Michigan's phantom second and college football’s worst calls of Week 1

College football just witnessed a literal highway robbery. The Michigan Wolverines "beat" Western Michigan on Saturday night, 13-12. That's in quotation marks because, in reality, the Broncos won the game. We all saw it. The clock was at zeroes and they led 13-7 after a Hail Mary attempt by Bryce Underwood fell incomplete. Then the refs had to get involved.

The officials "found" a second on the clock for Michigan, awarding them a final play. Where that second came from, well, that's anyone's guess. There wasn't a single replay that showed any time left on the clock when the ball was touched. The game was over. Until it wasn't.

Of course, we all knew the script. Of course, Michigan was going to score a touchdown on the second Hail Mary attempt. Of freaking course.

You've got to feel for Western Michigan. They fought from start to finish and got hosed. Repeatedly. There were missed face mask and running into the kicker penalties.

There's home cooking and then there's what happened on Saturday night in Ann Arbor.

So we can put to bed the debate over who the worst refs of the weekend were. It's the crew in charge of Michigan vs. Western Michigan.

That doesn't mean there weren't other calls that were egregiously bad. College football refs are and always have been the worst. And they always deliver.

Colorado's backwards pass vs. Georgia Tech

Colorado beat Georgia Tech in the waning seconds on Thursday night. It was a dramatic ending that culminated in the Buffalo blocking a field goal to preserve the lead JuJu Lewis had just given them in the final minute.

Would that ending have looked different if the refs had gotten this call correct?

With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Lewis was hit while he threw. The call on the field was a fumble, but replay review looked at it and determined it was an incomplete pass. Which is fine. Lewis' arm was coming forward. But did the ball come forward? Rules analyst Terry McAuley felt that it was indeed a backwards pass, which meant it should have been a live ball recovered by the defense.

Colorado went on to punt, but they took a minute off the clock, giving the Yellow Jackets 1:07 to try to score before the half. Their drive went nowhere. So maybe the change in possession wouldn't have mattered. Then again, an offense's approach could be very different with two minutes to work with (including the two-minute warning) instead of just one.

Catch-fumble inconsistency in Boston College vs. Cincinnati

I don't know what a catch is. I don't think anyone does. It used to be I thought I knew what a catch-fumble looked like. But apparently I don't either. No one does. Certainly not the referees in Saturday's game between Boston College and Cincinnatti. They gave us ample proof of that.

The Eagles were the red zone in the second quarter when Danny Edgehille appeared to catch a pass just before the goal line. As he turned upfield, a defender knocked the ball out of his arms, but luck was on his side as he was able to recover the ball in the end zone. However, the refs ruled it an incompletion on the field and BC was denied the score. They went on to miss a field goal to end the drive.

That sure looks like a catch-fumble to my eyes, and many on social media. But maybe the refs just have a more strict view of what a catch is— no, no they don't. They're just making it up as they go, apparently. Because how do you explain this?

In almost the exact same sequence on Boston College's first drive of the second half, the refs ruled Brady Clough's catch-fumble a catch-fumble. Spot the difference. Both catch the ball and begin to turn upfield when the ball comes out. One was an incompletion. The other was a fumble. Both calls benefitted Cincinnati. Insert shrug emoji here.

Consistency is key when it comes to refs. If you're going to call it tight on incompletions, then call it tight. If you're going to call it loose, then call it loose. You can't flip a coin with each incident.

Kick catch interference doesn't exist in Oregon vs. Boise State

Boise State gave Oregon a game and a half on Saturday afternoon, to the delight of college football fans everywhere who were tired of top 10 teams blowing out everyone in their path. The Broncos and Ducks went toe-to-toe, battling until the final minutes before Oregon sealed the victory with a fourth-down stop.

When the underdog has a call go against them, it gets people fired up. It's unfair. But when the home favorite has a call go against them? Often times it's silent. Not here. Simply put, Oregon got screwed on Evan Stewart's muffed punt in the second quarter of a tie game.

Stewart muffed the punt and Boise State recovered, but replays showed a clear case of kick catch interference. There is a halo around the returner that defenders cannot breach. He has to be given a clear chance to field the punt. In this case, the defender clearly got into Stewart's halo and disrupted his efforts to catch the ball.

It was a costly error from the refs and Boise State went on to score a touchdown on the next play, taking a 14-7 lead.

If Oregon had gone on to lose the game, this missed call would have been a national talking point.

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