College football 2026

[GrahamWellington]

Well well well, how the turn tables...

[bmw]

I see Western Michigan received 12 votes in the AP poll, putting them squarely as ranked at #32. Michigan fell to 28.

[bmw]

Well holy shit, why was this not quoted earlier? I think we might finally have an answer.



https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/champi ... esBook.pdf

So WRITTEN PROTOCOL DOES IN FACT call for them to use the video "directly from the televised production of the game"!!!

They can also use other video footage, but it must be "available to the television producer."

I would LOVE to hear a statement from NBC as to whether the footage the replay crew used was readily available to NBC. It sure did not seem to be given the long delay time NBC had before finally showing their clock camera and giving their explanation.

[Robert Faygo]

So, you're saying there's a chance?

Seriously though, I'd be in full favor of them overturning it if the B1G didn't follow protocol. The "or" in that statement gives a lot of wiggle room ("or from other video available to the replay official").

What this is going to come down to is what the definition of available is. Was the feed available to NBC and they chose not to use it?

[bmw]

And that's the million dollar question. The second question is, if NBC in fact did NOT have access to that camera, does their corporate brass have the balls to put out a public statement to that effect?

This whole thing was fishy from the moment I saw it, and the more that this get dug into, the fishier it keeps looking.

EDIT - this also begs the question as to exactly what the MAC Commissioner knows. Because I don't think he has this change of heart and comes forward in this manner unless he knows something beyond the mere existence of the rule.

[Honeyman]

We all know nothing will change. BIG and/or NCAA might issue an apology, but the result will stand. All it will do is confirm to everybody what they saw with their own eyes is correct, Michigan lost and further cement the distrust in college athletics.

[bmw]

What this is going to come down to is what the definition of available is.

Are you suggesting they're going to invoke the Bill Clinton defense?

It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement.

[bmw]

We all know nothing will change. BIG and/or NCAA might issue an apology, but the result will stand. All it will do is confirm to everybody what they saw with their own eyes is correct, Michigan lost and further cement the distrust in college athletics.

I tend to agree, but man, this whole thing just keeps getting worse for the Big 10. And Public opinion is overwhelmingly against them. Sometimes very strong backlash accomplishes certain things.

And while hell may have frozen over since I'm agreeing with TCT, I think he is spot-on in his assessment that one of the reasons public opinion is so skewed one way is because of how much people already hated U of M football to begin with. Then you add to that the underdog nature of a small school like Western Michigan and the perception (right or wrong) that the bigger conference is corrupt, well.....the Big 10's public image right now, today, is perhaps as tarnished as I've ever seen it. At some point some form of damage control has to happen.

[Robert Faygo]

I think we're all in 100% agreement about why there is so much blowback on Michigan. They've more than earned all the scorn.

What's fascinating to me is the sudden wall we've seemingly hit after years and years of using more and more technology to officiate games. Football was more fun with human error being accepted as part of the game. High school is all we have left - and even then, video has creeped in to the finals here in Michigan.

[Honeyman]

[Matt]

This is unprecedented and a slippery slope. This should be condemned.

[MWmetalhead]

This is unprecedented and a slippery slope. This should be condemned.

Maybe Michigan shouldn't have played like total horseshit. Their inexcusably abysmal performance on their home field is what I'm going to condemn. The players, to their credit, recognize their performance was unacceptably poor.

The Big Ten front office is filled with untrustworthy shitheads.

[NewzKiller]

What ever happened to officials keep time down on the field????

[Matt]

[Matt]

This is unprecedented and a slippery slope. This should be condemned.

Maybe Michigan shouldn't have played like total horseshit. Their inexcusably abysmal performance on their home field is what I'm going to condemn. The players, to their credit, recognize their performance was unacceptably poor.

The Big Ten front office is filled with untrustworthy shitheads.

Sure, no argument there. I have an issue with a guy arbitrarily changing the result of a game when the ratings are consequential.