Michigan was essentially gifted one extra second -- and a win -- by the replay booth in their non-loss against Western Michigan, and Georgia fans should take note that Kirby Smart and the players can only control so much.
Georgia can spend millions assembling a roster, Kirby Smart can spend nine months preparing it, and players can execute for 60 minutes, but that may not be enough. A national championship season can ultimately hinge on somebody sitting in a replay booth deciding whether 0:00 actually means 0:00.
While Western Michigan potentially upsetting Michigan was far from a national championship, it did demonstrate the futility that players and coaches can feel when the game is taken out of their hands.
Georgia didn't have to worry about that against Tennessee State, but what if?
Michigan's miracle never happens without one baffling second
If you didn't see it, the sequence was bizarre. Michigan was down 12-7 with just seconds remaining on the clock. Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood heaved a Hail Mary pass as time ran out, and that pass sailed past the back of the end zone.
By the rules, the clock doesn't stop until the ball is touched by a player, and the clock clearly showed 0:00 when that happened. Western Michigan began to celebrate, and the announcers began to riff on "shockwaves across the college football world."
And then it happened. The refs came back onto the field and said that, after a replay review, they were adding one second back to the clock.
NBC rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay was stunned by the call, as were announcers Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge. That single second led to yet another desperation heave by Underwood, which this time fell into the waiting arms of JJ Buchanan, sealing the Michigan victory in dramatic fashion.
Terry McAulay: "The ball isn't even close to touching a player when it goes to zero... Their Hawk-Eye system apparently had a different sync... I don't see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct... The ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero..." https://t.co/Krz3Dg5HTF pic.twitter.com/IcMjvHYaUo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 6, 2026
Georgia fans should hope their season never ends up in the hands of a replay booth
Like most teams, Georgia has been burned by bad officiating in the past (every Bulldog fan will maintain that Tyler Simmons was NOT offside), but seeing a call like this cause such a drastic change in the outcome of a game is almost terrifying.
With so much riding on every game, and so much money at stake for both the programs and now the players as well, the officiating can't be the deciding factor. When that happens, all the hard work, all the preparation, and all the effort and execution in the world can't overcome it.
Michigan was gifted a win. The Big Ten owes everyone an explanation, and every conference needs to take a closer look at how replay is used and what should be done when it's 100 percent wrong.
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