MAC now says Big Ten replay officials erred in adding 1 second back for Michigan's Hail Mary, asks NCAA to recognize Western Michigan as the winner

The controversy surrounding Michigan's win over Western Michigan is far from over.

After initially accepting the Big Ten's explanation for how one second was added back to the clock for the Wolverines to throw a Hail Mary in their 13-12 win over the Broncos , the Mid-American Conference issued a statement Tuesday saying that replay protocols were actually not followed and Western Michigan should have won the game.

"After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game," the statement said. "The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained. Instead, the Big Ten Conference replay crew relied upon the clock feed embedded within its replay system. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded. "This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock. It was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this specific end-of-game timing situation. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded and Western Michigan would have won the game, 12-7. "As a result, the Mid-American Conference has submitted formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff. The MAC is requesting that those bodies recognize Western Michigan as the actual winner of the game for purposes of their respective rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority."

"After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game," the statement said.

"The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained. Instead, the Big Ten Conference replay crew relied upon the clock feed embedded within its replay system. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded.

"This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock. It was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this specific end-of-game timing situation. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded and Western Michigan would have won the game, 12-7.

"As a result, the Mid-American Conference has submitted formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff. The MAC is requesting that those bodies recognize Western Michigan as the actual winner of the game for purposes of their respective rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations and take such other corrective action as may be within their authority."

Michigan's initial Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete with seemingly no time remaining before officials added a second back to the game clock after determining that WMU Micah Davis touched the ball — after he leaped from out of bounds — before time expired.

In the formal appeal to the FBS oversight committee, MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher says the "established protocol" for replay reviews is for the in-stadium game clock to be inserted on the program feed and that "the replay official/replay center official then determines whether time should be restored to the game clock based solely upon the game clock insert on the program feed."

The game clock that was inserted into NBC's replays showed the clock at 0:00 when Davis touched the football. In its explanation hours after the game was over , the Big Ten showed that there was one second remaining on the clock its replay center had a camera trained on throughout the game.

"Rather than relying upon the designated game clock displayed on the program feed, the Big Ten replay crew relied upon a separate clock embedded within its replay system. The two clock feeds were not synchronized," the MAC wrote. "The game clock displayed on the program feed showed that the clock had expired. The clock embedded within the replay system, however, showed time remaining. Despite the protocol expressly requiring replay officials to rely solely upon the game clock displayed on the program feed, the replay crew utilized the unsynchronized replay-system clock and restored time to the game clock."

"Rather than relying upon the designated game clock displayed on the program feed, the Big Ten replay crew relied upon a separate clock embedded within its replay system. The two clock feeds were not synchronized," the MAC wrote.

"The game clock displayed on the program feed showed that the clock had expired. The clock embedded within the replay system, however, showed time remaining. Despite the protocol expressly requiring replay officials to rely solely upon the game clock displayed on the program feed, the replay crew utilized the unsynchronized replay-system clock and restored time to the game clock."

The MAC goes on to say that "the outcome of this game was not changed by a discretionary judgment made within the rules" but rather "it was changed because the established procedure for determining whether time remained on the game clock was not followed, and an unsynchronized clock was used in place of the clock specifically designated by the governing replay protocol."

The conference's appeal comes two days after Western Michigan president Russ Kavalhuna and coach Lance Taylor held a news conference to say that they accepted the Big Ten's explanation for how the decision was made to add a second back to the clock.

"I would say what the viewing public see and the officials see are different," Kavalhuna said Sunday. "And that's clear. I will say, I've looked into this pretty closely and I used to be a federal prosecutor — I don't discern anything unfair or untoward in this process. Can the process be improved by having what the viewing public see as what the reviewing officials see? Maybe. Frankly, that's not for me to decide."

After the MAC's statement Tuesday, Kavalhuna said that what the conference had done was "important action."

"Commissioner Steinbrecher and the MAC have taken important action today in college football," Kavalhuna's statement said. "The support we have received from across the country for Coach Taylor and our Broncos, for their character and their sportsmanship, has been overwhelming, and we are grateful for it. "Some have read our actions as weak. However, supporting student-athletes and their growth during a time of adversity is a strength. Being bitter doesn't make you better and this should not be mistaken for weakness or agreement. We can show respect for the game while also asking serious questions; I've done both and I'll keep doing both. Our job at Western Michigan is to play the game and help our students grow. It's the job of the conferences and the NCAA to enforce the rules. Our Broncos will continue to take the field against any opponent."

"Commissioner Steinbrecher and the MAC have taken important action today in college football," Kavalhuna's statement said. "The support we have received from across the country for Coach Taylor and our Broncos, for their character and their sportsmanship, has been overwhelming, and we are grateful for it.

"Some have read our actions as weak. However, supporting student-athletes and their growth during a time of adversity is a strength. Being bitter doesn't make you better and this should not be mistaken for weakness or agreement. We can show respect for the game while also asking serious questions; I've done both and I'll keep doing both. Our job at Western Michigan is to play the game and help our students grow. It's the job of the conferences and the NCAA to enforce the rules. Our Broncos will continue to take the field against any opponent."

NBC said in a statement at halftime of Sunday's game between Washington and Washington State that its cameras "are not the official arbiter" of game time and that keeping track of the game clock was the responsibility of the Big Ten and its officials. NBC's clock appeared to have potentially started early ahead of the final snap of the game, though that was impossible to figure out for numerous reasons.

College football game clocks do not show fractions of a second and, to date, the Big Ten has not released a full video of the play side-by-side with its official game clock. The video the conference provided late Saturday night only showed the end of the play when players were crowded in the end zone attempting to catch Michigan QB Bryce Underwood's pass.

After throwing to the back of the end zone on the first Hail Mary, Underwood threw towards the goal line on the second, and JJ Buchanan caught that pass for the Wolverines' win.