After a confusing end to the Western Michigan versus Michigan contest, it sort of felt like the dust was mostly settled on the officiating nightmare. The Big Ten explained their reasoning for adding the second back; the MAC agreed with their findings, and Western Michigan handled the controversy with an abundance of class.
Regardless of whether AP voters treated this game as a loss, the Wolverines were removed from the top 25, and the Broncos received some back-end votes. Unfortunately for the Big Ten and Michigan, it looks like this will just be the start of this mess, as the MAC has filed a formal appeal with the NCAA FBS oversight committee to recognize Western Michigan as the 12-7 winner.
According to the statement released by the MAC, replay protocols were not followed by officials, as the time shown on the broadcast was not the clock used to add time back to the scoreboard. The MAC feels that these rules were ignored, and that, no matter what else occurred during the replay, the game should still have been completed.
I totally feel that Western Michigan was hosed in this game, but I hate how the MAC has handled this. It was clear to any viewer with two working eyes that time had expired before Western Michigan touched the Hail Mary. In the moment, and in the wake of the Big Ten’s explanation, the MAC bowed to the larger conference and capitulated to its ruling. If they had fought this decision from the jump, I would totally be in support of them, but the conference already gave in.
The MAC now looks like Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, where he conceded to George Bush on election night, then changed his mind after seeing new information. Of course we all saw how that turned out for Gore.
It doesn’t matter to me whether Michigan deserves this win; the MAC has already conceded the result of this game. If they had protested this from the start, then they’d have every reason to appeal this replay decision. The MAC now looks weak, while every team in the conference questions whether the conference will now stand behind them when the moment arises.
At the end of the day, only one group has handled this well. Western Michigan put out a statement today saying how much they’ve appreciated the outcry on their behalf, but no matter what happens from here on out, they’re going to keep battling their hardest.
I’m not sure I would fully agree with the results changing in this matchup, but at the end of the day, I hope the CFP Committee gives the Broncos grace if they’ve built a playoff resume by the end of the year.
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