It's unlikely that talk of Saturday night's explosively controversial final moments during Michigan versus Western Michigan will die down anytime soon. Nearly 24 hours later, however, NBC has finally offered an official statement on the controversial moment.
In the final seconds of Saturday night's tilt between Michigan and Western Michigan, quarterback Bryce Underwood's Hail Mary heave fell incomplete as the Wolverines looked to avoid a devastating upset in their first game of the season. While it looked as if Western Michigan was set to complete the upset, as the clock hit zero before the ball hit a player on the failed try, the referees ended up adding a second to the clock to allow Michigan one last attempt. Underwood ended up connecting
with JJ Buchanan on the final Hail Mary try as Michigan walked off their opponents 13-12.
According to a statement and footage from the Big Ten released on Sunday, "Western Michigan’s #18 started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock". That footage contradicts what the stadium's clock and NBC's broadcast clock stated as the play ended, causing immense confusion amongst college football fans as the dust continues to settle on this controversial moment.
MORE: What did WMU coach Lance Taylor say about clock controversy in Hail Mary loss to Michigan?
Then later on Sunday, NBC released its own statement via broadcaster John Fanta during halftime of Washington vs. Washington State.
John Fanta gives a statement/explanation on behalf of NBC about the Western Michigan-Michigan controversy, the Big Ten, and the clock discrepancy. pic.twitter.com/jn8O6MQaRl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
The official time of the game is kept by the Big Ten. 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. Here's a look back at that video, and with the ball hitting the defensive back for Western Michigan, that gave Michigan another second and one last play where JJ Buchanan came up big.
NBC immediately cut to commercial after the statement.
While it's good to have an official statement from NBC, it's hard to see this controversy dying down anytime soon given the discrepancy between what fans saw in the stadium and on TV and what the referees saw in their replay.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: NBC breaks silence on Michigan vs. WMU clock controversy with televised statement
