[Postgame Thread] Michigan Defeats Western Michigan 13-12

[u/CFB_Referee]

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team	1	2	3	4	T
Western Michigan	3	3	0	6	12
Michigan	7	0	0	6	13

[u/Few-Race-8527]

Their system APPARENTLY had it at 1…

[u/KiwDaWabbit2 → u/Few-Race-8527]

Oh, the system that no one can see or account for.

[u/ProposalSilent4582 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

I like that is what it is. A system that ONLY the refs have access to? Yeah, right. That makes sense. The other systems inside the stadium and on the broadcast apparently are all wrong and the system that only the refs can see is right. So believable. 

[u/SaltyTurdLicker → u/ProposalSilent4582]

Obviously the clock before the play was correct cause they told clock operator to change it from 8 to 9. At that point the two should be synched.

[u/ProposalSilent4582 → u/SaltyTurdLicker]

They literally did do that too. There's no way the two clocks went out of sync in 9 seconds. The added second of 8 to 9 was real. The added second of 0 to 1 is not real. If the two systems went out of sync that fast then they must have the worst equipment ever. There wasn't a second left.

[u/jackcviers → u/ProposalSilent4582]

Right! They added 2 seconds!

[u/geiginator67 → u/SaltyTurdLicker]

To be fair(and you can clown all you want this was embarrassing), Michigan spiked the ball at 10 sec and two seconds ran off and they only added one back. Still ridiculous to add that second at the end when it was clearly 0

[u/ProposalSilent4582 → u/geiginator67]

A spike took 1-2 seconds. It was rightfully at 9. It was expected to put the time back to 9 instead of leaving it at 8.

[u/geiginator67 → u/ProposalSilent4582]

Hey man I’m just stating what was shown on the game clock when he spiked it, which is the same argument as why there shouldn’t have been 1sec left bc it showed 0

[u/Sea_Log5452 → u/geiginator67]

Dream on man. Timing the play it lasted 12 seconds

[u/geiginator67 → u/Sea_Log5452]

Not dreaming, me and my buddy were yelling at the tv to make it 10 secs after the spike. Timing the play it was 9 secs

[u/RulersBack → u/ProposalSilent4582]

This is why we need the review center transparency across all the games. Even if somehow it was all above board and the right call, everyone is questioning the legitimacy of your product right now

[u/ProposalSilent4582 → u/RulersBack]

Just what I was thinking. Get the review center out there. There is no harm in it. Everyone has seen how it operates. There's nothing top secret about reviews. It's purely just a bunch of screens and replays in slow motion from a billion angles with a few people talking. They need to show that. They can't pull stuff out of their ass like this.

[u/MorganvstheWorld → u/RulersBack]

This. Every conference replay should be like the ACC.

[u/Bluesy21 → u/MorganvstheWorld]

Completely agree. I was watching this thinking that we need the ACC-like situation room view of how they decided this shit.

[u/CrashB111 → u/Bluesy21]

That's why they don't do it.

Can't blatantly rig the outcomes for the major brand, if everyone can listen to your decision process.

[u/Bluesy21 → u/CrashB111]

I hear you. Still seems like blatant fix is blatant, but not sure I agree with your second point. Like it still seems pretty blatantly rigged and I feel like if they at least cut to some fake production room that had a view with ~0.7 seconds on the clock when the opposing player touches the ball so there's 1 second left seems a lot more plausible than what I saw tonight.

[u/saltytradewinds → u/MorganvstheWorld]

It's crazy there are power conferences that haven't implemented it.

[u/No_Butterscotch8726 → u/saltytradewinds]

Makes you wonder.

[u/Sfmilstead → u/No_Butterscotch8726]

Not wonder. Confirm our tinfoil hat theories and vindicating our anger.

[u/tronovich → u/MorganvstheWorld]

Wouldnt’t conference replay benefit the Wolverines in this case?

[u/HoppyToadHill → u/ProposalSilent4582]

But we know the field clock was correct when it was reset from 0:08 to 0:09. So how was the 0:00 wrong?

I’m seeing some discussion saying the clock stops once it goes past the boundary or touches a player out of bounds. Is this correct?

