Big Ten expanding its enhanced replay review coverage beyond Friday games

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten is expanding its plan to offer enhanced replay review insight during its football broadcasts.

That expanded replay review coverage takes effect this week and will include live audio between the game referee and replay official during reviews, alongside video of the game footage they’re viewing. There also will be a view inside the Big Ten replay center.

The Big Ten had announced last week it would offer these enhanced replay reviews during Friday night telecasts. The Big Ten adjusted that plan Wednesday by saying it will cover all conference games, as well as home nonconference matchups that have Big Ten officiating crews.

This change in plans comes amid the controversy surrounding the circumstances that enabled Michigan to try a second Hail Mary pass in its 13-12 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday. Michigan won the game on Bryce Underwood’s 47-yard pass to JJ Buchanan after one second was put back on the clock.

An NBC replay showed a clock expiring before the ball hit the ground or any player, leading to two days of questions about what clock everyone was looking at. NBC said the next day that its cameras “are not the official arbiter” of game time, that in this case it was the responsibility of the Big Ten.

The Big Ten said after the game — and reaffirmed Tuesday — that the call was correct and published a recording of the replay as it was reviewed by officials. The conference said it too used a shot of the game clock in the stadium, which showed 1 second remaining when the ball on the first Michigan pass was touched by WMU’s Micah Davis. Since Davis had just been out of bounds, the clock would stop on such contact.

Western Michigan is part of the Mid-American Conference, which initially accepted the Big Ten explanation but announced Tuesday it was appealing the outcome of the game.

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