Clock controversy: NCAA says officials botched replay protocol in Michigan's win over Western Michigan

Turns out, had the officials followed the correct protocol during the highly-controversial finish to the Western Michigan versus Michigan game earlier this month, the Wolverines would currently have a loss on their record.

The ending of what was one of the wildest games of the season remains a major talking point nearly three weeks after Michigan won on a second Hail Mary attempt in the final seconds of its season opener.

Should the Wolverines have been awarded an additional second on the clock? The NCAA's FBS oversight committee doesn’t think so.

MICHIGAN-WESTERN MICHIGAN CLOCK CONTROVERSY LEAVES PLAYERS, FANS AND A RULES ANALYST PUZZLED During the first attempt, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood put too much on his pass, which sailed through the back of the end zone.

But, due to a Western Michigan player touching the ball with what Big Ten officials said transpired with :01 seconds remaining on the clock, Michigan was allowed to line up for one final play with the game on the line.

I think you know what happened next: Bryce Underwood connected with a receiver for the second Hail Mary attempt of the drive, with Michigan winning 13-12 in shocking fashion.

The controversy centered around how the Wolverines were awarded the additional time needed to complete the second pass.

During their review of the play, Big Ten officials were using a different clock than what was being seen on national television, causing all sorts of confusion across the country as viewers looked on in shock.

CRAIG CARTON BLASTS MICHIGAN FANS FOR STORMING FIELD AFTER CONTROVERSIAL WIN: 'THEY’RE A BUNCH OF MORONS' How in the world could the NBC broadcast clock show that time had expired, but Big ten officials were seeing this in a different light? Turns out, the network and Big Ten explained that the television clock was not synced up correctly with the actual game clock.

So, the review team awarded Michigan with one final second of game action, but they actually shouldn’t have even been in that situation.

But, on Wednesday night, the FBS Oversight Committee released a summary of the events, noting that if the officials had gone about the replay process in the correct manner, Western Michigan would be sitting here today with a win over the Michigan Wolverines.

"The committee consulted with national officiating leadership regarding the instant replay protocols," the FBS committee stated .

"Based on that information, the committee agreed that the instant replay protocols were not followed in the contest’s second-to-last play.

Had the protocols been followed, the outcome of the game would have been different." SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY OUTKICK NEWSLETTER Unfortunately for anyone hoping Western Michigan would be awarded the win, a caveat in the NCAA’s statement makes that a moot point.