“Terrible”: Controversial Decisions Help Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan Again as Calls Mount Against Officials
from Essentially College Football
The Wolverines escaped controversy in their season opener, or perhaps walked straight into it. A referee’s intervention against WMU became the talking point of the night, and now, with Oklahoma in town, Michigan Stadium appears to be witnessing another moment that has fans talking.
Michigan’s clash with Oklahoma put the officials under immediate scrutiny in the Week 2 clash at Ann Arbor. Flags piled up early, and social media erupted as fans saw a pass interference call against the Sooners as the referees attempted to again rescue Michigan’s struggling offense.
The reaction did not come out of nowhere. Michigan entered the Oklahoma game under an officiating microscope after its dramatic escape against Western Michigan in the season opener. Trailing 12-7, the Wolverines appeared to have run out of time when Bryce Underwood’s first Hail Mary fell incomplete.
Officials reviewed the sequence and restored one second to the clock, ruling that Western Michigan defensive back Micah Davis touched the ball after jumping from an established out-of-bounds position. That decision gave Michigan one final chance to change the result.
Underwood made the extra snap count, connecting with JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdown on the final play to secure a 13-12 win. The Big Ten later released replay video and audio backing its determination that one second remained when Davis touched the ball.
Television replays, however, appeared to show the clock reaching zero, leaving fans and observers split over whether Michigan should have received another play. By the time Oklahoma arrived in Ann Arbor, every close whistle was bound to draw a sharper reaction.
With Michigan backed up at its own 23-yard line on its first drive of the game and facing a daunting third-and-nine, Bryce Underwood’s incomplete pass appeared to end the drive. However, a pass interference penalty against Oklahoma’s C. Guillory handed the Wolverines a crucial lifeline.
After that, the Wolverines found themselves in another third-down situation near midfield later in the first quarter when a pass interference call against Oklahoma’s Courtland Guillory extended the drive.
The break proved costly as Bryce Underwood soon burst 38 yards for a touchdown against the Sooners, giving Michigan a badly needed lift after last week’s fiasco. The decision frustrated college football fans, who took to social media to call out the officials.
“This is an SEC officiating crew working Oklahoma-Michigan in case you were wondering,” said College Football insider Andy Staples. One fan ripped the referees, saying, “Not a good start by the refs when you have to clarify this 5 minutes into the game.”
“Here we go again. MICHIGAN vs. Oklahoma. 4th down, Michigan runs into the kicker,” One fan wrote, calling out all the questionable calls that occurred during the game. “Flag thrown; Oklahoma ball. Then, on 4th down again, Michigan runs into the kicker—no flag called. Come on, man. These refs are ridiculous.”
That was just the beginning, as Oklahoma fans found another reason to question the officiating when safety Michael Boganowski was flagged for targeting following a hard hit on Bryce Underwood, only for the call to be overturned after review.
The fans didn’t even like the fumble call on Oklahoma’s Parker Livingstone, which secured Michigan its first turnover of the game. In the initial view, it appeared that Livingstone’s knee was down before a Michigan player knocked the ball out of his hands. However, the replay showed that the correct call was made. Livingstone’s knee wasn’t down.
However, with a lot of close calls going in Michigan’s favor, the frustration among fans over the officiating is understandable. Ironically, the officials were from the SEC under an agreement allowing the visiting team’s conference to provide the referees.
Last week’s game was also controversial, even though the Big Ten provided its side of the story. However, that has not stopped fans from believing that Michigan is once again receiving favorable treatment.
One fan blamed the conference, saying, “Makes sense, SEC officiating is terrible.”
“So the refs are already favoring Michigan. Cool. This game isn’t going to be fun. #Oklahoma #Michigan,” a fan added.
Another fan pointed out how the game appeared to have been made favorable for Michigan, writing, “4 blatant bad calls all for OU halfway thru the first quarter lmao.”
Whatever fans made of the officiating, Michigan ultimately backed up its early advantage with a 17-10 win over No. 11 Oklahoma. Underwood responded to the scrutiny after the Western Michigan scare by rushing for 87 yards and completing 9 of 17 passes for 111 yards without a turnover.
The game turned in the fourth quarter when Jyaire Hill intercepted John Mateer at the Oklahoma 30 and returned the ball 24 yards. The takeaway gave Michigan a chance to break the tie, and Jordan Marshall finished the short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:53 remaining. It was the decisive sequence after Oklahoma had briefly seized momentum in the second half.
Mateer had connected with Mackenzie Alleyne for a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but Oklahoma could not complete a late comeback. The Sooners turned the ball over on downs near midfield with just over three minutes remaining, then ran out of time on their final possession.
Michigan’s response on the field will give Whittingham plenty to build on after a turbulent opening week. But the debate over the officials is likely to linger, especially after the Western Michigan clock controversy had already put every close call involving the Wolverines under a microscope. Michigan got the win it needed against Oklahoma, yet the whistles remained a major part of the conversation.