The FBS Oversight Committee opened a huge can of worms on Wednesday when it released a statement that if the correct protocol had been followed, as far as the clock being used on replay reviews, the outcome of Michigan's 13-12 win over Western Michigan would have been different.
Forget that the Big Ten uses the Hawkeye video system, and that the Big Ten officials got the call right, as ESPN's Dan Wetzel has attempted to explain to people.
According to Wetzel, the Big Ten got it right. The Big Ten conference said that it got the call right, and shouldn't that be the goal, regardless of the protocol?
Absolutely. I went deep dive on this. There are lots of angles out there, you can stopwatch the play and all sorts of things. There are explanations on why the NBC broadcast slowly diverts from the pregame "sync."
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 17, 2026
I went into it believing Western Michigan got screwed but after… https://t.co/EQiVfZoY8J
The whole thing is making my head hurt. After the statement was released, some speculated that Michigan football could be treated as 1-1 by the College Football Playoff selection committee or the AP Poll.
AP voters can vote how they want, since their poll doesn't mean anything in terms of the College Football Playoff. However, the CFP Selection Committee released a statement telling The Athletic that it does not have the power to "overturn the result."
New: The College Football Playoff says it, too, cannot overturn the Michigan-WMU result, in a statement to @TheAthletic.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 17, 2026
Also emphasized the committee looks at more than just wins and losses. pic.twitter.com/QQIFwRTeE8
The CFP Selection Committee considers Michigan football 2-0
The CFP selection committee also said that their evaluations go beyond wins and losses. The committee talks all the time about game control. That's why it was so high on the 2023 Michigan football team, because it essentially played an entire season without trailing.
So Michigan will get credit for a win. It will get credit for throwing a Hail Mary pass and driving the field to win the game after a poor performance. That performance could look better as the year goes on, if say, Western Michigan runs the table.
Whatever happens, Michigan fans should want the Broncos to keep winning. There's a decent chance both teams could end up in the College Football Playoff, if the Wolverines are able to win 10 games.
Western needs to probably win out and take the MAC championship for the second year in a row. If that happens, it's hard to see another Group of Five team having a better resume. That resume is helped if Michigan keeps winning.
So the two programs should want the other to succeed. The committee isn't going to count the game as a loss for the Wolverines, though. I suppose if there were a head-to-head tiebreaker, Michigan would get the edge, but that's not a likely scenario. If the Broncos get picked, it will be for the G5 spot.
So even though there has been a lot of complaining about this online, both teams essentially control their own playoff destiny.
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