NFL Rules Would've Changed Michigan vs. Western Michigan Finish

If Michigan and Western Michigan would have played Saturday night’s game under NFL rules, the finish would have been different.

The Big Ten Conference announced on Saturday night that the referees made the right ruling, in putting 0:01 back on the clock, to allow time for Michigan to run one more play. That one more play, of course, was a historic Hail Mary!, giving the Wolverines a 13-12 victory.

“Following video review, it was determined Western Michigan’s #18 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. 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 conference said.

“Eighty-five minutes prior to the game, all broadcast cameras used for the replay system, including the camera on the game clock, are synced using a strobe system to ensure all cameras are aligned.

“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.”