Western Michigan has made its final decision regarding the controversial ending of Saturday night’s 13-12 loss to Michigan.
The Broncos are moving on.
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 had initially said he believed the stadium clock had reached zero before the football was touched, something we covered when Taylor disputed Michigan’s restored final second.
After reviewing the situation, though, Taylor made clear he was not blaming the officials for Western Michigan’s loss.
“Ultimately, the refs did not cost us this game,” Taylor said Sunday.
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.
Michigan received another snap, and Underwood found Buchanan for the 47-yard touchdown that completed the Wolverines’ stunning comeback victory.
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.
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