AI Summary
5 min readThe Second That Changed College Football
Michigan was supposed to blow out Western Michigan. The Wolverines were 27.5-point favorites at home against a Mid-American Conference opponent. Instead, they played 60 minutes of terrible football, trailed at the end of regulation, and then something happened that had never happened before in 110,332 college football games dating back to 1869: a team that led at the end of regulation lost. The Big Ten replay booth found an extra second from somewhere, Michigan threw a Hail Mary, and the Wolverines escaped 13-12.
The Manufactured Second
The sequence that ended the game was straightforward to anyone watching live. The stadium clock at Michigan Stadium hit 0:00. Western Michigan players began celebrating what would have been the biggest win in program history. Then the Big Ten replay booth intervened. According to host Ben Maller, the conference "magically produced a replay center video claiming that it supported the one second ruling" — but "there's not a single man, woman, or child that watched that broadcast on NBC that believes that's authentic."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:07) **Episode Kickoff & The Big Ten Boondoggle** - Ben introduces the main story: Michigan’s controversial Hail Mary win over Western Michigan after the Big Ten added a phantom second to the clock.
- 2 (09:55) **Word of the Day: Carnival** - Ben coins a term for Michigan’s extra second and explains why the controversy is a manufactured conspiracy theory.
- 3 (15:02) **Kyle Whittingham’s Hollow Debut** - Ben shifts to the new Michigan coach, arguing he cannot exhale after this near-disaster.
- 4 (20:31) **Michigan’s Quarterback Crisis** - Ben zeroes in on the team’s biggest problem: Bryce Underwood’s terrible performance.
- 5 (21:42) **Peter Herbstreit’s Dog Merch Store** - Ben pivots to a second absurd story: Kirk Herbstreit’s traveling pop-up store for his golden retriever, Peter.
- 6 (26:56) **Dogs Don’t Need Merch** - Ben delivers a hot take on pet culture and the commercialization of sports.
- 7 (28:38) **Caller Segment: Alien Probe** - Ben takes a call from Van in Duluth, who offers his own term for the Michigan game.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Big Ben talks about Michigan getting an extra play to beat Western Michigan, if new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham can exhale after this Hail Mary victory, the ridiculousness of a traveling Peter Herbstreit merchandise store, and more!
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