by Anne Arbor, Michigan- The night started with high hopes and an anticipation of starting a new era in Michigan after last year’s circus ride behind the scenes. Kyle Whittingham is a name almost every college football fan knows as consistent, thanks to his team in Utah, where he made the Utes a nationally ranked team nearly every year.
The hopes and dreams of this Michigan team stay intact, but not in the fashion that was expected when the Go Blue banner was raised. Michigan defeated Western Michigan 13-12 in the final seconds of the game.
Before the hopes of Michigan dipped down and then back up again, the Wolverines gave fans a reason to be optimistic.
It started with a bang in the Whittingham era with a Bryce Underwood one-yard rushing touchdown. Everyone in the building thought that momentum would continue through the entire game.
That wasn’t the case as the boo birds came out early from the one hundred thousand-plus crowd at Michigan Stadium. Western Michigan played like giants in the big house with all of the odds against them.
Lance Taylor has turned the Broncos into a MAC workhorse, winning the title last season in a dominating fashion. That attitude continued thanks to a dynamic run game from quarterback Broc Lowry and lead back Jalen Buckley. They did just enough in the first half to get the Broncos into field goal range to make the score seven to three.
At the end of the first half, Michigan was slowly marching into field goal range. Underwood unraveled in this game, and it started with one bad throw at the end of the half that gave the Broncos a chance to kick a field goal to make it a seven-to-six ballgame before the half.
The second half played out like an old-school ground-and-pound football game. Western Michigan took its time and moved the ball down the field to gain the lead in the fourth quarter. The game only got stranger from here.
Just before the two-minute mark, Underwood fumbled the ball on a pick-up of 14 yards on his own red zone. With time ticking down and Western Michigan with possession, the Michigan faithful began to leave the big house.
Michigan burned all its timeouts as the the Broncos drained the clock to under 40 seconds and kicked the field goal to make the score 12-7.
Underwood, who struggled all day, tossed two deep balls to no one as the clock continued to drop. A pass to the 47-yard line set up a Hail Mary with nine seconds left to play.
Underwood tossed the ball out the back of the end zone as Western Michigan stormed the field in victory. As the Broncos celebrated, the officials reviewed the play and added a second to the game clock.
This will be a moment that fans across the country have already begun to argue over.
Underwood, with one last chance, was able to find the end zone and one of his top targets gliding high above the Broncos’ secondary. JJ Buchanan hauled in the Underwood pass with no time left in the game.
The last 30 seconds will be talked about across the country, as it has already become one of the biggest plays of the year. The fans that remained stormed the field is a moment that will also fill the headlines in Michigan’s season.