[u/selinameyersbagman → u/HoppyToadHill]

Well yeah it always stops if the ball touches something out of bounds, as that's an extension of the ground in that case. However, the ball: A. Didn't touch anyone/anything until there were 0s on the clock and B. The player it touched was in the air.

[u/tronovich → u/selinameyersbagman]

The player it touched came from out of bounds. The ball is dead when he touches it.

Time was at 0:00 when he touched it though.

[u/selinameyersbagman → u/tronovich]

Yeah, I keep forgetting about that rule (I hate it, haha)

[u/HoppyToadHill → u/tronovich]

It was 0:00 even before touched.

[u/tronovich → u/HoppyToadHill]

The ball was possibly out of bounds by the time he touched it. Then again, that was one bad camera angle.

[u/tronovich → u/ProposalSilent4582]

A specific ref at different levels (including HS and college) do keep time on the field.

I’m not sure why they do it at the college level., but for HS, it’s because they don’t trust the clock operators OR the field doesn’t have a working clock.

I’m not saying that this is what happened in this game.

[u/FrenchFreedom888 → u/ProposalSilent4582]

Hey, it's still better than soccer timekeeping

[u/lookalive07 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

Clockgate 2026

[u/Weenage-Tasteland → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

The system is down!!

DOO DILLYDOO DOO DOO DILLYDOO DOO!!

[u/BlockedbyJake420 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

Trust us, bro wink

[u/AngryBeavr18 → u/BlockedbyJake420]

There was a second shooter on the grassy knoll.

[u/2chainzzzz → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

The system that still uses chains when offside tech exists in real football?

[u/dkviper11 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

Yeah, the secret money system.

Refs should have to answer questions after games.

[u/InevitableAd2436 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

Absolutely shameless

[u/Advanced_Juggernaut9 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

And cause clocks vary greatly in how they track time lmao

[u/Orion14159 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

What was unspoken but implied was it's a betting system

[u/ProfessionalQuit859 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

Only the refs. The same refs that can easily be paid under the table with NIL money.

[u/Clean_Kangaroo_5547 → u/KiwDaWabbit2]

The “trust me bro” system

[u/pmofmalasia → u/Few-Race-8527]

Nah they just came back on the broadcast to say that it was at 0 on their system too. Actually fucked

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/pmofmalasia]

If that's the case then surely the governing authorities can overturn the result of the game after the fact? I'm not even trying to cope here like I'm legitimately asking. If they say themselves say the clock hit zero then the game is over and then the 1 second was added incorrectly. It's not even a judgement call like a catch or a borderline penalty.

Obviously, I don't expect anything to happen but I'm more just wondering if anything like that is even possible.

[u/Bubbly_Survey_803 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Western Michigan should honestly file for an injunction. That was disgraceful and I feel horrible for their players and fans.

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/Bubbly_Survey_803]

Might as well just for kicks, if nothing else, seems to be the theme in CFB these days.

[u/Dead_Baby_Kicker → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Get a wealthy booster to push for it

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

I mean, the IOC overturned something similar in the summer games when they awarded bronze to the Romanian gymnast after the fact, so some sort of precedent in sports is there

[u/kelpyb1 → u/Bubbly_Survey_803]

It’s where the sport’s at at this point.

Modern college football is less of a football league and more of a lawyers’ jobs program.

[u/Trolkarlen → u/Bubbly_Survey_803]

Western Michigan will get paid off.

[u/MIZ_09 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Sorry Bronco bro. This is your 5th Down moment.

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/MIZ_09]

You're not going to believe this, but I actually didn't attend the school and I've never lived in Michigan. I have the flair for my Dad because he did go there and I went to a school where football isn't a thing. (Yes,I was watching the game with him and he just silently shook his head when the pass was caught, like I'm sure many other Bronco die hards did)

I'm more just flabbergasted. I would have liked WMU to win but I'm not as broken up about the loss as everyone else. However, this is the shiftiest thing I have ever seen in CFB and WMU was flat out robbed. There has to be some remedy for something as blatant as this.

