MAC wants Western Michigan to be crowned winner vs. Michigan

The Mid-American Conference filed an appeal of Saturday’s game between Western Michigan and Michigan State, asking the NCAA and the College Football Playoff to declare the Broncos winners of the controversial contest.

In a letter sent Tuesday, MAC commissioner John A. Steinbrecher said “replay protocol was not properly followed” at the conclusion of the game.

Michigan won 13-12 on Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary pass after the replay official set the clock back one second. The stadium clock and the clock shown on television showed zeros after Underwood’s first Hail Mary was thrown out of the end zone.

“I acknowledge that the Oversight Committee does not generally change scores recorded on the field,” Steinbrecher wrote in a letter to the NCAA. “However, the circumstances of this game are extraordinary. The final result was directly affected by an error by the referee during the replay, resulting from a failure to adhere to the established and specific protocol governing this particular type of timing situation at the end of the half.”

Meanwhile, the Big Ten has not changed its position.

“The Big Ten stands by the statement issued following the conclusion of the Western Michigan-Michigan game and the decision made by the replay officials,” the Big Ten said in a statement later Tuesday. “We will have no further comment on this matter.”

The NCAA said in an email to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that its football rules do not include a mechanism to overturn a game result. Additionally, the FBS Oversight Committee “does not have the authority” to overturn the result.

According to Article 3 of the NCAA rules, results are final when the head official “declares the game over.” Additionally, regarding final decisions in games, Article 9 states: “No rule decision may be changed after the next time the ball has been correctly kicked, a free throw has been correctly kicked, or the end of the second or fourth periods.”

Steinbrecher also sent a letter to CFP Executive Director Rich Clark asking the selection committee to recognize Western Michigan as the “de facto winner” for purposes of evaluation and deliberation.

Western Michigan President Russ Cavalhuna said in a statement that Steinbrecher and the MAC took “significant actions in college football today.”

“Some people thought our actions were weak,” Kavalhuna said. “However, there is strength in supporting student-athletes and their growth during difficult times. Bitterness does not make you a better person, and it should not be confused with weakness or compliance. We can show respect for the game while asking serious questions; I have done both, and I will continue to do both.”

Television replays showed the clock had reached zero and the ball was still in the air on Underwood’s first pass, which went out of the end zone and into the hands of Western Michigan defensive back Micah Davis. But Big Ten replay officials moved the clock back a second, giving the Wolverines one more game.

With one second left, Underwood threw another pass that was intercepted by JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdown.

A Michigan spokesman said Tuesday that the Big Ten is “handling all replay reviews and discussions.”

“We are not involved in Replay as an organization,” spokesman David Ablauf said.

Steinbrecher initially told ESPN on Sunday that he was “confident in the integrity of the process and the integrity of the people involved. The process has been followed, and with that in mind, you must make this decision.”

But Steinbrecher countered that in a statement Tuesday, saying, “After further review and investigation, it is now apparent that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether there was time remaining on the game clock.”

Steinbrecher added that “the established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed in the program be used to determine whether time remains. Instead, the Big Ten Conference’s replay team relied on the timing built into its replay system. As a result, one second was returned to the game clock and an overtime play was called. This was not a judgment as to the appropriate amount of time to put on the clock.

“This was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this particular situation regarding the timing of the game. If protocol had been followed properly and the soft serve timer had been used, no extra game would have been called.”

Michigan was ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll but fell out of the rankings on Tuesday.

Two hours after the game, the Big Ten released a statement saying, “It has been decided that [Davis] started his jump from a set position outside the playing area [left foot] and touched the ball with one second left. Simultaneous imagery of the game and the game clock was used to make the final decision using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium.”

The extra second prevented Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion, from beating the Wolverines for the first time in program history. Instead, the Broncos lost to Michigan, 0-9 all-time.

Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said during his weekly news conference Tuesday that his team will “grow up” from the loss.

“We’re going to be better and stronger because of this, and we’ve turned the page,” Taylor said.