Western Michigan president Russ Kavalhuna said Sunday that he didn’t “discern anything unfair or untoward” with the Big Ten’s replay decision that put an extra second on the clock, leading to Michigan’s game-winning touchdown pass in Saturday’s 13-12 win over the Broncos.
Kavalhuna said that he was up late Saturday night speaking with Big Ten officials, including conference commissioner Tony Petitti.
“He was gracious enough to let me talk with some of his staff who are over this issue,” Kavalhuna said. “And it is just a discrepancy. What the viewing public see and what the reviewing officials see are different and that’s clear.”
On what appeared to be the final play
On what appeared to be the final play of the game, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood sailed a Hail Mary pass beyond the end zone into the arms of Western Michigan safety Micah Davis. TV replays showed the clock hitting zero with the ball still in the air.
But Big Ten replay officials put a second back on the clock, giving the Wolverines another play.
With the second chance, Underwood threw another Hail Mary, and JJ Buchanan hauled it in for a 47-yard touchdown.
Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said Sunday
Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said Sunday that “ultimately, the refs did not cost” the Broncos the game and that people shouldn’t feel sorry for his team.
“If we make the mistake of making an excuse, it allows us to be bitter instead of getting better,” he said. “That’s where we want to go as a football team.”
The Big Ten stood by the review in a statement released two hours after the game. The league also issued a recording of the replay as it was reviewed by officials in Rosemont, Illinois, showing the game clock at one second when Davis touched the ball.
It was determined (Davis) started his jump
“It was determined (Davis) 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,” the conference said, citing the rule that stops the clock on such contact. “A side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling.”
Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher told ESPN on Sunday that the review process was properly followed, and while he may not like the outcome, it was ultimately correct.
“I have confidence in the integrity of the process and integrity of the people involved,” he said. “The process was followed, and given that, you have to go with that decision.”
The extra second prevented Western Michigan, the defending
The extra second prevented Western Michigan, the defending MAC champions, from defeating the Wolverines for the first time in program history.
Still, Taylor said that he’s ready to move on, despite the way the game ended.
“I thought it was important for my team, our players in that locker room, I wanted them to know that we stood on the table and that we were fighting for that to be an equitable and fair outcome and just, and that we had exhausted all avenues there,” Taylor said. “And we have, and we did. And ultimately, the Big Ten officials cooperated with that and were very clear and transparent in that.
“Do I like the outcome? No. … We can deflect and say that this was somebody else’s fault, that the refs got it wrong. But that’s a victim’s mentality. And we’re not going to blame others. We’re going to look ourselves dead in the mirror and see how we can improve.”
ESPN’s Heather Dinich contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com
