NCAA acknowledges Michigan Hail Mary vs WMU should not have happened

The NCAA on Wednesday, Sept. 16 acknowledged that the controversial ending of Michigan football's narrow victory vs Western Michigan should never have happened.

In a statement summarizing a review of the end-of-game processes, the NCAA said that instant replay protocol was not properly followed after the conclusion of what appeared to be a game-ending incompletion by Bryce Underwood.

"Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different," the NCAA statement reads.

That outcome would have resulted in a 12-7 victory for Lance Taylor's Broncos over the then-16th-ranked Wolverines. As it stood, Big Ten officials put one second back on the clock, with Underwood completing a Hail Mary to JJ Buchanan in the end zone for a 13-12 victory on the final play of the game.

The NCAA's acknowledgment that Western Michigan should have won the game — which comes after the Mid-American Conference sought to have the result overturned — also states that it has no power to overturn the result of a game.

The NCAA cited two rules on the subject:

This is what the NCAA had to say of the final moments of the game, when a second was erroneously added to the…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/