College Football Has Adopted the Western Michigan Broncos
The country has picked a side after Michigan's one-second Hail Mary, and it isn't the Wolverines. #WMU
On Saturday, September 5, the Western Michigan Broncos appeared to defeat the Michigan Wolverines in a road game, holding a 12-7 lead at halftime in Ann Arbor. Players from the Broncos began celebrating on the field. However, the officials consulted a monitor and added one second to the game clock. With this additional second, Broncos quarterback Bryce Underwood threw a 47-yard Hail Mary to receiver JJ Buchanan for a game-winning touchdown, leading to a 13-12 victory for Michigan.
Many college football enthusiasts believe that Western Michigan was unjustly denied a win that would have marked the first-ever triumph over Michigan.
Television replays indicated that the clock read zero when Western Michigan defender made contact with Underwood's initial Hail Mary attempt. The Big Ten upheld its decision, citing video review which demonstrated that the defender "started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock."
According to NCAA regulations, the clock halts when a loose ball touches something out of bounds, a rationale the conference applied to justify the clock reset.
College football fans have shown unwavering support for the Broncos since the controversial win. Ahead of Western Michigan's upcoming game against Monmouth at Waldo Stadium on September 12, fans on X expressed their belief that the Broncos should be credited with a 1-0 record. Monmouth enters the match at 1-1, having lost to Tennessee Tech 38-14 and triumphing over Sacred Heart 31-24.
Western Michigan is expected to secure a victory in this upcoming game, and the fan base has communicated their intention to count the record accordingly.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
