can flick it, and he can flick it on the run. The downside? His playing style exposes him to hits, and even Russell’s teammates are encouraging him to slide more. Keep veteran backup Austin Mack at the ready.
2. Indiana fans will never not cherish Fernando Mendoza, but if you must replace Heismandoza, do it by throwing four touchdown passes in a rout of North Texas, and add in an iconic image of taking a snap while blood drips down your face. Heck of an Indiana debut for TCU transfer Josh Hoover. Think Sonny Dykes misses Hoover yet?
3. Who is Miami QB Darian Mensah’s biggest threat for the Heisman Trophy? We could look far and wide for the answer, or just stay in Miami and consider wide receiver Malachi Toney. Mensah and Toney caught the attention of this Heisman voter in Miami’s rout of Stanford.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan controversy goes beyond the clock. Let's talk about Bryce Underwood
