The NCAA said Wednesday that proper replay protocols were not followed in Michigan’s win over Western Michigan on Sept. 5. The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee announced the finding, acknowledging the result should not have been altered but reiterating it lacks authority to overturn it.
“The committee consulted with national officiating leadership regarding the instant replay protocols,” the committee said in a statement.
“Based on that information, the committee agreed that the instant replay protocols were not followed in the contest’s second-to-last play,” the statement continued. “Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different.”
Michigan, now ranked No. 19, won 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass after the replay official had put 1 second back on the clock when Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood’s first try was incomplete.
Western Michigan and the Mid-American Conference had asked for the result to be overturned. The Mid-American Conference initially accepted the Big Ten’s explanation of what happened at the end of the game, then joined Western Michigan in the request.
The NCAA said last week it did not have the authority to change the outcome, and the oversight committee confirmed again on Wednesday.
“The playing rules governing the result of a contest are clear: once the referee declares a contest to be final, no appeal of the outcome is permitted, according to (rules),” the committee said.
