Hours after Western Michigan’s heartbreaking and controversial 13-12 loss at Michigan on Saturday, WMU president Russ Kavalhuna had a detailed conversation with the Big Ten regarding its statement and video released to the public two hours after the final whistle blew.
The statement in question said that an official review showed a Western Michigan player had stepped out of bounds, then touched the ball with one second left, stopping the clock. But that did not match up with NBC’s broadcast, which clearly showed time had run out before the Western Michigan player touched the ball. Michigan was given one more play, which the Wolverines converted for the game-winning touchdown.
Kavalhuna had the same question that many fans sitting at home did: Why was there a discrepancy between what the NBC clock showed on the review of the first Hail Mary and what the Big Ten released from the reviewing official? (Note: The Big Ten said that all broadcast cameras used for the replay system are synced 85 minutes before the game.)
The answer Kavalhuna received was that the clocks, in this case, weren’t synced.
“I asked that direct question,” he said, during a news conference Sunday. “He was candid that it was a known discrepancy and that it’s through a thoughtful process that they’ve made that decision, and I believe the Big Ten has thought through that.”
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The next thing Kavalhuna asked the Big Ten: Which of the two clocks should be used to decide the game?
The Big Ten responded that the review clock used to determine the final play was used for every review, not just the play at the end of the game. And the result was not something Western Michigan could appeal.
“There are no appeals in this review process for the Big Ten or the MAC,” Kavalhuna said. “I asked if we should have a review process, if we should think about building one, but there is none right now. … I did want to find a way to appeal that decision, but there is none. So the question is, what now?”
Western Michigan has moved on from the loss to Michigan. Coach Lance Taylor and his team were back in their facility Sunday afternoon, preparing for Saturday’s game against Dartmouth.
The sting of the loss remains, but Kavalhuna does not believe the result vs. Michigan was fabricated.
“It’s just a discrepancy,” he said, adding that it’s clear that what the public sees is different from what the officials see.
“I looked into this pretty closely. I don’t discern anything unfair in this process,” he said. “Can the process be improved by having what the viewing public see be the same as what the reviewing officials see? Maybe. Frankly, that’s not for me to decide.”
