Michigan somehow snatched a 13-12 victory from Western Michigan last Saturday, but the controversy around that final second just won’t die, and now an ex-NFL star is dropping a wild proposal to make things right. The Wolverines took down the Broncos in a stunning, and super controversial, win on September 5, and the whole internet is still buzzing about what went down.
How One Second Wrecked Everything
Picture this: Western Michigan, a massive 27.5-point underdog, is leading Michigan 12-7 with only nine seconds left on the clock. Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood throws a Hail Mary that sails incomplete out of the back of the end zone. On the NBC and Peacock TV broadcast, the clock hits zero. Game over, right? Nope. After a review, officials miraculously put one second back on, claiming the Big Ten’s “internal clock” was the real deal. With that extra tick, Underwood launched another Hail Mary, and this time JJ Buchanan hauled it in for the most shocking, heartbreaking win imaginable. The Big Ten tried to explain themselves, even providing video and audio of the officials deliberating, but come on.
An Eight-Figure “Donation” to Heal the Sting?
Jason Babin, a Western Michigan alum who went on to a long NFL career, isn’t having it. He jumped on social media this week with an idea that’s got everyone talking: Michigan, the Big Ten, or the TV networks , or maybe all of them , should cut Western Michigan an “eight-figure check.” Babin’s point is simple: the big players have the cash, and WMU could seriously use it, especially in this NIL era. He said on X, “OK, no putting the genie back in the bottle, what could we do to rectify the situation?” He knows you can’t change the game’s outcome, but he believes “the only thing I can think logically that could possibly make the situation relatively better would be an eight-figure check… a financial donation, we could call it.” He wants “something done substantial, it needs to be public, it needs to hurt a little bit, it needs to sting” for college football to move on. He’s not alone either, saying “the entire internet” agrees the situation is “bogus” and that many former NFL teammates, even some who played at Michigan, disagreed with the officials’ decision.
The Mid-American Conference did appeal to the NCAA and the College Football Playoff to get the result overturned, arguing that protocols were not followed. But the NCAA wasn’t having any of it. They refused to hear the appeal, sticking to their rule book which clearly states that officials’ decisions at the end of a game are final. There’s just no precedent for overturning a game result for this kind of clock fiasco. So, while Babin’s call for an eight-figure fix makes total sense for justice, it looks like that controversial 13-12 loss is gonna stick for Western Michigan. What a brutal way to start the season for the Broncos.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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