09/07/26 03:02:00
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09/07 15:01 CDT Veteran coaches surprised that stadium clock was not official
clock in wild Michigan win Saturday
Veteran coaches surprised that stadium clock was not official clock in wild
Michigan win Saturday
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
Longtime coach Kyle Whittingham was unaware the stadium clock he watched
Saturday night at Michigan might not reflect the official game time. Purdue
coach Barry Odom also was caught off guard as he watched on television more
than 250 miles away.
The two Big Ten coaches acknowledged Monday they did not know there could be a
discrepancy between what everyone was seeing on television and inside the
stadium and the conference's tracking system.
But that's how conference officials explained the dramatic finish in
Whittingham's debut for No. 16 Michigan. After time appeared to expire with
Western Michigan leading 12-7, the refs added 1 more second and the Wolverines
capitalized on their second chance with J.J. Buchanan hauling in Bryce
Underwood's desperation heave for a 47-yard touchdown and a stunning 13-12
victory.
"Well, I guess they have this Hawkeye system? I was unaware of that,"
Whittingham said Monday. "But as I looked, I knew it was close. When the ball
sailed back to the end zone, I glanced up at the clock, and it was just ticking
to zero, and somebody touched it. I didn't know who had touched it, but
apparently, it was a defender that had already established an out-of-bounds
position. I'm assuming they got it right. They looked at it, and the technology
they have is very advanced, I guess."
It was a learning experience for both longtime coaches, who are relatively new
to the Big Ten.
The 66-year-old Whittingham joined Utah's staff in 1994 and stayed through last
season, coming out of a brief retirement to take the Michigan job. He won a
school record 177 games including 11 bowl games as the Utes head coach from
2005-25.
The 49-year-old Odom returned to his alma mater, Missouri, as an assistant
coach in 2003 and spent a total of 14 seasons on the Tigers staff, the last
four as their head coach. His tenure at Missouri was split by a short stint at
Memphis, from 2012-14, and following his firing as the Tigers head coach in
2019, he went to Arkansas for three seasons before returning to the head
coaching ranks at UNLV in 2023 and moving to Purdue in 2025.
The Boilermakers (1-0) beat Indiana State 44-19 on Friday night to snap a
10-game losing streak.
"I didn't until Saturday night," Odom said at his weekly news conference when
asked if he was aware a second clock, not visible inside the stadium, kept the
official game time.
The Big Ten issued a statement two hours after the game, clarifying the process
that was used and citing the rule that was enforced about when the clock stops
if a player touches the ball out of bounds.
"It was determined (Western Michigan safety Micah Davis) started his jump from
an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the
ball with 1 second remaining on the clock," the conference said. "A
side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the
game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling."
Based on that explanation, Whittingham and Odom believe the refs got it right.
Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher and Western Michigan
President Russ Kavalhuna also told ESPN on Sunday night they accepted the
explanation though Kavalhuna believes more transparency is needed. The Broncos
(0-1) play in the MAC.
"If you look at what they saw, then you reach the conclusion they reached,"
Kavalhuna said. "However, if you look at what the broadcasters broadcast, you
reach a different conclusion. I think it would be good to ask ourselves, can we
sync those up so that the viewers could see what the officials would be looking
at?"
The ACC even allows television viewers to hear the discussion between the game
officials and the replay center before reaching a conclusion.
But it wasn't just fans who were confused.
"I believe those charged with orchestrating, administering and officiating the
game, they have to make decisions based on all the information they get, and
then it's their job to communicate that to us. I would assume that's what
happened in Ann Arbor," Odom said. "Like the other night, we were exiting the
field for halftime and the official stopped me and said, ?Hey, we've got to
make sure that that last play there...' They wanted to make sure everything
lined up the way it did. So it's never over till it's over. Until they blow the
whistle or whatever that indicator is."
Whittingham now believes the matter is closed as he moves on from the
season-opening win and focuses on hosting No. 10 Oklahoma in one of this week's
featured games.
"I think everyone's fairly satisfied with the explanation. I am, and I think
Western Michigan came out with a statement that, ?Hey, we're not going to
question this anymore,'" he said. "They gave us a fairly transparent answer,
and we'll move forward."
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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.
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