[u/Bluesy21 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

However, this is the shiftiest thing I have ever seen in CFB and WMU was flat out robbed.

I mean, I feel like the overturned call involving Texas last year because a bunch of fans threw shit on the field was shiftier at least considering overall importance of the game. But like, this game was legitimately over. Unless the B1G has some ACC-like situation room footage of where this extra second came from this shit is straight up robbery. Even if they do, I'm still not going to be convinced.

There were 9 seconds left on the clock after they already added 1 second. We all saw that clock at 0.0 before the ball was even half way thru the end zone, but they are somehow saying that the in stadium/broadcast clock was off? GTFO! Memes on this are going to be great lol

[u/Altruistic_One_3088 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

💯. There should be. But in sports it never happens.

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/Altruistic_One_3088]

I'm a youth baseball umpire, and will be doing some high school games this upcoming season. I always try to defend umpires/refs when I can because I believe they get a lot of unnecessary hate and oftentimes people don't understand rules properly.

However, in this case I don't even have the remotest idea of what the refs and replay crew was thinking. Literally it doesn't even make sense. No matter how you look at it. Everyone acknowledges the call or decision to put 1 second back was wrong as wrong can be.

[u/Smiles-Edgeworth → u/MIZ_09]

I wonder if there will be a bar in Kalamazoo named 60:01.

[u/Doomas_ → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

If they can’t overturn the result for whatever reason but do acknowledge that there was a structural/procedural flaw in the system, everyone needs to proceed with the agreement that the win/loss shouldn’t affect things like bowl eligibility, contract incentives, etc. (but we all know that won’t be the case, of course)

[u/Doomas_ → u/[deleted]]

full agree. no justice in the sport. pure talent advantage is not enough for the blue bloods. they need structural advantages because the almighty dollar from viewership ratings reigns supreme

[u/decent_folk0306 → u/[deleted]]

With that QB? They ain't sniffing the playoffs.

[u/Adart54 → u/[deleted]]

please theyre dogshit, they lost to WMU, they aint sniffing the playoffs

[u/hurricanedog24 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Y’all need to sue tf out of the Big 10. Demand audits of everything the officials said during their review of the last play, as well as their bank accounts.

That was a complete affront to the sanctity of sports. We must demand better.

[u/GunnerEst93 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

They should and I hope they do.

[u/Onlysonof → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Negate the win for UofM and the loss for WMU. Like the game never happened.

Justice for WMU.

[u/Ok_Feature1328 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Tell me, Anakin, did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise (Armando Galaraga)?

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/Ok_Feature1328]

At least in that case Jim Joyce admitted after the game that he blew the call and was genuinely broken up over it. He and Galaraga even wrote a book about it or collaborated on something like that years later.

[u/Ok_Feature1328 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

I hope Western gets the same level of respect from everyone. Anyone with eyes knows what really happened. Only game I ever saw that was 60:01 duration. You guys won fair and square.

[u/Sea_Log5452 → u/Ok_Feature1328]

No it was 60:04 long. I put a stopwatch on that last play it took 12 seconds

[u/DaMantis → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Good luck

When this happened to us, the NCAA just said "yeah that was incorrect, sorry, nothing gets overturned though"

[u/No_Butterscotch8726 → u/DaMantis]

So then sue them. A court will see the bullshit and can easily tule the other way if they decide they can get involved.

[u/Bigbysjackingfist → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

The former PAC12 overturned a game after the fact. Like not this far after the fact, but enough to piss of vegas

[u/Raptormann0205 → u/TheQuietSleeper023]

Michigan is their golden goose. If cheating their way to a Nation championship wasn't enough to be disciplined, this certainly won't be.

Welcome to the muck fichigan club, buddy.

[u/aMiracleAtJordanHare → u/pmofmalasia]

No, they came back and confirmed that the clock shown on-screen was the stadium clock and was correctly synced to the video replay.

The only possibly explanation they could give (which was obviously just BS cover) was that the refs must have some other clock. But the broadcast never claimed to have access to it.

...and obviously the refs wouldn't have a non-stadium clock anyway, so it's a moot point.

