It doesn't matter how much technology we have, how many cameras are on site, or how many refs are in the mix on the field or in command centers. At some point in time, errors compound and chaos reigns in college football.
No. 16 Michigan's incredible 13-12 victory Saturday over Western Michigan to start the 2026 season is just the latest in a long list of controversial endings in college football.
Here's a few of college football's most famous (or infamous) game-ending controversies -- depending on which side of the result you're on.
1. Fifth down: Colorado vs. Missouri (1990)
Buffaloes survive vs. Tigers after given extra down
The OG in the game of college football administrative malfeasance happened in 1990 when Colorado beat Missouri 33-31. The Buffs were awarded five downs (you will note four is the maximum according to the rules) and won the game as time expired on a down that obviously should never have happened.
Frankly, there's some discrepancy about whether Colorado QB Charles Johnson even scored on the down he never should have had, but you can add that to the list of stuff that went wrong on the play. As with many college football controversies in the past there's also this fun anecdote: it should be noted that the down-marker operator on the chain gang was a Missouri alum.
The fifth down also had a knock-on effect on the broader history of college football. Colorado went on to finish the season 10-1-1 and split a national championship with Georgia Tech.
2. One second left: 2009 Big 12 Championship Game
Texas' FG beats Nebraska after :01 put back on clock
Texas was ranked No. 3 and vying for a spot in the BCS title game, but was trailing the Cornhuskers 12-10 with time running out in the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Longhorns were driving, hoping that they would have a chance to kick a game-winning field goal, but it wouldn't come easy.
With Nebraska's Ndomakong Suh bearing down on him, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw a pass out of bounds on third down as time seemingly ran out. Nebraska celebrated as if it had won the game because the clock showed triple zeros as the ball landed harmlessly on the turf out of bounds.
Texas coach Mack Brown, shaking his head and yelling "no" at the officials, held one finger in the air to signal that his team had a second left to try to win the game. After a video review Brown was proven correct and the officials gave Texas a final play.
Hunter Lawrence's 46-yard field goal snuck through the uprights for a 13-12 victory and the Longhorns went to the BCS Championship Game where they lost to Alabama 37-21.
3. Chips down, not out: Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma State (2016)
After rule misapplied, Chippewas convert untimed down
All Cowboys quarterback Mason Rudolph really had to do was just run backwards as fast as he could to burn 4 seconds off of the clock as No. 22 Oklahoma State was trying to hold off Central Michigan's massive upset bid. But due to a play call, Mike Gundy himself admitted he shouldn't have made, Rudolph took the snap, launched the ball towards the sideline, and Oklahoma State thought it had escaped.
The refs gathered at midfield and threw a belated flag for intentional grounding, which gave Central Michigan new life and an untimed down to win the game. The ball was at midfield and way too far out for a game-tying field goal. Instead, Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush threw up a prayer that landed far short of the goal line. Jesse Kroll lateraled to Corey Willis, and Willis ran into the end zone for the improbable victory.
The only problem is that the play never should have happened. The rule was essentially misapplied by the MAC officiating crew on the day, and the game should have ended due to an exception to the rule that says if a foul involves a loss of down. At the end of the game, Central Michigan was given a down it never should have had, and a win as well.
4. Late flag costs Miami: 2002 BCS Championship Game
Hurricanes celebration stops after pass interference penalty
The pass interference call to end all pass interference calls happened between Miami and Ohio State playing for the BCS National Championship at the Fiesta Bowl.
In overtime of the national championship game Miami needed one more defensive stop to make history. With a 34-game winning streak on the line, Ohio State's Chris Gamble was the target. Miami's Glenn Sharpe was the defensive back. There's plenty of hand fighting and plenty of contact by both parties as the ball was in the air and defensive pass interference was called.
Replay clearly shows that the most egregious contact was after Gamble touched the ball when Sharpe was trying to make a play to break it up. And curiously, the referee steps away from the contact didn't make the call, as the flag came in from the back of the end zone.
