WMU Public Safety Seeks Joke Warrant After 13-12 Michigan Loss Turns on 1 Second

Q: How did a split-second out-of-bounds touch by their own defender ultimately cost the Broncos a massive victory against Michigan?

Western Michigan lost the upset because its own defender, Micah Davis, was ruled to have touched the live ball while he was out of bounds with one second still remaining. On Michigan’s apparent final Hail Mary, Davis leaped from an established out-of-bounds position and made contact with the pass near the end zone. Under NCAA rule 4-2-3-a, a loose ball is out of bounds the instant it touches anything or anyone who is out of bounds. That meant the play was dead at the moment Davis touched it, and the clock had to stop right there. Replay officials reviewed the sequence and said a synchronized stadium-clock shot showed Davis touched the ball with 0:01 left, even though the TV broadcast appeared to show 0:00. The Big Ten later released replay-center video and audio supporting that interpretation, and the Mid-American Conference said it accepted the explanation after seeking clarification. That split-second ruling changed everything. Instead of the game ending on an incomplete Hail Mary, Michigan got one untimed-looking but officially legal final snap with one second left. Quarterback Bryce Underwood then threw another Hail Mary, and JJ Buchanan caught the 47-yard touchdown for a 13-12 Michigan win. So the costly detail was not just that Davis touched the ball, but that he did so from out of bounds before time officially expired, which under the rule stopped the clock and gave Michigan one more play.

3 articles · Updated · WWMT-TV · Sep 7

WMU Public Safety posted a mock crime-log entry seeking a warrant for NCAA Big Ten officials, calling Saturday night’s finish at Michigan Stadium a “robbery.”
The joke followed a disputed clock review that restored 1 second after TV replays showed 0:00 with Western Michigan ahead 12-7, giving Michigan one last snap.
Bryce Underwood then hit JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown, flipping a near-upset into a 13-12 Michigan win and denying WMU its first victory over a ranked team since 2015.
WMU coach Lance Taylor and president Russ Kavalhuna said Sunday they exhausted all review and appeal options, while describing the Big Ten’s process as transparent even though they disagreed with the call.
The loss left fans furious and heartbroken, but school leaders said the program would move on and focus on its next home game against Monmouth.