Western Michigan University remains in a collective state of shock after Saturday’s game against Michigan. The Broncos had the game won, until the referees added one final second back on the clock after a failed Hail Mary attempt from Bryce Underwood.
One more second was added and Michigan pulled off the impossible as Underwood threw a perfect pass that was hauled in by JJ Buchanan for the game-winning score.
The situation was so controversial that WMU administration spoke with the media and even held a press conference Sunday to go over more details.
Western Michigan President Shares Latest Following Controversial Loss
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports relayed the details of WMU President Russ Kavalhuna’s press conference Sunday. The university administrator had plenty to say after Saturday’s game.
One key thing he shared is that he was told by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti how the official clock was not synced up with what was shown on the NBC broadcast. That is a surprising detail and one that may not make sense to plenty of fans.
Kavalhuna said: “It is a discrepancy – what the viewing public see and the reviewing officials see. I used to be a federal prosecutor. I don’t discern anything unfair or untoward in this process.”
There was one more piece of information shared by Kavalhuna that truly shuts this case closed.
As shared by Dellenger: “Kavalhuna confirms that there is no appeal process for this matter, as expected.”
The Broncos can’t appeal the result even if they wanted to. Thus, the controversial loss is confirmed and both sides must move on from this story.
The Broadcast Clock in Question
Fans watching at home see a clock on the broadcast. It has always been fair to assume that clock matches up with the official one used in the stadium. Yet in football, there are no fractions of a second shown. The clock goes from one second to zero.
That is what is being discussed in this scenario. The Big Ten is claiming there was still time left, under one full second, when the ball was touched by a WMU defender that had already been out of bounds. The clock is supposed to stop upon the ball being touched in that scenario.
Fans are just left wondering whether the clock shown on the broadcast can be trusted anymore if refs apparently have another clock they are using. Will this finish lead networks to start showing the “official” clock?
Michigan must now move on and prepare for a showdown with Oklahoma next week, while WMU has a game against Monmouth that should get the team back on track.
Western Michigan President Reveals Full Details of Controversial Loss