You be the judge:
The call stood. Ohio State tied it up, and in double overtime, Miami was unable to score and lost the chance at immortality.
5. Clockgate: Michigan State vs. Michigan (2001)
Wolverines wonder why clock seemed to stop in Spartans win
The 2026 Michigan-Western Michigan game arguably isn't even the worst end-of-clock situation involving the Wolverines or that even happened in the state.
In 2001, 6-1 Michigan was in East Lansing against their hated rival. With seconds remaining, Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker scrambled to the Michigan 2-yard line but was tackled short of the goal line. The Spartans scrambled to get over the ball to clock it, but the time curiously stuck at one second before Smoker snapped the ball.
"Nice to have that home clock right there," then-ABC analyst Gary Danielson quipped. "Nice to have that home-field advantage."
The Wolverines radio broadcast was less enthused.
"They stopped the clock, Jim," Michigan announcer Frank Beckmann said to analyst Jim Brandstatter. "They stopped the clock when they shouldn't have. That clock should have run out. That's unbelievable. ... That's criminal. ... Jim, this game was stolen from the Michigan Wolverines."
The home team-appointed timekeeper, Bob Stehlin, went down in history as "Spartan Bob."
Smoker found T.J. Duckett in the end zone with the phantom play and Michigan State won the game 26-24. It cost Michigan a trip to the Rose Bowl and a Big Ten Championship. The Wolverines would have won a tiebreaker with Illinois had they ended the season with one conference loss instead of two.
This play actually wouldn't be allowed in college football today, as a player can't stop the clock by spiking the ball with under three seconds remaining on the clock due to a 2013 rule change.
6. 'The band is out on the field': Cal vs. Stanford (1982)
The Bears' wild win over the Cardinal ended in pure chaos
As it went down in history, the band was out on the field -- even though the games wasn't over -- thanks to Cal's kickoff return for a touchdown which featured five frantic laterals after the clock reached zeroes and gave the Bears an improbable 25-20 victory over their rival.
Reasonable people can disagree over whether Dwight Garner's knee was down. But Kevin Moen's crash into a trombone player is one of the most indelible images in the history of the sport. Even after all these years the play must be seen to be believed.
7. The Spot: Ohio State vs. Michigan (2016)
Wolverines still contend 'J.T. was short' on controversial fourth-down call
Add this one to the heap of Michigan's controversial finishes. No. 2 Ohio State led No. 3 Michigan 27-24 in double-overtime and was down to what could have been its final play. On a fourth-and-1 play at the Wolverines 16-yard line, quarterback J.T. Barrett plunged into the line but his awkward helicopter spin while colliding with one of his linemen close to the first-down marker stopped his forward progress, launching what felt like a thousand Zapruder-style breakdowns on social media over whether the spot was, in fact, good.
After a review, it was ruled that Ohio State gained enough for a first down and on the next play OSU's Curtis Samuel ran the ball for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 30-27 victory.
It also spawned an infamous soundbite from Jim Harbaugh, in which his frustrations boiled over, as, at the time, Michigan had only beaten Ohio State twice since 2000, and Harbaugh hadn't done so in his tenure at all.
"I'm bitterly disappointed in the officiating today," Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference, earning a $10,000 fine from the Big Ten..
8. Hokies Hail Mary overturned: Miami vs. Virginia Tech (2024)
A back-and-forth fourth quarter between the Hokies and the Canes came down to the wire. With Virginia Tech needing a touchdown to win on the game's final play, Virginia Tech receiver Da'Quan Felton was ruled to have caught Kyron Drones' Hail Mary heave at the back of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
Officials didn't give an immediate signal as Miami players began celebrating and the house lights at Hard Rock Stadium began strobing as the Canes partied. But the play was eventually ruled a touchdown on the field before the play went to a video review, which eventually reversed the call in a 38-34 Miami victory.
The clearest sign of controversy came in a statement from the ACC:
"During the review process of the last play of the Virginia Tech at Miami game, it was determined that the loose ball was touched by a Miami player while he was out of bounds which makes it an incomplete pass and immediately ends the play."
