The 2026 Season almost started with a major upset. In fact, for a moment, it looked like upstart Western Michigan had done what Appalachian State had done years earlier: knock off a ranked Michigan Wolverines team in week one.
The Western Michigan Broncos seemed to have pulled off the unthinkable with them up 12-7, when a 47-yard desperation pass from Wolverine QB Bryce Underwood sailed out of the back of the end zone with NBC’s broadcast clock showing 0:00.
The mind-blowing, controversial Western Michigan-Michigan finish.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and rules analyst Terry McAulay have the commentary on the stunning scene for NBC. ππ¦ποΈ pic.twitter.com/n9YE3OpXde
First-year UM coach Kyle Whittingham said in a later press conference that he looked up at the clock and thought there was still a second remaining. Post-game video footage shows Whittingham telling Western Michigan Coach Lance Taylor that he thought there was zero time left on the clock.
π¨π¨BREAKING NEWSπ¨π¨
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) September 6, 2026
MICHIGAN HEAD COACH KYLE WHITTINGHAM ADMITTED TO WESTERN MICHIGAN HC LANCE TAYLOR AFTER THE GAME THAT THERE WAS ZERO TIME LEFT ON THE CLOCK.
βTHERE WASNβT TIME.β
THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SCANDALS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/3qQd1fFG9i
The Big Ten officiating crew reviewed the tape and noted that the WM defender was out of bounds when he leaped and touched the errant pass, with one tick left on the clock. That meant that the second was placed back on the clock and Michigan had time for one more play.
Underwood made his redo pass count, as he found WR J.J. Buchanon in a crowd just over the goal line for the walk-off TD pass, boosting the Wolverines to a 13-12 victory.
