NCAA issuing new guidance to establish 'standard timing protocol' in wake of U-M controversy

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  Jake TrotterSep 8, 2026, 09:55 PM ET

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  Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at jake.trotter@espn.com and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.

The NCAA is issuing new guidance moving forward "to establish a standard timing protocol that ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games," in the wake of Michigan's controversial victory over Western Michigan.

ESPN obtained a copy of a memo from NCAA national coordinator of officials Ron Snodgrass, which was approved by NCAA's secretary-rules editor, Matt Young.

"The official time for all college football games is the time displayed on the in-stadium game clock," the memo said. "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."

Had that guidance been in place and followed on Saturday, Michigan would not have been given an extra play and Western Michigan would've won the game 12-7, based on the clock shown on the NBC broadcast.

On what appeared to be the final play of the game, Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood sailed a Hail Mary pass beyond the end zone and into the arms of Western Michigan safety Micah Davis.

TV replays showed the clock hitting zero with the ball still in the air.

But Big Ten replay officials put a second back on the clock, giving the Wolverines another play, and JJ Buchanan hauled in the second Hail Mary try for the game-winning, 47-yard touchdown and the 13-12 victory.

Two hours after the game, the Big Ten issued a statement, saying "It was determined [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. 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."

That extra second prevented Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion, from defeating the Wolverines for the first time in program history.

On Tuesday, Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher requested that the NCAA overturn the result and that the College Football Playoff selection committee recognize the Broncos as the "actual winner" in "its evaluation and deliberations."

"I recognize that the Oversight Committee does not ordinarily alter results recorded on the field," Steinbrecher wrote in a letter to the NCAA. "Nevertheless, the circumstances of this game are extraordinary. The final outcome was directly affected by a replay officiating error resulting from the failure to follow an established and specific protocol governing precisely this type of end-of-half timing situation."

But the NCAA, in an email to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, stated that its football playing rules do not include a mechanism to overturn the outcome of a game. Also, the FBS oversight committee "does not have the authority" to reverse an outcome.

According to Article 3 of the NCAA rulebook, scores are final when the head referee "declares that the game is ended." Also, regarding final rulings in games, Article 9 states: "No rule decision may be changed after the ball is next legally snapped, legally free-kicked or the second or fourth periods have ended."

The CFP said in a statement that it "received the Mid-American Conference's appeal letter and is in the process of reviewing."

In response to Steinbrecher's letters, the Big Ten said it stood by the statement from Saturday night.

"There was no ill intent," Steinbrecher told ESPN's Heather Dinich on Tuesday night. "It was a mistake in the protocol. It was unfortunate that it occurred. It changed the outcome of a game that would have been a tremendous victory for Western Michigan."

A Michigan spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday that the Big Ten "handles all replay reviews and discussion."

"We don't have any involvement in replay as an institution," spokesperson David Ablauf said.

Steinbrecher initially told ESPN on Sunday that he "had confidence in the integrity of the process and integrity of the people involved. The process was followed, and given that, you have to go with that decision."

But Steinbrecher reversed course in a statement Tuesday, saying: "After further study and investigation, it is now evident that replay protocol was not properly followed in determining whether time remained on the game clock."

Steinbrecher added that "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. As a result, one second was placed back on the game clock and an additional play was awarded. This was not a judgment regarding the proper amount of time to place on the clock.

"It was an error in the application of the established replay protocol governing this specific end-of-game timing situation. Had the protocol been properly followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional play would have been awarded."

Michigan was ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll but dropped out of the rankings Tuesday. The Wolverines face No. 11 Oklahoma in Ann Arbor this Saturday. Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor said during his weekly news conference Tuesday that his team "will grow" from the loss.

"We'll be better and stronger because of it," he said, "and we've turned the page."