Screenshot of Michigan-Western Michigan football game (2026).
Western Michigan did not deserve to go home with a loss next to their name. Even for me, somebody who doesn’t benefit from the game’s result, win or lose, acknowledging Michigan as winners of its primetime game against WMU makes me sick.
It shouldn’t have ever happened. No way.
We all saw the clock hit zero. I saw it. You saw it. Pablo Torre’s probably going to revisit this in a few months. By the time the ball hit Micah Davis’ hands, NBC’s game clock had already hit zero.
Ahh, well, don’t believe your lyin’ eyes. The officiating crew uses a second, actual clock that disagrees with your stream.
The Big Ten itself said that it uses a hi-tech syncing system to align all cameras and clocks together an hour and a half before the game. But everything was ~0.6 seconds off on the final play of the game? We all saw that NBC’s clock drained down to zero right before Davis made contact with the football.
But if you’re a Big Ten replay official, you live in an alternate reality, apparently, where the true game clock is a half-second slow. Does NBC know that the clocks are that far apart?
Who knew about this secret game clock hidden from millions of people on the first true Saturday of the football season? “Nobody!”
The officials made their case, and WMU’s Lance Taylor did the classy thing and took the high road. He didn’t bicker back at the decision makers. He just told his team to get back on the field and re-defend a Hail Mary pass.
Let’s call it an overtime play with one second put back on the clock.
Bryce Underwood didn’t throw the ball into the woods, and J.J. Buchanan made a perfect catch into the end zone. Michigan fans stormed the field.
The scoreboard, when time officially hit 0:00.00, read 12-13 in Michigan’s favor.
These are facts, but that is not the truth.
Western Michigan won the football game.
WMU played a better football game than Michigan. Michigan’s one of the richest schools in the sport — let alone the state — and it got embarrassed in its first game with its new head coach. It’s arguably worse than 2007 vs. Appalachian State.
Now act like it.
