Ball State-Western Michigan delivered most insane ending you have to see to believe (Video)

Has there ever been a more MACtion play than this one? We’d argue not.

Ball State punched their ticket to the MAC Championship Game with a win over Western Michigan in the final seconds. If only the game story were that simple.

Beat writers in the press box in Muncie, IN are bound to work overtime trying to explain exactly what happened on the final play of regulation. To be frank, it’s tough to do in print. The benefit of video is valuable, as there were double-digit laterals on a play that resembled the infamous 1982 Cal-Stanford affair, otherwise known as ‘The Band is Out on the Field!’ game. We’ll let you be the judge.

Unfortunately for Western Michigan, the play was called back

Somewhere within that chaos, there was forward lateral, hence making the miracle play illegal. But that’s not the point of the story, of course.

First, Ball State players were celebrating on the field of play as the ball was still rolling around on the turf. Once several coaches realized that fact, they rushed the team back onto the sidelines. Perhaps even worse, the ESPN+ feed cut out just as the officials were explaining to the audience why the touchdown didn’t count, which was due to a forward lateral. This left anyone viewing the game from home in the dark, until they were cued in by social media.

Ball State advances to face Buffalo in the MAC championship next week. This is the second straight year that Western Michigan has lost in their season finale to miss out on the conference title game, though perhaps no defeat was as painful as this one.

Tim Lester and Co. truly ripped defeat from the jaws of victory, but not before experiencing the most confusing swing of emotions in college football this season.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.