When the final whistle blew in Ann Arbor on Saturday night, Western Michigan thought they had pulled off a shocker. But a controversial extra second added to the clock gave Michigan one last shot, and a 13-12 heartbreak for the Broncos. Western Michigan President Russ Kavalhuna immediately looked for a way to formally appeal the ruling, only to find out that college football has no door open for such appeals.

CNN’s Omar Jimenez shared a clip of an interview with the WMU president, where Kavalhuna spoke about what he learned since the final whistle and where he stood on the controversial finish. He did not accuse anyone of wrongdoing, but made it clear that he wasn’t willing to move on without answers.

“I’m a former federal prosecutor, I looked in depth about it,” Western Michigan Pres. Russ Kavalhuna said. “I’m not in love with the process that was applied. The league is looking with one set of cameras, and the viewers are looking with another… and I told the commissioner of BIG about that.”

NBC’s rules expert Terry McAulay openly questioned the call during the broadcast, pointing out that the game clock hit zero while the ball was still hanging in the air. When the broadcast clock and the stadium scoreboard both read 0:00, Western Michigan had every reason to believe the game was over.

The moment officials went to the monitor and put that extra second back on the board, it transformed a standard ending into a heavily disputed call. Kavalhuna acknowledged that controversy is part of college football, but said he looked into the situation closely to support Western Michigan’s players and ensure the process was handled fairly.

“This football team was supposed to lose by 28 points,” Kavalhuna said. “This football team won its league last year, and we’re on a trajectory. And frankly, we were the better team on the field last night. And we plan to take this and go forward.”

Kavalhuna praised the Broncos’ performance, noting that Western Michigan controlled the ball for more than twice Michigan’s time of possession and did enough to put themselves in a position to win. Despite the controversial final call that gave Michigan another extra second, he believes Western Michigan showed it belonged at the Big House and handled the setback in the right way.

The WMU President believes the game showed people what Western Michigan is about, especially after having “a victory taken from us in a difficult way.” Kavalhuna believes the loss can become a lesson for the program rather than something that holds it back. “When we get knocked down, we get back up, and you’re going to see that,” he said.

Russ Kavalhuna made it clear that, regardless of the controversy, he would stand behind his players and help them move forward. His comments leave the door open for the Big Ten to explain the extra second controversial call, while the official decided the ruling was correct.

Big Ten Defends Referee Decision After Michigan’s Controversial Win Over Western Michigan

The Big Ten stood firmly with the referee’s final call, as the conference released a statement defending the ruling. It insisted the final decision came down to precise camera synchronization rather than any kind of favoritism, pointing out that Michigan still had one second left on the clock.

“Following video review, it was determined Western Michigan player #18 started his jump from an out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock,” the conference’s statement read, per On3. The statement further read that all broadcast cameras, including the stadium clock, are synced 85 minutes before kickoff using a strobe system, leaving no room for any error with the clock timings.

“As shown in the provided video of what was viewed during the replay process, 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,” the statement read.

The result stays exactly the same as it was on Saturday night, with the Big Ten not budging and Western Michigan unable to appeal further. The Broncos can only take the disappointment into their home opener against Monmouth and turn a painful finish into motivation for the rest of the season.