Bryce Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan on a 47-yard Hail Mary on the game’s final play as No. 16 Michigan survived a huge scare and defeated Western Michigan 13-12 in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday.
The Wolverines hadn’t scored since their opening drive and seemed headed for a stunning upset in Kyle Whittingham’s head coaching debut. Western Michigan appeared to have pulled off its first-ever win over Michigan in nine attempts on the previous play when Underwood’s heave fell out of bounds but the officials ruled there was still one second remaining.
A 28-yard pass to Buchanan put Michigan (1-0) in Broncos territory.
Underwood passed for 170 yards and rushed for a team-high 47 yards on nine carries, including Michigan’s other touchdown. Buchanan caught six passes for 126 yards.
Dieter Kelly kicked four field goals for Western Michigan (0-1). Broc Lowry passed for 89 yards, and Jalen Buckley gained 62 yards on 19 carries.
The Wolverines’ offense got off to a good start, driving 75 yards on 11 plays during their first possession. Underwood completed all five of his passes for 61 yards before scoring on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal.
Western Michigan also scored on its first drive on Kelly’s 52-yard field goal.
A turnover allowed the Broncos to pull within a point. Dillon Moore intercepted an Underwood pass and went out of bounds at the Michigan 26-yard line with nine seconds left in the half. Kelly’s 45-yard field attempt on the final play of the half just cleared the crossbar, leaving the Wolverines clinging to a 7-6 halftime lead.
Western Michigan started a drive at its own 8-yard line with 9:05 left in the third quarter and still had possession when the fourth quarter began. The 20-play drive finally ended with 10:25 remaining on Kelly’s 39-yard field goal.
After another Wolverines punt, the Broncos chewed up more time before punting it back to Michigan, which started the possession from its 7-yard line with 3:10 left. Underwood scampered for 13 yards on the third play of the drive but Josh Franklin forced a fumble and Kedrick Burley recovered at the Wolverines’ 31-yard line.
Western Michigan picked up one first down before Kelly made a 33-yard attempt with 35 seconds remaining for a 12-7 lead.
