Refs actually got it right in Michigan vs Western Michigan wild college football ending

Precision is a peculiar thing. It can change the entire outcome of an event – and it always seems to vary. The same can be said of football.

Whether a receiver completed a catch is determined with unmatched precision, as officials can zoom in, rotate, slow down, and analyze hands, feet, and the football to make a determination. Yet, when it comes to whether a team made a first down, we still measure it with a literal chain and two targets. Now, the nation is familiar with another area where precision varies in football – seconds ticking off of the game clock.

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Saturday night, apparently, officials were able to find an extra second for Michigan to complete a Hail Mary in the craziest finish of the season so far. And it was the right call entirely, after everything was explained and all the details came out. How did it all go down, and why is the officials’ ruling so controversial?

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How officials found an extra second

Sep 5, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan wide receiver JJ Buchanan (6) catches a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown with no time on the clock to beat Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Let’s set the stage: Western Michigan is up 12-7 with 8 seconds left, and the Wolverines are around midfield and ready to attempt a Hail Mary. The ball goes up, and a Bronco bats it away from the back of the end zone with 0:00 on the clock. Western Michigan wins, right? Well, not exactly. The officials immediately went to review the time, and this is not a new concept.

Most notably, in the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game, Texas was able to get a second added to the clock in a fairly similar (but also more obvious) situation: a ball landing out of bounds with time on the clock. This is not a new rule. But where the problem occurs is that every viewer at home who has a view of the play and of the game clock can see that the ball was touched when the clock showed 0:00. But that’s exactly when precision comes into play.

What the viewer sees is the game clock on the TV screen. It could be ever so slightly off and change the desired outcome. The clock on the screen also doesn’t show tenths of a second, so it’s relatively ambiguous just how much time is left when the clock showed “0:08” at the start of the penultimate play. If you take a stopwatch to the play, it certainly times in under 9 seconds, which could mean there is theoretically time left on the clock.

Think about it – if the game clock shows “0:08” but there’s really 8.99 seconds left, then any play under 8.98 should have time remaining. The officials, thanks to their access to the official clock and precision, were able to find Michigan some time, and then the Wolverines completed the Hail Mary heard around the world.

The real problem is transparency

Jul 30, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Michigan Football head coach Kyle Whittingham speaks during Big Ten Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

After the game, the Big Ten officials released a statement explaining as much. The additional second was correctly handed out. It’s fairly open-and-shut. But the problem is that this level of precision that the officials had was not available to the television viewer, who could only see the clock on their TV screen. When the officials have more access and more data than the viewer, that’s what leads to allegations of game-fixing and conspiracy theories, because the viewer is only going by what they see.

No conference had more issues in this area than the ACC. Who could ever forget the overturned Hail Mary in the Virginia Tech/Miami game in 2024? For the 2025 season, the ACC introduced a new level of transparency for viewers at home, allowing them to listen in and watch as officials discussed a call during replay review. If the Big Ten had this, there would be no conspiracy theories and no controversy, because the level of transparency would allow everyone to accurately assess the situation at hand.

So, at the end of the day, yes, the right call was made – thanks to a level of precision that the general audience lacked access to. Which is what makes it feel so wrong. The call was made in the shadows, and was not instantly explainable to anyone watching in real time. It feels like a miscarriage of justice to anyone who didn’t have all of the background information. And, credit to Western Michigan, they have handled this situation with utmost class and dignity. }

At least publicly, they have not bashed officials or replay or anyone involved. And that deserves some credit, because it’s awfully hard to do in this day and age. Lastly, to anyone who still believes the game was rigged in favor of Michigan – don’t you think that if the officials were rigging the game, they would have given Michigan a better opportunity than a statistically 1-out-of-20 chance of completing a Hail Mary?

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