The No. 16th ranked Michigan Wolverines defeated Western Michigan 13-12 on Saturday night at Michigan Stadium on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Underwood to JJ Buchanan as time expired. The play followed a replay review that restored one second after an incomplete Hail Mary on the previous snap, resulting in what is being called one of the most controversial endings in college football history.
Despite being a hefty favorite, Michigan struggled throughout the game after scoring on their opening possession. The Wolverines would ultimately not score again until the final play.
After that first series, Michigan punted six times and committed three turnovers, while star quarterback Bryce Underwood was intercepted late in the first half. Until the final possession, the Wolverines had 201 yards at 4.8 yards per snap, while Western Michigan held the ball for more than 38 minutes and ran 67 plays to Michigan’s 48.
The game appeared over for the Wolverines, who trailed by two after a late fumble with less than two minutes to play. Western Michigan then capitalized on the turnover with a field goal, which pushed the score to 12-7 with less than a minute remaining.
On the final drive, Michigan marginally moved the ball up the field before attempting a Hail Mary to the end zone, which appeared to be incomplete just as time expired. The NBC broadcast clock showed 0:00, while Western Michigan players stormed the field in celebration. The game was not over according to the officials, however, who added one second to the clock despite what seemed like a victory for the massive underdogs.
Underwood then heaved a second Hail Mary to the end zone, which was caught for a walk-off win.
The mind-blowing, controversial Western Michigan-Michigan finish.
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and rules analyst Terry McAulay have the commentary on the stunning scene for NBC. 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/n9YE3OpXde
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
The result was immediately stunning to on-air commentators Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge were stunned by the call, while rules analyst Terry McAulay concluded that the officials made the wrong call and essentially robbed Western Michigan of what would have been one of the biggest wins in school history.
McAulay said the network’s inset clock was synced to the stadium clock and that the ball had not been touched when the display reached zero. “Our producer tells us that our in-set clock is in sync, is the actual the stadium clock. The ball isn’t even close to touching a player when it goes to zero,” he said.
“Now, their Hawkeye system apparently either had different sync or whatever, and they came up with one second when it touched the player. I don’t see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct. It is clearly not touching a player. The ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero on our screen,” McAulay added. So you know, the Big Ten is gonna have to tell a lot of us, how did they get to one second on this play?”
Saturday was Western Michigan’s ninth meeting with Michigan. The Broncos entered 0-8 in the series, with previous games in 1917, 1943, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2011, 2018, and 2021. A win would have been Western Michigan’s first against their state’s preeminent program.
REACTIONS:
— Brutus Wayne™ (@BuckeyeBat) September 6, 2026
A statement regarding the results of tonight’s game between Michigan and Western Michigan. pic.twitter.com/DzJVN2ZLTc
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) September 6, 2026
Who is the Michigan clock operator?
That’s right, Lindsay Clancy.
— Barry (@BarryOnHere) September 6, 2026
Western Michigan HC Lance Taylor gives his thoughts on the second being added back that gave Michigan the game-winning Hail Mary
(via NBC) pic.twitter.com/wzcm8DpphS
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 6, 2026
