NCAA committee says replay error affected outcome of Western Michigan-Michigan game

The NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee announced Wednesday that officials failed to follow instant-replay protocols during the second-to-last play of the season-opening matchup between Western Michigan and Michigan. The committee said it had consulted with national officiating leadership and determined that proper replay review would have changed the play’s outcome.

"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," the statement read.

The committee also noted that existing rules bar any appeal of a game’s result once it is declared final, meaning the official score will stand despite the acknowledged error.