Dave Portnoy slams ‘haters’ as cheating allegations overshadow spectacular Hail Mary victory

The Michigan Wolverines’ stunning victory over Western Michigan was marred with controversy.

The Broncos appeared to have secured a historic underdog win when Wolverines QB Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary sailed out of the back of the end zone.

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The clock on the NBC broadcast showed 0:00 when the play ended. However, the officiating crew went to the monitor and determined that one second remained.

JJ Buchanan proceeded to reel in a 47-yard Hail Mary from Underwood to lift the Wolverines to a controversial victory.

Western Michigan were left distraught as the Wolverines stormed the field in celebration.

The controversial ending sparked huge debate on social media, and Michigan alum Dave Portnoy was at the center of it.

Portnoy openly celebrated Michigan’s improbable comeback and posted several times on X expressing his excitement over the Wolverines’ dramatic win.

He then proceeded to call out haters of the result in an epic-three minute rant.

“I just wanna say [it’s] every time Michigan wins, every single time,” Portnoy said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a National Championship when you go undefeated, or a masterpiece like what we just saw all the jealousy, all the haters, all the people who probably couldn’t get into Michigan, the people who root for the Mississippi State’s of the world.

“The people who don’t know the first thing about what it means to be a Michigan man, ‘Oh, they cheated’ – we didn’t cheat. There was a second left, it was as clear as day.”

According to a statement released by Big Ten after the game, officials got the call right.

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It was determined that Broncos defender Micah Davis made contact with the ball while out of bounds with one second remaining.

“Following video review, it was determined Western Michigan’s #18 started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with one second remaining on the clock,” the statement read.

“A side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling.

“Eighty-five minutes prior to the game, all broadcast cameras used for the replay system, including the camera on the game clock, are synced using a strobe system to ensure all cameras are aligned.”

It’s pretty safe to say that veteran broadcaster Terry McAulay didn’t think the same way.

“The ball isn’t even close to touching a player when it goes to zero,” McAuly said on the broadcast.

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“Their Hawk-Eye system apparently had a different sync… I don’t see how that happened, assuming our clock is correct… The ball is clearly still in the air when the clock goes to zero…”

Michigan won’t have long to enjoy the escape, as next up will be Oklahoma fresh off their 51-0 victory over UTEP, and they are sure to provide a tougher test than the Broncos.