Where exactly did that one second come from for Michigan? That question will be asked a lot, especially by Western Michigan fans. And probably Ohio State fans.<\/p>\n
Bryce Underwood launched a Hail Mary well out of the end zone as time seemed to expire on the Wolverines to give WMU an improbable upset victory late Saturday night in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n
But no. After a video review, it was determined that a defender touched the ball beyond the back of the end zone with a second left. That gave Michigan one more shot, and Underwood made this one count, connecting with JJ Buchanan for a game-winning touchdown to avert disaster in Kyle Whittingham\u2019s debut as Wolverines coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n NBC rules expert Terry McAulay was stunned by the officials\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ball isn\u2019t even close to touching the player when it goes to zero,\u201d he said. \u201cNow their system, their Hawk-Eye system, apparently either had a different sync or whatever and they came up with one second when it touched the player. I don\u2019t see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct. It is clearly not touching the player; the ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero on our screen. So the Big Ten is going to have to tell a lot of us how did they get to one second on this play.\u201d<\/p>\n What in the world just happened at Michigan?<\/p>\n Austin Meek<\/p>\n A Big Ten crew worked Saturday night\u2019s game, but none of the field\u00a0officials were made available to reporters afterward.<\/p>\n The conference changed its timekeeping policy in 2002 following a controversial last-second spike for Michigan State against Michigan the previous year. Since then, the Big Ten has appointed a neutral clock operator, instead of one appointed by the home team. How that factored into Saturday night is unclear, but the result was a controversial conclusion that will likely be talked about for decades.<\/p>\n Underwood, the five-star recruit from the Detroit area who commanded a multimillion-dollar NIL deal to sign with Michigan, had completed only 11 passes before getting a last-second reprieve. Michigan fans looked dumbfounded and despondent at the Big House, watching what looked like the program\u2019s first loss to a MAC team since 2008.<\/p>\n Then came Underwood-to-Buchanan, a 13-12 victory and thousands of Wolverines fans rushing the field as time \u2014 finally \u2014 expired.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, unbelievable last play,\u201d Whittingham said, surrounded by screaming fans on the NBC broadcast. \u201cThe defense played well, didn\u2019t allow a touchdown the entire game, and we just hung in there. Fortunately, we had one second left on the clock, Bryce threw a perfect ball, JJ Buchanan made a great catch, and this is one for the history books right here.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Whittingham,\u00a0\u201cWe got in the end zone on the first drive of the game and the last play of the game. Not much in between. Not much good happening, but we\u2019ll get better.\u201d<\/p>\n Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor told reporters that MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher already reached out to the Big Ten about the play. The coach said he had not seen a clip of the second-to-last play year, but that \u201cseveral people have mentioned it to me that the game was over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll let our commissioner handle it,\u201d Taylor said. \u201c\u2026 I thought that this crew tonight did a really nice job handling multiple close calls and review situations. We had several where the spot was questioned and reviewed, and the review went our way.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Taylor, \u201cWe can\u2019t control whether there was a second left on the clock or not. We went out the first time, we defended perfectly the Hail Mary situation. I know when I looked up at the clock it was past zeros before we touched it. I knew they\u2019d review it.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t worried about our guys defending it the second time.\u201d<\/p>\n Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor on the final play of tonight\u2019s game: pic.twitter.com\/WJEBAGHaG8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Drew Lenard (@drew_lenardd) September 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Western Michigan President Russ Kavalhuna told reporters<\/a> that\u00a0he also had not seen video of the first Hail Mary but received texts telling him it appeared time had expired.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll try to figure out if the end of the game was anything different from what we saw,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk to our commissioner, and we\u2019ll try to see if there is anything we can ask for a review on. Frankly, I don\u2019t know if we can. I just want everyone to know this football team deserves a second look if that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cHawk-Eye system\u201d that McAuley mentioned on the NBC broadcast is likely in reference to the Hawk-Eye Innovations software<\/a> the Big Ten uses to review plays \u2014 a partnership that began in 2024 when the conference opened its new centralized replay center in Rosemont, Ill.<\/p>\n When plays go to the replay protocol in Big Ten stadiums \u2014 as Saturday\u2019s final incompletion did in Ann Arbor \u2014 the review goes to the centralized replay center, where a \u201ccollaborative replay official\u201d and supervisor can communicate with the on-site replay booth official and on-field referee. The supervisor has the final say, according to a 2024 Chicago Tribune article<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Hawk-Eye system earned headlines when the Big Ten started using it in 2024 because it utilized a standard Xbox controller to navigate the replay software. The NFL partners with Hawk-Eye Innovations as a virtual measurement system to determine the first-down line to gain.<\/p>\n The Big Ten added live audio and video from its replay review command center this season, but only for select Friday games<\/a>. The ACC gave TV viewers a look inside the video review process last season during its games, and it went over so well that other conferences looked into mimicking it.<\/p>\n Chris Vannini contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n