[u/TheQuietSleeper023 → u/aMiracleAtJordanHare]

I bet if the outrage is loud and persistent enough their bullshit excuse will be that the refs misunderstood the replay officials because of crowd noise or static. Which won't help anything but I don't see how this just goes away.

[u/roguebananah → u/pmofmalasia]

lol

[u/tronovich → u/pmofmalasia]

Who is “they” in this case? The umps?

[u/pmofmalasia → u/tronovich]

The broadcast team, refs didn't say anything afaik

[u/randotd152 → u/Few-Race-8527]

The last time a tv clock was off from an official clock was like 1985.

[u/roguebananah → u/randotd152]

It’s funny that happens in 2026 when the officials called the officials told the time clock operator to go from 8 seconds to 9 seconds just on the previous play (2 plays ago I guess?)

[u/Few-Race-8527 → u/roguebananah]

That was legitimately a bad stoppage. There was 9 seconds left. That was completely reasonable.

[u/roguebananah → u/Few-Race-8527]

I totally agree, it was a bad stoppage but it proves that the times were synced

[u/Bill3ffinMurray → u/Few-Race-8527]

"System"

[u/acewing → u/Bill3ffinMurray]

Read: vibes

[u/not_mantiteo → u/Few-Race-8527]

Despite every other clock and timer clearly being 0 lol

[u/roguebananah → u/not_mantiteo]

Every clock is off by 3 seconds clearly

[u/MIZ_09 → u/Few-Race-8527]

This feels like some Kalshi bullshit. Someone important just made a lot of money.

[u/Bill3ffinMurray → u/MIZ_09]

Probably big man baby Dave fucking Portfuck

[u/OpeDefinitely → u/MIZ_09]

I blame Tom Brady

[u/ltd522 → u/MIZ_09]

More like, someone bet a lot of money to make a little bit of money, had that person lost he’s on the hook for way more than he won.

[u/DangerZoneh → u/MIZ_09]

Ban prediction markets and sports betting

[u/makualla → u/Few-Race-8527]

They are going to come out and say our special clock you can’t see has the tenths digits and it had .1 on it

[u/ProposalSilent4582 → u/makualla]

It could have tenths of a second on there but that is so BS considering football doesn't count tenths of seconds, unless it's whenever the refs decides it matters. Put this at the end of the 2nd quarter and they aren't putting the tenth of a second back on the clock. 

[u/Subject-Library5974 → u/Few-Race-8527]

“The inset clock is somehow different” is the quote I believe. The whole crew needs to be suspended, it sat at zero before the player touched the ball signaling a two second difference?

[u/Totschlag → u/Subject-Library5974]

Don't forget the insect clock somehow miraculously was perfectly synced the play literally directly before that

[u/byniri_returns → u/Few-Race-8527]

Boy I'd love to see proof of this """""system""""" they claim to have

[u/El_Dud3r1n0 → u/byniri_returns]

You know, the system. No further questions.

[u/Relative_Walk_936 → u/Few-Race-8527]

Systems can't melt steel beams.

[u/JackC1126 → u/Few-Race-8527]

The system conveniently located in the polymarket HQ

[u/porquenaoambos → u/Few-Race-8527]

Weird, the system they showed to millions of people said 0

[u/BlueCheeseOnlyPlease → u/Few-Race-8527]

Script writers working overtime, fuck this honestly

[u/maggies_farm_hand → u/Few-Race-8527]

The manifesto has it at 1.

[u/1ToGreen3ToBasket → u/Few-Race-8527]

Whose system?

[u/LesterChesterton → u/Few-Race-8527]

Is the “system” in the room with us right now?

[u/BeefInGR → u/Few-Race-8527]

So, now they're saying there was four hundredths of a second on the clock. 0.04.

[u/Thesilence_z → u/Few-Race-8527]

did their system not have 9 seconds on the final play?

[u/Sea_Log5452 → u/Few-Race-8527]

Thats bullshit. If you use a stopwatch the play was 12 seconds long

[u/em_washington → u/Few-Race-8527]

Why is there more than one timing system? And why is the official system not made public to the broadcast? Shady.