NCAA says it can’t overturn last-second Michigan win

The NCAA says it cannot overturn the result of Saturday’s Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game, which ended in controversy after officials put a second back on the clock, allowing the Wolverines to score a game-winning touchdown.

Earlier this week, Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher asked the NCAA to declare Western Michigan, one of its member schools, “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.”

Steinbrecher’s request followed a controversial ending to Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor.

The Big Ten officiating crew that night determined a Western Michigan defensive player touched the ball while out of bounds on a last-second Hail Mary by the Wolverines.

After the officials put a second back on the clock, Michigan pulled off an improbable touchdown to win the game, 13-12.

Steinbrecher argued “replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock.”

The NCAA, in a statement to The Hill, said its “football playing rules do not have a protocol for overturning the outcome of a game.”

“No rule decision may be changed after the ball is next legally snapped, legally free-kicked or the second or fourth periods have ended,” the NCAA rules state, with the association noting “the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee also does not have the authority to overturn the outcome of a game.”

Michigan, which opened the season ranked 16th in the AP Top 25 poll, dropped out of the poll following the victory and faces a major test against No. 11 Oklahoma this weekend.