Texas Longhorns Survived Controversial Officiating in Bowl Win vs. Michigan

The Texas Longhorns came away with a 41-27 win over the Michigan Wolverines at the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve, rallying in the fourth quarter with 17 unanswered points to seal the victory.

However, the game was not without some highly-controversial calls that favored Michigan and hurt Texas. It says something about the Longhorns that they were able to overcome this and win by double digits for their fourth ranked victory of the season.

There were multiple instances where the referees made mistakes but here are the most notable:

Michigan's First Touchdown

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood looks to throw against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at Camping World Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The first major question mark from the Citrus Bowl officiating crew came in the opening quarter on the first touchdown of the game.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood found wide receiver Kendrick Bell for a 19-yard touchdown on a impressive catch. It appeared that Bell barely got a toe inbounds before falling out of the end zone.

However, one angle clearly showed that Bell's shin and toe hit the ground simultaneously, with the shin being out of bounds.

Call on the field is overturned and Michigan takes a 10-3 lead pic.twitter.com/uQnSE6d54w
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) December 31, 2025

The original ruling on the field was incomplete, but somehow the officials saw "clear and obvious" evidence that allowed the call to be overturned.

Michigan took a 10-3 lead.

Christian Clark Short of First Down

Texas Longhorns running back Christian Clark rushes with the ball against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Camping World Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Then, late in the third quarter, the Longhorns had possession looking to build on their 24-20 lead. On the second play of the drive, Texas running back Christian Clark appeared to have a no-doubt first down on a 10-yard run but the officials marked him one yard short.

The crew then reviewed the play and still decided that Clark's clear first down was short of the line to gain.

Texas was stopped on the next snap and was forced to punt. This led to another questionable Michigan touchdown ruling on the next drive.

Bryce Underwood's Touchdown Run

Like Arch Manning, Underwood showed off dual-threat ability during the game, but his go-ahead rushing score in the fourth quarter shouldn't have been a touchdown at all.

As Underwood was about to cross the goal line on the five-yard run, the ball started to slip from his hands before fumlbing out of the end zone entirely. By rule, this is a touchback, which would have given Texas the ball back.

This is going to be a CLOSE one pic.twitter.com/rVcxbZNKgK
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) December 31, 2025

Instead, despite the review showing Underwood losing possession prior to crossing the goal line, the ruling was upheld and Michigan took the 27-24 lead.

Fortunately for the Longhorns, they were able to overcome both Michigan and the officials, and can now head into the offseason on a high note after securing a third straight 10-win season.