A last-second Hail Mary. A 13-12 escape. Fans storming the field. Michigan’s opener against Western Michigan had everything, and Dave Portnoy only added fuel to the fire. The longtime Wolverines superfan demanded apologies from Michigan’s doubters, drew plenty of heat, and apparently learned absolutely nothing from it.
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“You absolutely do not apologize for rushing the field. That was an all-time college football play. That was one of the great college football plays in the history of the sport. When you think of Mississippi State, there’s not one play in the history of that program,” said Portnoy during his conversation on the Barstool College Football Show.
Portnoy defended Wolverines fans at the Barstool College Football Show after Dan “Big Cat” Katz asked the crowd who had rushed Michigan Stadium on September 5. Portnoy insisted they had nothing to apologize for; however, what he said next stunned fans online.
“These are loser programs. If you’re a college student and you witness what is arguably a top-10, top-5 college play of all time, you rush the field and have fun. I don’t care. People act like you’ve been there. We have been there. We won the national championship two years ago,” said Portnoy.
The controversy happened when the clock showed 0:00 with Western Michigan leading 12-7, and Broncos players rushed the field to celebrate. However, Big Ten officials reviewed the play and ruled that Western Michigan safety Micah Davis, a former Michigan player, had touched the ball while knocking it down.
Given another chance, Bryce Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan for a 47-yard touchdown as Michigan escaped with a 13-12 win.
The Broncos fanbase was completely disheartened by what they witnessed, while the Wolverines fans at the stadium rushed toward the players to celebrate the win in style.
While the fans who witnessed Portnoy’s remarks live gave the Barstool founder a big thumbs-up, netizens were not fans of what Portnoy had to say about Western Michigan and other programs.
“Trying to justify that sh-t show last week? It was Western Michigan, Dave,” a fan reminded Portnoy, pointing out how close the game was and how WMU had control for almost the entire matchup.
One fan kept his faith in Ohio State to beat Michigan, writing, “America isn’t going to apologize when we celebrate Ohio State beating you guys by 40 this year.” Ohio State and the Michigan Wolverines will meet on November 28 at Ohio Stadium.
A netizen called Portnoy out for his commentary, writing, “Rage bait is the lowest form of sports commentary. Get more creative.”
Another fan took a dig at Portnoy, saying, “Safety protocols: You let the students have the field, and the clip has the internet.”
The behavior of the Wolverines fans was also called out by many, but Dave Portnoy has remained steadfast in defending the team. Interestingly, just a day after the game, he took to X to demand an apology from everyone who had accused Kyle Whittingham and his program of mismanagement and wrongdoing.
“Lots of people could learn a thing or two from the @MACSports about winning and losing with grace and class,” Portnoy wrote on X. “Let the apologies to Michigan fans be as loud as the accusations!”
Following the game, the MAC and Western Michigan demanded clarification from the Big Ten regarding the controversial ending. MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, however, later accepted the conference’s explanation, praising Western Michigan for giving a tough time to a team which was ranked 16 at the AP Preseason rankings.
Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham also addressed the decisive final seconds, acknowledging that the extra second ultimately determined the outcome while maintaining that he believed time remained on the clock.
“Obviously, the extra second was huge. 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,” Whittingham said. “But as the refs went to replay, they confirmed it, and so gave us one more opportunity.”
The first game may have ended in controversy, but the Michigan Wolverines now have Oklahoma to take care of. Will they be able to put in a better performance than they did in their season opener?