Michigan’s Restored Second and LSU’s 51–10 Rout of Clemson

Michigan beat Western Michigan 13–12 on a 47-yard touchdown after officials restored one second to a clock that had shown 0:00.

The night’s other headline game was over early. LSU beat Clemson 51–10, gained 644 yards and finished with 38 first downs. Clemson managed 145 yards and eight first downs.

Replay restored one second. Michigan scored on it.

Michigan beat Western Michigan 13–12 on a 47-yard Bryce Underwood pass to JJ Buchanan. The play existed only because replay restored one second after the visible clock had reached 0:00 on the previous snap.

The Big Ten has now supplied the official explanation. The conference said its replay-center view showed Western Michigan safety Micah Davis begin his jump with his left foot out of bounds and touch the loose ball with one second remaining. Under NCAA Rule 4-2-3-a, a loose ball becomes out of bounds when it touches a player who is out of bounds, so the clock stopped at that contact.

The conference said replay used a side-by-side view of the play and a direct shot of the stadium clock. It also said every broadcast camera in the replay system, including the game-clock camera, had been synchronized 85 minutes before kickoff with a strobe system. The MAC asked the Big Ten for clarification after the game; commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said the accompanying video and audio confirmed the explanation provided to his conference.

That establishes the ruling’s official basis. It does not make the television sequence less jarring. NBC’s presentation appeared to show 0:00 while the ball was still in the air, and rules analyst Terry McAulay questioned how replay could restore time from that view. The remaining dispute is the apparent conflict between what viewers saw on NBC and the synchronized replay-center view the Big Ten released—not whether the conference has explained the rule it applied.

The ruling decided the ending, but Michigan’s problems began much earlier. The Wolverines were favored by nearly four touchdowns at home, held the ball for only 19:52, went 3-for-10 on third down and committed three turnovers without forcing one. Western Michigan ran 18 more plays and possessed the ball for 40:08.

Underwood scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter. Michigan did not score again until the final play. Dieter Kelly accounted for all 12 Western Michigan points with field goals from 52, 45, 39 and 33 yards. The last kick gave the Broncos a 12–7 lead with 35 seconds remaining.

Underwood fumbled at the Wolverines’ 31 with 1:50 left. Western Michigan recovered but could not gain the first down that would have ended the night without another possession. The Broncos settled for Kelly’s fourth field goal and left Michigan 35 seconds to answer.

Underwood then completed a 28-yard pass to Buchanan and, after the replay ruling, the 47-yard winner. He finished 12-of-22 for 170 yards with one passing touchdown and one interception, plus 47 rushing yards, a rushing score and the late fumble. Buchanan caught six passes for 126 yards; 75 came in the final 35 seconds.

Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan tenure starts 1–0. The box score is much less comforting. Michigan produced 276 yards on 48 plays and needed a disputed timing decision to receive one last snap against a MAC opponent.

Western Michigan protected the ball, controlled the pace and was one replay decision from a 12–7 win. The clock ruling should not obscure how thoroughly the Broncos disrupted Michigan.

LSU’s rebuilt roster overwhelmed Clemson

No. 11 LSU beat Clemson 51–10 in Lane Kiffin’s debut. Clemson’s only touchdown came with 3:13 remaining, after LSU had already scored 51.

Swinney and Kiffin built their rosters in opposite ways.

Dabo Swinney stayed with internal development. He brought Chad Morris back to coordinate the offense and promoted Christopher Vizzina after three years in the program. Clemson was more active in the portal than it had been—its August roster sheet listed 15 transfers who joined in 2026, including 11 scholarship players—but most of the offense still came from players developed inside the program.

Lane Kiffin rebuilt LSU at speed. LSU signed 31 winter transfers, brought most of Kiffin’s Ole Miss staff to Baton Rouge and created a front office the school compared to an NFL operation. The eligibility fight over two former NFL signees stretched into game week, though neither Dae’Quan Wright nor Zxavian Harris appeared on LSU’s game roster.

