The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546678
22 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2026 BY ANTHONY BROOME T here were zeros on the clock. Sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan had already taken off his helmet. U-M's first Hail Mary attempt against Western Michigan on Sept. 5 sailed out of the back of the north end zone at the Big House. As far as anyone on the sideline could tell, the game was over, and the Wolverines were on the receiving end of a historic upset. "My mind was just kind of blank," Buchanan said. "The last play of the game — before the [second] Hail Mary, I thought the game was over. I took my helmet off; I was just thinking about next week, how we were going to bounce back from this." Then the on-field officials went to the monitor to check if time had actu- ally expired. Head coach Kyle Whitting- ham had a hunch before the review even started. "As I watched the first Hail Mary end and the ball sailed out of the back of the end zone, as I glanced at the clock, I was pretty sure there was one second left, but that obviously is not up to me," Whit- tingham said in his postgame press con- ference. "But as the refs went to replay, they confirmed it, and so it gave us one more opportunity." Given one final second and another Hail Mary attempt that a study at ESPN found in 2020 as approximately a 1-in-12 chance of converting, the Wolverines took advantage of the opportunity. Sophomore quarterback Bryce Under- wood delivered a 47-yard strike toward the front of the end zone to Buchanan, who high-pointed the football and came down with it in the end zone to send those remaining at Michigan Stadium into a frenzy. U-M snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and the chaos of the fans pouring onto the field in relief was only outdone by the national noise that followed in the days and weeks to come. "Honestly, I was locked in," Buchanan said. "Even when I thought it was over, [wide receivers coach Micah Simon] came up to me and said, 'There's one second left.' My helmet goes back on, I strap up, and I was ready to go." Underwood had resigned himself to the loss, too, and had to reset just as fast once officials put time back on the clock. "When I saw zeros on the clock, it looked like we lost the game," Underwood MIRACLE MIRACLE IN MAIZE IN MAIZE Inside Week 1's Chaotic Hail Michigan Moment, And The Discourse That Followed With a second chance at redemption, Hail Michigan was a success on Sept. 5 when receiver JJ Buchanan hauled in a 47-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Underwood to escape against Western Michigan. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL