Western Michigan and the MAC are throwing a Hail Mary of their own to overturn Michigan's win

Western Michigan had a front-row seat to Michigan's Hail Mary to win the game, and now they are throwing one of their own with the NCAA and College Football Playoff.

The plot is thickening on the "Bail Mary." Yes, that is what Michigan's Hail Mary win is now affectionately being referred to as. Well, Western Michigan and the MAC are trying a Hail Mary of their own with their latest appeal to the NCAA and the College Football Playoff.

The MAC and Western Michigan petitioning that Michigian win be awarded to the Broncos

After releasing a statement late Saturday night after the game, agreeing with the Big Ten replay official's decision to add on second back onto the clock after being given the full explanation, the MAC released another statement about reasons for their newest appeal to grant Western Michigan the win.

"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 at the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan football game," MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said.

"The established replay protocol requires that the game clock displayed on the program feed be used in determining whether time remained,” Steinbrecher said. “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."

Basically, the MAC wants the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee and College Football Playoff to recognize Western Michigan as the winner for the purposes of rankings, evaluations, and the selection committee deliberations.

The MAC's reference to replay protocol is not stated in the NCAA rulebook

This may all be getting a little confusing, so let's make it a little simpler. The protocol that the MAC is referencing in its appeal to the NCAA and CFP is not stated in the NCAA's Instant Replay Case Book.

On Sunday, FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira said that college replay officials are told to use the clock that people on TV see when trying to determine whether time is supposed to be added back on after what looks to be a game-ending play. The Big Ten replay officials did not use those clocks when determining whether to add a second back on after it looked like time expired.

Here is Pereira's full explanation:

"It is my understanding that if there is a discrepancy between the video and replay command center versus the television network video that everybody sees, that replay is to use the TV video,” Pereira told "The Athletic" on Sunday. “And that is the same protocol in the NFL, in the UFL. It’s the same. You use the footage that everybody sees if there is a discrepancy."

However, in the Instant Replay Case Book, it is not distinctly stated that they use the television clock, but "the game clock superimposed on the replay monitor," which was the clock in the stadium, as Michigan was the home team and the home conference.

Basically, the camera that was trained on the clock in the stadium showed a second remaining, and that is why officials added that crucial second back, allowing for one final play from Michigan, but the television clock seemed to be running a few tenths of a second fast. The Big Ten even released a video with audio of the replay deliberations, showing their reasoning and the clock still having time left on it when the ball touched a Western Michigan defender who was out of bounds.

So, the MAC can try to appeal the loss as much as it wants, but the protocols it is referencing are not clear-cut, as Pereira said they are in the NFL and the UFL. This Hail Mary from the MAC probably won't be as successful as Michigan's was at the end of the game.

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