EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Given an unlikely second chance at a game-ending Hail Mary, Bryce Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdown pass that lifted No. 16 Michigan over Western Michigan 13-12 on Saturday night.The Wolverines were 27-point favorites in coach Kyle Whittingham's debut. The Broncos and their stingy defense thought they had secured a historic upset when Underwood's first Hail Mary sailed out of bounds as the clock expired.WMU players were already on the field celebrating when officials called for a review. TV replays showed the clock hitting zero before the ball hit the hands of Western Michigan safety Micah Davis, but officials ruled there was a second still to play."I was pretty sure there was 1 second left," Whittingham said.Underwood heaved another throw, and Buchanan leaped to snag it and came down with it in the end zone."One for the history books right here," Whittingham said.The Big Ten stood by the review in a statement released two hours after the game, when it also published a recording of the replay as it was reviewed by the officials that showed the game clock at 1 second when the ball was touched by Davis."It was determined Western Michigan No. 18 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," the conference said, citing rule that stops the clock on such contact.Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said the conference and school contacted the Big Ten office, seeking clarification on the review and was provided with an explanation along with video and audio that confirmed it. Steinbrecher thanked the Big Ten for its prompt response.WMU went ahead for the first time early in the fourth quarter on Dieter Kelly's 39-yard field goal that capped a 20-play drive that took 13:40 off the clock.Underwood started strong with a touchdown drive and finished it well, but he made a lot of mistakes in between. He lost a fumble at his 31 with 1:50 left after throwing an interception in the first half and nearly getting picked off two more times."This isn't on Bryce Underwood," Whittingham said. "It's on me."Kelly, a junior-college transfer from College of San Mateo, made his fourth field goal with 35 seconds left to force the Wolverines to score a touchdown to win - and they did in dramatic fashion.Western Michigan, which has played major college football since 1962 in the Mid-American Conference, has never beaten an opponent in the top 20 of the Associated Press poll.The Associated Press contributed to this report.
