After Western Michigan Broncos appeared to have secured an upset victory over the Michigan Wolverines with a final score of 12–7, an extra second was added to the game clock by Big Ten officials, resulting in a 13–12 win for Michigan. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) has submitted a formal appeal to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and the College Football Playoff, requesting recognition of Western Michigan as the actual winner of the contest.

The MAC statement cited an error in applying replay protocol: “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.”

According to the conference, this error would have resulted in Western Michigan winning 12–7 had the protocol been followed correctly. The MAC has formally appealed for recognition of Western Michigan as the winner for rankings and selection purposes.

The NCAA rulebook contains contradictory provisions. Rule 12-6-1[c] states that “all reviews shall be based upon video evidence provided by and coming directly from the televised production of the game.” However, Rule 3-4[a] grants game officials control over timekeeping.

The NCAA has confirmed it lacks a mechanism to reverse game outcomes. The FBS Oversight Committee also does not have authority to overturn results. In response to this incident, the NCAA implemented a standardized timing protocol requiring that the broadcast feed clock be used for replay reviews.