By Gus "Walk-Off" Fields
ANN ARBOR — Football games are supposed to end when the clock hits zero. Saturday's opener between Michigan and Western Michigan ended when it didn't — at least not the first time.
ESPN reported that replays showed the clock hitting zero before Michigan got a shot at one final play. Officials disagreed, put a second back on the board, and the Wolverines made them look right: a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the do-over sealed a 13-12 win over the Broncos. The Big Ten office later confirmed the ruling was correct, according to ESPN, though that did little to quiet the argument in the moment.
It was that kind of night around college football. ESPN's own Week 1 roundup framed it bluntly: "Did Michigan deserve that last second? We welcome college football back with all the absurdity it brings." A 13-12 final between a blue blood and a MAC opponent isn't supposed to come down to a clock operator's judgment call, but that's exactly what happened.
For Western Michigan, it's a gutting way to open a season — outplaying a program of Michigan's stature for most of a game only to lose it on a technicality and a prayer. For Michigan, it's a win that counts the same in the standings as a 40-point rout, clock controversy included.
The explanations will keep coming this week. The final score won't change. Michigan starts 1-0, however uneasily it got there, and Western Michigan is left replaying a clock that, by their own eyes, had already run out.
Final score's the last thing that mattered here.
— Compiled from reporting by ESPN.
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