A Second That Changed Everything: Michigan Escapes Western Michigan

Michigan vs. Western Michigan came down to a single controversial second Saturday night, as the 27½-point underdog Broncos fell to No. 16 Michigan, 13–12, following a play that never should have happened.

For most of the night, this wasn’t the game anyone expected.

Michigan and Western Michigan combined for only two touchdowns in a defensive battle that saw both offenses struggle to find any sustained momentum. The Wolverines scored on their opening possession, but Western Michigan’s defense largely shut them down from there.

The Broncos dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes compared with Michigan’s 19:52. Western Michigan also won the turnover battle and carried a 12–7 lead into the game’s final seconds.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood was particularly underwhelming for much of the night. Michigan turned the ball over three times, including an Underwood interception and fumble, and the Wolverines appeared headed toward a stunning season-opening loss.

And then came the second that changed everything.

With Michigan desperately trying to find the end zone, Underwood launched a Hail Mary that sailed beyond the end zone. The scoreboard showed 0:00. Western Michigan celebrated. Underwood himself later said he thought the game was over because he saw zeroes on the clock. So did a whole lot of people watching. Like, everyone except the referees.

But after review, officials put one second back on the clock.

The Big Ten later explained that Western Michigan’s Micah Davis had touched the football while jumping from an established out-of-bounds position with one second remaining. Under the applicable rule, that contact stopped the clock. The conference stood by the replay decision, and the MAC later said it had received an explanation and supporting video and audio from the Big Ten.

That explanation will not make the ending any easier for Western Michigan fans to swallow.

Given one final opportunity, Underwood made a slight adjustment to the protection, dropped back—and then dropped even farther back—before unloading the football into a sea of jerseys.

JJ Buchanan came down with it.

The 47-yard Hail Mary gave Michigan a 13–12 victory and sent the Big House into chaos.

For anyone familiar with a certain Packers-Lions game from several years ago, the whole thing felt painfully familiar.

But here’s the problem: Western Michigan should have walked out of Michigan Stadium with a 12–7 win.

The Big Ten has explained why the clock was reset. I understand the rule it says was applied. But the broadcast video showed the clock hit zero while the football was still in the air, and without that replay decision, there is no second Hail Mary. There is no miraculous catch. There is no Michigan victory.

The game is over. End of story—or at least it should have been.

Instead, a Western Michigan team that entered the night as a massive underdog and had never beaten an AP Top 20 opponent watched a potentially historic victory disappear with one second put back on the clock.

Michigan gets the win, Western Michigan gets the heartbreak, and college football gets a finish that people will be arguing about for a very long time.

Sometimes one second is all it takes to change everything.