Western Michigan suffered about as heartbreaking a loss as you'll ever see on Saturday night.
The Broncos led Michigan 12-7 when time seemingly expired in Ann Arbor, but after a replay review of the Wolverines' Hail Mary attempt, a second was put back on the clock for one final play. On that play, Bryce Underwood found JJ Buchanan deep downfield for a miraculous, game-winning touchdown catch.
The ruling was controversial, to say the least. The Big Ten released a statement early Sunday morning defending the officiating, but the MAC doesn't feel the same way. In a statement released by commissioner Jon Steinbrecher on Tuesday, the league said it would file a formal appeal with the NCAA in an attempt to change the result of the game.
"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," Steinbrecher said in the statement. "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."
The MAC now says that “replay protocol was not properly followed” in the Western Michigan-Michigan game and the league has filed a formal appeal with the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee to be recognized as the winner. pic.twitter.com/gVA18kozym
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 8, 2026
Overturning a result after the fact like this would be practically unprecedented. In the Big Ten's defense of its officiating crew, it argued that video shows a Western Michigan player who jumped from an established out-of-bounds position touching the ball with one second left on the clock.
It seems the MAC disagrees, and the onus could ultimately fall on the NCAA to determine whether it was a miraculous Michigan win or a retroactive Western Michigan upset.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: MAC seeking to overturn Michigan's Hail Mary win over Western Michigan
