Western Michigan president Russ Kavalhuna said he explored whether the university could challenge the replay decision that restored one second to the clock before Bryce Underwood’s game-winning Hail Mary to JJ Buchanan. The answer was simple: there is no appeals process available.
“I did want to find a way to appeal that decision, but there is none,” Kavalhuna said Sunday.
That effectively closes Western Michigan’s attempt to challenge the result.
Kavalhuna said he spoke with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and league officials while reviewing how the decision was reached. He acknowledged concerns about the fact that replay officials and television viewers were looking at different video feeds, but said he did not find evidence that the process was unfair or improper.
Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor reached a similar conclusion.
Taylor’s message to his players was to avoid using the controversy as an excuse. He said doing so would allow the Broncos to become bitter rather than improve from the experience.
The disputed sequence began when Underwood’s first Hail Mary sailed incomplete and appeared to end the game with Western Michigan leading 12-7. Replay officials determined that Broncos safety Micah Davis had established himself out of bounds before touching the football with one second remaining.
The Big Ten later provided a detailed explanation of the replay process, saying a synchronized camera focused directly on the stadium clock showed the contact occurring with one second left.
Western Michigan may still have questions about how replay information was presented and why television viewers saw something different.
What it no longer has is a path to change the result.
Michigan is 1-0. Western Michigan is 0-1.
The controversy can continue.
The appeal cannot.
3 Responses
Anyone that watched this terrible excuse for refereeing a game (several uncalled penalties like the face masking late in the 4th) can’t deny this game was rigged. There is no way on God’s green earth, that if the roles were reversed, that they would have given Western 1 second. It is sad that a sport lowers itself to cheating. I think UofM lost a lot of long time fans. They reared their ugly heads and exposed the truth. How sad. I truly would love to see UofM go all season without a win. How apropos would that be? I hope the Broncos go undefeated for the rest of the season. Go Broncos!
The Big Ten put out an explanation utilizing their own split screen. Could it be that their computer sync and or the staff who implement it are not all that crisp? NCAA rules state that the official clock is the stadium clock. If you have not been particularly competent in your sync, you’re not really using that clock and in violation of the rule. The point of review is to reduce human error. Not increase the error with technological sloppiness.
Michigan is ranked and there no way the big ten is going to let a mac team beat them at home and now true colors come out there back CHEATING just to keep them ranked
Richard Knight
Richard Knight is a sports writer covering Detroit sports with a focus on the Detroit Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons, and Michigan athletics. He provides news, analysis, game coverage, and commentary for passionate Detroit sports fans, delivering timely updates and insights on the teams and stories that matter most across the Motor City sports landscape.
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3 Responses
Anyone that watched this terrible excuse for refereeing a game (several uncalled penalties like the face masking late in the 4th) can’t deny this game was rigged. There is no way on God’s green earth, that if the roles were reversed, that they would have given Western 1 second.
It is sad that a sport lowers itself to cheating. I think UofM lost a lot of long time fans. They reared their ugly heads and exposed the truth. How sad. I truly would love to see UofM go all season without a win. How apropos would that be? I hope the Broncos go undefeated for the rest of the season. Go Broncos!
The Big Ten put out an explanation utilizing their own split screen. Could it be that their computer sync and or the staff who implement it are not all that crisp? NCAA rules state that the official clock is the stadium clock. If you have not been particularly competent in your sync, you’re not really using that clock and in violation of the rule. The point of review is to reduce human error. Not increase the error with technological sloppiness.
Michigan is ranked and there no way the big ten is going to let a mac team beat them at home and now true colors come out there back CHEATING just to keep them ranked