NCAA reportedly enacts 'standard timing protocol' in aftermath of Michigan's controversial win over Western Michigan

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Big Ten replay officials wound back the clock Saturday night in Ann Arbor, setting the stage for another Michigan Hail Mary, a prayer of a pass that was laced with controversy and robbed Western Michigan of a program-defining upset.

Days later — amid the carnage created by that head-scratching Week 1 sequence and, in turn, a 13-12 Wolverines victory — the NCAA is standardizing the clock.

On Tuesday night, ESPN reported that it obtained a copy of a memo from NCAA national coordinator of officials Ron Snodgrass. That memo, reportedly approved by the NCAA's secretary rules editor, Matt Young, reveals that the NCAA has established "a standard timing protocol that ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games."

The memo reads, according to ESPN: "The official time for all college football games is the time displayed on the in-stadium game clock. When a replay review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the replay official's decision will be based on the embedded game clock contained within the program feed. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game-clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.

"This timing protocol should be followed consistently at all institutions and game sites."

The NBC broadcast for Saturday's game between Michigan and Western Michigan showed the clock flashing triple zeroes when Bryce Underwood's first Hail Mary was still in the air. If the NCAA's new guidance had been in place, the Wolverines wouldn't have been given the extra play that bailed them out of agony in the Big House.

And, so, Western Michigan would have beaten then-No. 16 Michigan 12-7 and stashed its first win over the Wolverines in program history.

Hours after the game, the Big Ten put out a statement to justify why its officials reset the clock following Underwoods' first Hail Mary, which barely overshot the end zone and wound up in the arms of Broncos safety Micah Davis.

"Following video review, it was determined Western Michigan's #18 (Davis) started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock," the Big Ten's statement read. "As shown in the provided video of what was viewed during the replay process, a side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling."

The statement also noted: "Per NCAA Football rule 4-2-3-a, 'A ball not in player control, other than a kick that scores a field goal, is out of bounds when it touches the ground, a player, a game official or anything else that is out-of-bound, or that is on or outside a boundary line,' and thus the clock is stopped."

Underwood's second Hail Mary resulted in a 47-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver JJ Buchanan.

On Sunday, Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor and university president Russ Kavalhuna took the high road when discussing the disputable loss. Kavalhuna ascribed the initial frustration to a "discrepancy" between the clock on NBC's broadcast and the game clock used by the Big Ten.

"I don't discern anything unfair or untoward in this process," Kavalhuna said on Sunday. "Can the process be improved by having what the viewing public see as what the reviewing officials see? Maybe. Frankly that's not for me to decide."

Taylor said on Sunday that "the refs did not cost this game."

Both Taylor and Kavalhuna reframed the unfortunate situation as a teaching moment and a growth opportunity.

Even so, on Tuesday, Kavalhuna described his conference submitting formal appeals to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff as "important action."

MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher wanted Western Michigan to be recognized as the actual winner of the season-opening contest so that the Broncos, in his eyes, could be appropriately evaluated in rankings, evaluations and eventual selections.

The NCAA, though, told ESPN in an email that its football playing rules don't allow it to overturn the outcome of a game. The FBS oversight committee isn't equipped with the authority to do so, either.

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