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NCAA finally admits how badly Western Michigan got screwed on Michigan Hail Mary

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Cite

Associated Press. (2026, September 17). NCAA finally admits how badly Western Michigan got screwed on Michigan Hail Mary. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/17/sports/ncaa-admits-how-badly-western-michigan-got-screwed-on-michigan-hail-mary/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-17 · by Associated Press

Quick Summary

The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee has acknowledged that Michigan’s victory over Western Michigan was marred by improper replay protocol execution, which likely altered the game's result. Despite this admission, the committee reiterated its inability to change the outcome due to a lack of authority and clear rules prohibiting appeals once a referee declares the game final. The Mid-American Conference initially accepted the Big Ten’s explanation but later joined Western Michigan in seeking an overturn, ultimately without success.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 5, the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee admitted that proper replay protocols were not followed during a game between Michigan and Western Michigan, altering its outcome. The committee stated that if the correct procedures had been adhered to, the result would have differed. Michigan won the game 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass after an incorrect additional second was added to the clock when Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood's initial attempt was incomplete. Despite acknowledging this error, the NCAA emphasized that it lacks the authority to change the final score of the game. Western Michigan and its conference had previously argued against the validity of Michigan’s victory based on replay protocol violations.

Written for “NCAA Replay Errors Controversy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NCAA Replay Errors Controversy
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 64/100
“While both articles discuss the NCAA's and CFP's responses to a controversial game between Michigan and Western Michigan, they describe different statements issued on separate days.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
1 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16258 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Associated Press
624 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by Associated Press
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 624 articles by Associated Press →

Topics

Broncos INDIANAPOLIS Michigan NCAA Western Michigan

Subjects

Michigan GPE · 3× NCAA ORG · 3× Western Michigan ORG · 2× Broncos ORG · 1× Bryce Underwood PERSON · 1× INDIANAPOLIS GPE · 1× The Mid-American Conference ORG · 1× The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee ORG · 1× Wolverines ORG · 1× the Big Ten’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

Michigan, now ranked No. 19, won the Sept. 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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 “Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different.”

Claims (10 extracted, 1 hedged)

INDIANAPOLIS — 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. asserted
Michigan → insist → Broncos
The NCAA agrees, but said it can’t do anything about it. asserted
it → agree → 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. asserted
protocols → announce → game
The committee also reiterated what the NCAA said last week: It doesn’t have the authority to overturn the result. asserted
It → reiterate → result
“The committee consulted with national officiating leadership regarding the instant replay protocols,” the committee said in a statement. asserted
committee → consult → 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. asserted
statement → base → play
“Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different.” asserted
outcome → follow → game
Michigan, now ranked No. 19, won the Sept. 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. asserted
try → rank → clock
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. asserted
result → accept → Michigan
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. uncertain
committee → say → rules
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