MAC files appeal to FBS committee to overturn Western Michigan-Michigan game, declare Broncos as winners

For a few minutes, the most stunning result of the early part of the college football season seemed to be the Western Michigan Broncos upsetting the heavily favored Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium.

The Big House. Bryce Underwood, one of the most heavily promoted recruits of the past decade. New head coach Kyle Whittingham, known for his stability, consistency and avoiding major upsets while with the Utah Utes. And the Broncos took a 12-7 lead with just 38 seconds remaining and the Wolverines out of timeouts.

Everyone knows what happened next. Underwood's first Hail Mary attempt flew out of the back of the endzone, with the game clock on the broadcast and scoreboard showing 0:00. Game over. But after a poorly-explained review determined that there should have been an additional second added, Underwood was given a second opportunity. JJ Buchanan came down with it, and Wolverines fans stormed the field.

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Nearly everyone outside Michigan was perplexed, or downright angry, about the outcome. The Big Ten's explanation didn't make anything better either, with the conference saying the clocks were strobe-synced prior to the game, but that another clock viewed during the replay process had determined there was a second left. Even though the synced cameras showed zero seconds remaining.

Initially, it seemed like that would be the end of it. Western Michigan staff said they communicated with the Big Ten, reviewed the footage and were satisfied that proper procedure had been followed. Tuesday afternoon, though, that all changed.

The Mid-American Conference released a statement, announcing they'd filed a formal appeal to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff requesting that those two bodies recognize the Broncos as the true winners of 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 says. "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."

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Interestingly, they also stress that the appeal isn't contesting the correct amount of time on the clock, just that the rules were improperly applied.

"This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock," it continues. "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 award