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Slo-Mo Video Shows Ref Made Clear Mistake to End Michigan Game

Big Ten officials may have just gifted Michigan a game they should have lost as the 2026 college football season produces its first major controversy.
James Parks|
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Michigan WolverinesWestern Michigan Broncos

For one remarkable moment, it looked like Western Michigan took down Michigan at the Big House in what would have been the biggest upset in college football’s Week 1 games, by far.

Then, the officials on the field gave the Wolverines one more second, which they used to pull off one of the most miraculous game-winning plays you’ll ever see.

Massive Controversy in Michigan

But were the officials right to put that second back on the clock and give Michigan another shot? Looking at the replay, the Broncos may have been robbed.

Western Michigan appeared to have clinched an historic upset just minutes earlier when the Wolverines’ previous Hail Mary pass attempt flew out of the back of the end zone with the clock on the NBC broadcast clearly showing no time remained in the game.

Refs Took A Different View

But that didn’t stop the Big Ten officiating crew from making their own judgment, going back to the monitor for a closer look and determined that 1 second did, in fact, remain.

That’s despite a closer inspection of the video from Bryce Underwood’s throw appearing to show that time had indeed run out even before the pass fell back onto the ground.

What the Rules Expert Thinks

For his part, NBC football rules analyst Terry McAuley joined the broadcast in an attempt to explain what happened, with his sole explanation being that the officials must have had information on the time that differed from what viewers saw on the television screen.

Although he then added: “The Big Ten is going to have to tell a lot of us how did they get to [add] one second on this play.”

Wolverines Went Deep

Michigan made the most of that last second, whether it was deserved or not, as Underwood redeemed an entire night of subpar play with one last ditch effort that resulted in the game-winning touchdown in Kyle Whittingham’s debut as head coach.

Fair or foul, Michigan is 1-0, and Western Michigan is not.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.

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