No. 16 Michigan beat Western Michigan 13-12 on Saturday night when Bryce Underwood found JJ Buchanan on a 47-yard Hail Mary after officials put one second back on the clock.
The Wolverines were down 12-7 and had the ball around midfield with nine seconds left. Underwood heaved the first desperation pass toward the end zone.
The ball sailed incomplete and out of bounds. The clock on the television broadcast hit 0:00. Western Michigan players rushed the field, thinking they had just pulled off a massive upset in Kyle Whittingham’s first game as Michigan’s coach.
Officials stopped the celebration and went to replay. They ruled that one second remained and lined the teams up again.
Underwood dropped back one more time and threw toward a crowd in the end zone. Buchanan jumped, secured the catch and came down with the football. Michigan Stadium emptied onto the field.
What looked like a historic loss for a heavy favorite turned into a win that people will argue about for years.
NBC brought in rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay to walk through the call. He sounded as puzzled as everyone else watching.
“The ball isn’t even close to touching a player when it goes to zero,” McAulay said. “Their Hawk-Eye system apparently had a different sync… I don’t see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct… The ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero.”
McAulay said the broadcast clock was supposed to match the stadium clock. From what he saw, the ball was still in the air when time ran out on the first throw.
Michigan had been listed as a 29.5-point favorite and paid Western Michigan $1.5 million to come to Ann Arbor for the opener. A loss would have been one of the biggest shocks in recent college football. Instead the story became the extra second and the catch that followed.
The Wolverines scored first. Underwood ran in from a yard out on the opening drive and Trey Butkowski kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
That was Michigan’s last score until the final snap. Western Michigan kicker Dieter Kelly made four field goals — from 52, 45, 39 and 33 yards. The last one, with 35 seconds left, put the Broncos in front 12-7.
Western Michigan controlled the clock for more than 40 minutes, ran more plays and did not turn the ball over. Michigan had three turnovers, including an interception late in the first half that set up Kelly’s 45-yard kick as time expired before halftime.
After that pick, Michigan’s offense went quiet. Underwood finished 12 of 22 for 170 yards, the late touchdown, one interception and a lost fumble.
Whittingham said afterward he thought a second was left. Team captain Jordan Marshall was blunt about the rest of the night and said Michigan has to play a lot better than it did for most of four quarters.
Buchanan, who transferred from Utah after playing for Whittingham there, made the play that saved the debut. Michigan’s defense never allowed a touchdown, which kept the game close even while the offense sputtered.
A Mid-American Conference team had not beaten Michigan since 2008. For a few minutes Saturday it looked like that streak was finished. Then the officials put a second on the clock, Underwood got another snap, and Buchanan came down with the ball.
The result is in the books. The explanation for that extra second is still being picked apart.
