Michigan won the game on a Hail Mary and got dropped out of the AP Top 25 anyway. Why?

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) talks with Chris Bracy (7) after an NCAA college football game against the Michigan" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="201132" data-entity-type="organization">Western Michigan Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) 2026-09-09T11:10:06Z Michigan won the game against Michigan" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="201132" data-entity-type="organization">Western Michigan but lost most of its support in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. Just like many viewers Saturday night, Top 25 voters were confused when one second was put back on the clock after it appeared time had run out at Michigan-stadium" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="201959" data-entity-type="location">Michigan Stadium. And they were dazed when JJ Buchanan came down with Bryce Underwood’s second Hail Mary pass to turn the four-touchdown-underdog Broncos’ 12-7 upset into a 13-12 loss. The Mid-American Conference submitted appeals to the NCAA and the College Football Playoff administration asking for the result to be overturned to let the record show the Broncos actually won the game for purposes of rankings, evaluations and selection deliberations. The NCAA said its rules don’t allow a move like that and the CFP won’t release its first rankings until November. Top 25 voters have weighed in, though. The Wolverines dropped from No. 16 in the preseason poll to out of the Top 25 altogether in the first regular-season poll. It was the biggest fall from ranked to unranked after a win since at least 2008. Michigan had appeared on all 69 preseason ballots and was listed as high as No. 10 on one. The Wolverines were on just 22 ballots Tuesday. Bob Asmussen of the Champaign (Illinois) News-Gazette, in his 16th year as a voter, put Michigan No. 12 on his preseason ballot and said he knew that was a mistake as he watched Michigan’s offense sputter after scoring on its first possession. Voters sometimes hesitate to penalize a team that wins, but Michigan was going to drop off Asmussen’s ballot regardless. Forty-six other voters agreed with him. “I saw them lose in my mind, but they didn’t technically lose,” Asmussen said. “It was so easy to drop them because of how horrible they were.” (