Ex-Utah coach Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan debut ends in controversial win

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Kyle Whittingham decided to leave the Utah Utes on the promise of taking over a bigger program with endless amounts of resources. None of that mattered on Saturday night. The 16th-ranked Michigan Wolverines needed a last-second 47-yard Hail Mary from Bryce Underwood to former Utah receiver JJ Buchanan to pull out a 13-12 win over Western Michigan in Whittingham's debut.

More people will be talking about the mind-blowing, controversial ending for years to come. Underwood's pass attempt before the miraculous reception ended with zeros on the clock and Western Michigan believed they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history. After further review, the Big Ten officials determined there was one second left on the clock. NBC's rules analyst Terry McAulay tried to explain what happened, but it still didn't make sense.

The mind-blowing, controversial Western Michigan-Michigan finish.
Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and rules analyst Terry McAulay have the commentary on the stunning scene for NBC. 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/n9YE3OpXde
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026

In the end, Underwood's throw will be compared to the Miracle at Michigan, when Colorado QB Kordell Stewart connected with Michael Westbook for one of the greatest plays in college football history. There hasn't been a scene of Wolverines fans flooding the field in a long time. Michigan and Whittingham survive at the Big House before a marquee matchup with Oklahoma.

The stunning events left many wondering if Whittingham should've retired at Utah. Before Underwood saved the game, the social media chatter had the masses nervous Michigan made a bad hire. And how the night played out for the Wolverines with numerous struggles on both sides of the ball, the question is valid on a few different levels.

Whittingham established a great legacy at Utah, but was he ready for the big time? The jury is still out on whether Western Michigan was an outstanding trap game or whether Oklahoma is going to expose Michigan next Saturday.

Since 1990, Michigan has had two home opener losses. The 2007 upset was heard around the world with Appalachian State blocking a Michigan field goal as time expired for a 34-32 loss. A year later, Whittingham and Utah beat Michigan 25-23 at the Big House. The Utes finished No. 2 in the 2008 final AP poll with a perfect 13-0 season. The win over Michigan was one of four victories over ranked opponents.

Whittingham escapes bad Michigan history, which he was a part of as well.

The last permanent Michigan football head coach to lose his debut game was Jim Harbaugh. His Wolverines team lost 24-17 to Utah on September 3, 2015.

Not the way Whittingham wanted to open up his tenure in Ann Arbor. However, a win is still a win no matter how ugly the final minute was for Michigan.