Lance Taylor takes the high road after controversial loss to Michigan

Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor weighed in on the controversial Hail Mary that prevented the team from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Michigan ultimately prevailed 13-12 after Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary pass to JJ Buchnan, prompting ire from the sports community.

Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor on the final play of tonight’s game: pic.twitter.com/WJEBAGHaG8

— Drew Lenard (@drew_lenardd) September 6, 2026

Taylor took the high road in his post-game comments about the incident.

“So I have not seen the clip. Several people have mentioned it to me that the game was over. I think, you know…our commissioner has already reached out. Normally he handles those type of situations and reviews. I thought that the crew tonight did a really nice job handling multiple close calls and review situations. We had several where the spot was, was questioned and reviewed and those calls went our way and the review went our way. And so, listen, I’ll let you know our commissioner and those guys handle it. At the end of the day, you don’t always control those situations.

He continued, “We can’t control whether there’s a second left on the clock or not. We went out the first time, we defended perfectly the Hail Mary situation. I thought our guys did an excellent job. I know when I looked up at the clock it was past zero before we touched it… And, you know, I think that’s a good lesson for our defense. We can’t just box out the back of the end zone. We’ve gotta make sure that we cover them up, um, at the front, front pylon as well. So we’ll learn from that and grow…I’m sure I’ll watch the TV copy tonight.”

Western Michigan was impressive in several phases of the game, including third-down efficiency, where they went 8 of 18 on third-down conversions and only had five penalties to Michigan’s nine. They also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 40 minutes and 8 seconds, compared with Michigan’s 19 minutes and 52 seconds.

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