Michigan’s Controversial Hail Mary Win Over Western Michigan Sparks ‘Rigged’ Accusations After Officials Add Second Back to Clock
Officials put one second back on the clock after review, giving Bryce Underwood and JJ Buchanan a second chance at the Hail Mary that beat Western Michigan — and college football fans are livid.
Michigan escaped the Big House with a stunning 13-12 win over Western Michigan on Saturday night after officials put one second back on the clock following a review, giving Bryce Underwood a second chance at a Hail Mary that he cashed in for a 47-yard touchdown to JJ Buchanan. The finish has set off a firestorm across college football, with fans and analysts accusing officials of manufacturing extra time to save the No. 16 Wolverines from an upset loss to the Mid-American Conference program.
Western Michigan players were already celebrating on the field when the review was announced. Television replays appeared to show the game clock hitting zero before the ball was touched by a WMU defender, fueling accusations that the result was “rigged” before Underwood and Buchanan ever got their second shot at the end zone.
How the Extra Second Got Put Back on the Clock
Trailing 12-7 and out of timeouts, Michigan needed a miracle heave from deep in its own territory as time expired. The first attempt appeared to end the game when it fell incomplete, sending the Broncos’ sideline into celebration. But officials stopped the celebration to review the clock, and after a lengthy delay, ruled that one second remained.
The Big Ten released a statement roughly two hours after the game defending the decision, publishing the replay officials used during the review. According to the conference, the clock showed one second remaining when Western Michigan defender Micah Davis first made contact with the ball. The Big Ten cited a rule stating the clock stops the instant a player in an out-of-bounds position touches a live ball, explaining that Davis had jumped from an established position outside the field of play with his left foot before touching the pass, which meant the correct ruling was to reset the clock to one second rather than end the game immediately.
Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said the conference and Western Michigan reached out to the Big Ten office for clarification and were given an explanation along with supporting video and audio that confirmed the ruling.
Underwood and Buchanan Deliver on the Second Try
Given new life, Underwood dropped back and launched another 47-yard prayer into the end zone. This time, JJ Buchanan came down with it for the game-winning touchdown, sending the Big House into pandemonium and handing Michigan a 13-12 victory that pushed the Wolverines to 1-0 on the season. Western Michigan fell to 0-1.
The win keeps Michigan’s season opener from turning into one of the biggest upsets of the young college football year, but it has done little to quiet the outrage from fans who believe the extra second should never have been placed on the clock. Social media reaction in the hours after the game was dominated by comparisons to other controversial clock rulings involving Michigan, including the long-disputed 2001 “Clock at State” finish against Michigan State, with many arguing the program has now benefited from a second suspicious officiating decision in program history.
What Comes Next
Despite the outcry, there is no indication the result will be overturned or that further disciplinary review is coming; the Big Ten’s statement effectively closed the book on the officiating question by standing behind the review process and the rule cited. Michigan will move on to its next matchup looking to build off a 1-0 start that came together in the most chaotic way possible, while Western Michigan will have to regroup from a heartbreaking finish that looked like a signature win before the flag went up.
For bettors, the finish was a brutal beat on both sides of the number, with Michigan closing as a heavy favorite that briefly looked destined to fail to cover, or worse, lose outright, before the Hail Mary review flipped the outcome in the final seconds. Anyone using an online sportsbook in the state watched the swing live, with the moneyline and spread both hanging on the outcome of that final review.