NCAA admits replay errors but reiterates it cannot change result of Western Michigan-Michigan game

Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News/AP

Western Michigan and its conference have insisted Michigan should not have been given an extra second in its dramatic win over the Broncos two weeks ago.

The NCAA agrees, but said it can’t do anything about it.

The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee announced Wednesday that proper replay protocols weren’t followed in Michigan’s Hail Mary win, altering the outcome of the game.

The committee also reiterated what the NCAA said last week : It doesn’t have the authority to overturn the result.

“The committee consulted with national officiating leadership regarding the instant replay protocols,” the committee said in a statement.

“Based on that information, the committee agreed that the instant replay protocols were not followed in the contest’s second-to-last play,” the statement continued. “Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different.”

Lon Horwedel/Imagn Images/Reuters

Michigan’s controversial win adds to the nagging feeling college football just isn’t fair

Michigan, now ranked No. 19, won the September 5 game 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass after the replay official had put 1 second back on the clock when Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood’s first try was incomplete.

The Mid-American Conference initially accepted the Big Ten’s explanation of what happened at the end of the game, but joined Western Michigan in asking for the result to be overturned.

A few hours later, the NCAA said the result would stand, noting its playing rules do not have a protocol for overturning the outcome of a game and the oversight committee does not have the authority to do so, which it confirmed again on Wednesday.

“The playing rules governing the result of a contest are clear: once the referee declares a contest to be final, no appeal of the outcome is permitted, according to (rules),” the committee said.

Jacob Hamilton/安娜堡新闻/美联社

西密歇根大学及其所在联盟坚称，两周前密歇根大学在与野马队的比赛中戏剧性地获胜时，不应该获得额外的一秒钟。

美国大学体育协会（NCAA）对此表示同意，但称对此无能为力。

NCAA橄榄球碗赛分区监督委员会周三宣布，密歇根大学在“万福玛丽亚”绝杀中没有遵循正确的录像回放程序，从而改变了比赛结果。

委员会还重申了NCAA上周的说法：它没有权力推翻比赛结果。

“委员会就即时回放协议咨询了国家裁判领导层的意见，”委员会在一份声明中表示。

声明继续说道：“根据这些信息，委员会一致认为，比赛倒数第二回合的即时回放规则没有得到遵守。如果规则得到遵守，比赛结果将会不同。”

Lon Horwedel/Imagn Images/路透社

密歇根大学这场充满争议的胜利，加剧了人们对大学橄榄球比赛不公平的担忧。

密歇根大学目前排名第 19 位，在 9 月 5 日的比赛中，凭借一次“万福玛丽亚”式的传球以 13-12 获胜。此前，由于狼獾队四分卫布莱斯·安德伍德的第一次传球尝试未成功，回放官员将时间倒回了 1 秒。

中西部联盟最初接受了十大联盟对比赛最后阶段所发生情况的解释，但随后与西密歇根大学一起要求推翻比赛结果。

几个小时后，NCAA表示比赛结果将维持不变，并指出其比赛规则没有推翻比赛结果的程序，监督委员会也没有权力这样做，NCAA在周三再次确认了这一点。

委员会表示：“比赛规则对比赛结果的判定非常明确：一旦裁判宣布比赛结果为最终结果，根据（规则），就不允许对结果提出上诉。”