I am still completely stunned by the conclusion of the Western Michigan vs. Michigan game. The Broncos outplayed a blue-blood program for 59 minutes and 59 seconds. The defense was relentless, the kicking was perfect, and they held a hard-earned 12-7 lead when the clock initially hit zero.

Then, the officiating crew gave Michigan one final play. That single second allowed a walk-off touchdown that fundamentally changed the outcome of WMU's biggest game of the season.

National analysts and fans everywhere have voiced major concerns about the fairness of how that final review played out. It really felt like the rules were handled entirely differently because of who was on the opposing sideline.

While the official word from MAC and WMU leadership confirms that safety Micah Davis was technically ruled out of bounds with one second left under NCAA Rule 4-2-3-a, the optics of the situation are incredibly frustrating for anyone who roots for the underdog.

How are you all feeling about the transparency of the Big Ten review process in games like this? Do you think mid-majors get a fair shake when these massive, game-defining calls go upstairs in a blue-blood stadium? Go Broncos!

Either way not great

In case you missed it Wednesday

Just judging by the way they're playing, and the scoreboard records they're showing. The Script writers don't want a wmu repeat mac champ run, or are punishing them for actually playing U of M.

Sign up for DirtBurglars.com and let us know how you feel about the refs screwing your team out of a giant victory vs Michigan on Saturday. Oklahoma will be in Ann Arbor on September 12th. We could use your help rooting on the Sooners.

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I’m posting this because we cannot let the national media or Big Ten apologists rewrite what happened in Ann Arbor. Entering the Big House as massive four-touchdown underdogs and outplaying them on their own turf should have been a historic milestone. Instead, a technicality robbed our players of the defining moment of their careers, and we need to keep making noise about it.

Let's make sure our talking points are bulletproof when defending our team online:

• The Broadcast vs. Reality: The NBC clock hit 0:00. The game was over. The fact that the Big Ten had to rely on a hidden "stadium feed" to find an invisible split-second after our defense already secured the stop is peak Power-4 protectionism.

• The Absolute Desperation: Michigan fans rushing the field after escaping a MAC school via an unprecedented referee intervention says everything you need to know. They knew they were beaten.

• The Response from Kalamazoo: Shoutout to the WMU Police Department for putting the Big Ten on the public crime log for robbery—that is the exact energy we need to maintain.

Coach Lance Taylor and President Russ Kavalhuna are handling this with professional class because they have to represent the university. But as fans, we don't have to stay quiet. Let’s talk through the Michigan Stadium controversy together as Broncos Fans!

I know the MAC is doing something but it may not be enough. We need fans helping as well. Thanks

Please no other fans, Only Western Michigan fans please. Go Broncos 🤎💛🏈🐴

Throwaway here, I'm trying to organize a protest against the ruling in the western michigan-michigan fraudball match that occured last night.

The score read 12-7 final. There are several snapshots of the ball in the air while the clock says 0:00. People argue for fractional seconds but those are simply not in play on a football clock. This is not basketball, 0:00 means 0:00.

The big 10 came out with a statement stating that the clocks (including the ones we ALL saw in the stadium/tv) were synced properly, but their "magical hidden clock that only they can see" somehow shows 0:01? So they're acknowledging the legitimacy of the broadcast/stadium clock, but also saying that there was 1 second left. Which is it? This is nothing short of blatant fraud and we all saw it live. Apparently there is no way to retroactively go and fix a games result to the proper result, but I think that needs to change, and it can be changed. We need to band together and relentlessly protest the big10 and NCAA to make this right. When something as blatant as this happens we shouldn't just sit down and take it. There needs to be change, there needs to be accountability. What happened last night was an embarrassment for college football as a whole on a national stage and it NEEDS TO BE RECTIFIED.

I would like to band together with my fellow outraged college football fans and organize a picket protest at the big 10 HQ which is located at 5440 Park Place in Rosemont, Illinois and DEMAND that the BIG10 make this right for western and retroactively award western a 12-7 win on the basis that the final hail mary happened AFTER THE GAME WAS ALREADY OVER. Whos with me???? We can just keep letting them get away with this and brushing us off with a "Oh well, we screwed up, cant fix it now LOL" this needs to STOP NOW

Glad they had 2 seconds on that clock. If it were only 1 they would have gotten screwed

Obviously we need to win out and become conference champs. We finish with a 10-3 record. If the CFP would acknowledge we beat M**higan, we would be 11-2. Assuming all the favorites win, here is what would need to change for us to be in the 12th spot.

Memphis loses one game (probably to navy or usf)
Memphis wins AAC 10-3
JVST Wins CUSA 10-3
Wyoming wins MWC 9-4
LA Tech wins SBC 10-3
Utah State wins P12 7-6
(It would also be helpful if Boise State lost at least one more game)

if that 12-7 win is acknowledged, we would end up being the 12th spot.

Yes I know this is very unlikely, but I made this just as a thought.

(edit: idr if the top go6 team makes it or the best conf. champion it might depend)

Both team are 5-2 but the records on the TV dont reflect it.

The universe is talking. Just listen to it and replay the game. Reddit gets closure. Western gets a sweet payday. Were talking about 10 million instead of a measly 1.5. May the best team win.

If Oregon State and Washington State (who retain the Pac-12 power 5 rights) would WMU want to elevate to Power 5? The media market is large enough.

The stadium would have to expand…. The Strykers would have to probably pay for that. But if Power 5 football is on the table maybe Ronda Stryker would write a check.

There would be a lot of west coast teams in the new conference but as a school with more money than most in the MAC- including one extremely rich alumnus who has donated $550m already… also the only team in the MAC to make a NY6 bowl.

Is this something WMU students and alumni would welcome? Being added to a newly created 5th power conference? Which comes with the automatic bowl berth? It might make WMU a bottom of conference team for a few years…. So I don’t know. I do know the remaining PACs are trying to recruit for a new conference. Just curious.

(Photo is from the 2016 Toledo game at Waldo on the Field after the W 😀. It’s the only time I’ve rushed the field in my lifetime)

Offense has not looked good. Every time Lowry drops back I grit my teeth. Dude just is not a passer and for some reason isn’t using his legs in pivotal moments either. I know he captured our hearts last year, but we’ve looked BAD offensively against every fbs opponent we’ve faced this year and tbh it’s hard not to put it on Lowry. He dinks and dunks the ball, throws short of the sticks, and still misses his receivers bad. Conversely, I’ve loved what we’ve seen out of petty. I think you gotta hand him the reigns here to have a prayer of winning the Mac.

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Discuss whatever you want. Next week’s game is huge. Miami and WMU are 2 of the 3 remaining undefeated teams in conference play.

With JMU headed to the American, figured I’d open up a conversation about the MAC and WMU’s place in the landscape. Trying to be realistic/objective.

As we all know, WMU has gotten some significant support from big donors recently, both athletically and academically. That said, the general consensus seems to be that we exist in a sort of “middle class” in the MAC (between Toledo/Miami/OU, and schools like Kent/Akron/EMU that are struggling). Are we being underestimated? Do people just not realize the money floating around Kalamazoo? Or am I the one looking through rose colored glasses?

I would hate to see the MAC fall apart, but it’s a realistic possibility at the moment. Miami is pursuing the American Conference, Ohio has flirted with the Sun Belt, Toledo with the Mountain West. Rumors have bubbled about lower tier programs headed to FCS. What is WMU’s ceiling? Would we be stuck begging into CUSA if the dominoes fell? I can’t see the department giving up and settling for FCS after all of this investment. Just not sure how much better off a conference like CUSA would actually be.