The Western Michigan Broncos had done it.
And then, they hadn’t.
And then, the most magical night in WMU football history simply wasn’t.
Western Michigan went into the Big House on Saturday and pushed the mighty Michigan Wolverines around all night, holding them to a touchdown for almost the entirety of regulation. Along the way, the Broncos chipped away with field goals. One in the first quarter. One at the buzzer before halftime. And then two more in the fourth quarter, including one with 35 seconds remaining to go up 12-7 and seemingly cement the shocking upset win.
With seconds remaining, Michigan tried in vain to create a winning score. With one last heave, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood launched a ball towards the end zone, but it fell incomplete as the clock hit zero, and the upset was complete.
the clock is expired and nobody has touched the ball. this is ridiculous!
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) September 5, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Or was it?
The stadium announcer immediately said that the previous play was under review. And a few moments later, the head referee said that “after review, there’s one second remaining in the game. Third down.”
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay then explained that the clock is supposed to stop when the ball hits the defender’s hands. He said that the clock in his studio was showing it at 0:00, like the game clock on NBC, but “apparently their system is showing it at one.”
With that, the teams returned to the field so Michigan could attempt a Hail Mary pass. And you can imagine what happened next.
The mind-blowing, controversial Western Michigan-Michigan finish.
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and rules analyst Terry McAuley have the commentary on the stunning scene for NBC. 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/n9YE3OpXde
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
JJ Buchanan hauled in the Hail Mary from Underwood, and Michigan had, somehow, won the game, 13-12.
While Michigan fans stormed the field after barely beating a 29.5-point underdog at home, everyone else was left to wonder where that extra second came from. No explanation was given for why it needed to be added back despite all of the game clocks reading 0:00.
the clock is expired and nobody has touched the ball. this is ridiculous!
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) September 5, 2026 at 7:52 PM
McAulay returned to the broadcast afterward to offer his thoughts, and he appeared to still be as confused as anyone else as to why an extra second needed to be put back on the clock.
Terry McAulay: “The ball isn’t even close to touching a player when it goes to zero… 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…” https://t.co/Krz3Dg5HTF pic.twitter.com/IcMjvHYaUo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
“Our producer tells us that our in-set clock is in sync, is the actual the stadium clock,” said McAulay. “The ball isn’t even close to touching a player when it goes to zero. Now, their Hawkeye system apparently either had different sync or whatever, and they came up with one second when it touched the player. I don’t see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct. It is clearly not touching a player. The ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero on our screen.
“So you know, the Big Ten is gonna have to tell a lot of us, how did they get to one second on this play?”
“Wow,” replied Eagle.
Wow, indeed.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.