Spencer Danielson, the coach of Boise State, has a predicament. He needs to win against Western Michigan, a team he describes as “undefeated,” and he is contending that the official result is inaccurate. Danielson put forward that claim on Monday, ahead of the Week 4 matchup, and he defended his position by pointing to Western Michigan’s performance against Michigan, which he says was so strong that it ought to count as a victory.
Earlier this month, the NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee confirmed that following proper replay protocols would have changed the outcome of the Week 1 contest. Western Michigan would have accomplished a program-altering upset against the then-No. 16 Wolverines under those protocols. Instead, Michigan won 13-12.
Danielson has seen the tape.
Danielson’s Case for Undefeated
Danielson followed the game closely and reached a plain conclusion. He stated that the Broncos are an undefeated football team, no ifs, ands, or buts.
The rules were met with a defense of his position against them. He said that the result as stated does not reflect what happened on the field. He cited the play itself: Western Michigan beat Michigan at Michigan, and that is not empty talk. That is the truth of what happened.
The coach who has led his Pac-12 team for four seasons praised Western Michigan’s Lance Taylor and his staff during a visit to Kalamazoo. “I mean, that defense held Michigan to six points.”
What Happened in Ann Arbor
Michigan’s first desperation pass barely overshot the end zone in the game’s final moments in Ann Arbor, landing instead in the arms of Western Michigan safety Micah Davis. The officials there decided to wind back the clock and add a second to it.
The Big Ten detailed how during its replay review, the replay operation drew upon a camera zeroed in on a stadium clock that registered 0:01 when Davis made contact with the ball while rising from out of bounds. At that same moment, the clock superimposed onto the replay feed of the play itself showed nothing at all, its readout registering triple zeroes.
The result was a 13-12 Michigan victory. The NCAA has since established a “standard timing protocol” to ensure “consistency in the administration of all college football games.” The memo from NCAA national coordinator of officials Ron Snodgrass sets the rule: the official time is the in-stadium game clock, and replay officials should use the embedded feed clock when reviewing plays.
The Performance That Earned the Label
As Boise State’s head coach, Danielson has experienced elite competition firsthand. In his first full season in the position, he guided his program to the College Football Playoff, where it faced Penn State in a Fiesta Bowl CFP quarterfinal. This season, his Broncos gave then-No. 2 Oregon a run for its money early on, leading 17-7 before falling 34-27.
That is 2-1 Boise State’s lone loss. Danielson is hoping to guide the program back to the CFP. But first, he’ll have to get past a Western Michigan team he classifies as “undefeated.”
Since the team’s defeat against Michigan, the Broncos have secured two consecutive victories, meaning they would currently be sitting at 3-0 if the replay situation had been correctly managed.
The Coach’s Record
Danielson’s resume includes:
- A Fiesta Bowl CFP quarterfinal against Penn State
- A 17-7 lead against then-No. 2 Oregon
- A 2-1 record this season
The next test comes against Western Michigan. He has made his position clear: the Broncos are undefeated, and the result in Ann Arbor was a fluke.
The Replay Controversy
Danielson made the case that the replay controversy showed how close Western Michigan came to winning. He cited the defense that held Michigan to six points. The Wolverines ended up with 13 points, but Danielson was talking about the fact that Michigan scored only one touchdown prior to their Hail Mary attempt, which added three more to their total.
Western Michigan has not lost a game on paper, but the final result in college football sometimes fails to match what transpired on the field. Danielson is the reminder of that.
A Coach’s Take
Danielson is making an argument from a coaching perspective. He sees a team that earned its win by playing well but got a bad break on the clock.
The case is clear: the Broncos did all they had to do to win, but the call simply did not come their way.
A rule from the NCAA’s timing protocol now exists to stop something from repeating. Ron Snodgrass’s memo makes the rule plain: the official time is the game clock inside the stadium, and replay officials must use the embedded feed clock while checking plays.
In Danielson’s view, Western Michigan remains a 3-0 opponent, even though the record tells another story. The Broncos must overcome a squad that Danielson considers to have already bested a No. 16 Wolverines team in Ann Arbor.
Danielson has made his position clear: Western Michigan is undefeated, and he is not letting the official record get in the way of his respect for what they did. Whether the rest of the college football world agrees is another matter.
Source material: “Boise State's Spencer Danielson labels Western Michigan 'undefeated,' says 'they absolutely beat Michigan',” Yahoo Sports.
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