Clemson’s best pregame argument was that years of shared work would matter before a roster assembled in one winter could settle in. LSU erased it almost immediately.

Clemson opened the scoring with a 49-yard field goal. It did not score again until the final four minutes. Dilin Jones’s one-yard touchdown gave LSU the lead, and Jordan Ross returned a Christopher Vizzina interception 30 yards for another score 89 seconds later. LSU led 17–3 before the first quarter ended.

Sam Leavitt added touchdown runs of eight and 13 yards before halftime. He found Winston Watkins Jr. for a 32-yard score in the third quarter, Jones scored again from 12 yards, and backup quarterback Landen Clark threw LSU’s final touchdown pass.

The final box score was worse for Clemson than the score. LSU outgained the visitors 644–145, ran for 309 yards to Clemson’s 40 and converted 11 of 16 third downs. Clemson converted one of 13. LSU finished with 38 first downs; Clemson had eight.

Leavitt completed 16 of 28 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 113 yards and two scores. Jones matched him with 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Watkins caught seven passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Those three were transfers from Arizona State, Wisconsin and Ole Miss. Ross, the Tennessee transfer, supplied the defensive touchdown. The two former NFL signees who dominated the week’s discussion were not needed to make LSU’s roster-building argument Saturday night; the newcomers already cleared to play drove the rout.

Vizzina completed 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards and the interception. Clemson’s starting offense did not score a touchdown. The program’s continuity was supposed to reduce opening-night mistakes and give the Tigers a chance to test a rebuilt opponent before its new pieces settled in. LSU was the team that looked organized, physical and ready.

Saturday Index’s pregame projection had LSU winning 28–25 with a 57 percent win probability. The winner was right. The expected competitiveness was not. LSU won by 41.

After one week, Kiffin’s rebuilt team looks ready to contend immediately. Clemson does not look close to returning to the national race.

Oregon needed one fourth-quarter strike

No. 2 Oregon trailed Boise State 17–7 in the second quarter and entered the fourth tied 24–24. The Broncos kept the game even for 51 minutes.

Dante Moore completed 28 of 37 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns. With the score tied 27–27, he hit Dakorien Moore for a 62-yard touchdown with 7:51 remaining. Boise State did not cross midfield on its next possession.

Oregon finished with 497 yards to Boise State’s 274, but the Broncos made the Ducks operate under pressure for more than three quarters. Maddux Madsen threw three touchdown passes, and Boise answered Oregon’s first second-half lead with a 75-yard touchdown drive.

The final numbers flatter Oregon more than the game did. Moore’s response matters more: with the opener tied in the fourth quarter, he created the explosive play Boise State could not match.

Auburn survived Baylor’s two-point try

Baylor drove 75 yards in the final 3:21 and scored with nine seconds left, cutting Auburn’s lead to 17–16. Dave Aranda chose to decide the game there.

DJ Lagway completed the conversion pass to Matthew Klopfenstein, but Auburn safety Eric Winters met him inches before the goal line. Auburn took a knee and left Atlanta with the win.

Auburn needed that stop after three Byrum Brown interceptions. Baylor outgained Auburn 436–389 and had the ball for 82 plays. Lagway needed 54 attempts to reach 333 yards, then produced his best drive when the Bears had no room left for another mistake.

Going for two was the right decision. The play was there. Auburn made one tackle.

Tulsa hit. Western Kentucky did not.

Saturday Index’s documented lean was Tulsa +13.5. Tulsa removed the spread from the conversation.

The Golden Hurricane beat Oklahoma State 24–10, led from the opening quarter and forced four turnovers. Oklahoma State also failed on three fourth-down attempts. Damari Alston ran for two touchdowns, including a 29-yarder in the fourth quarter that pushed the lead to 14.

Oklahoma State entered the opener with a new head coach in Eric Morris and 91 new players. The Cowboys gained 368 yards, but four turnovers and three failed fourth downs kept them from finishing drives.

Tulsa won outright and was the better team.

The late result went the other way. Saturday Index Premium projected Western Kentucky 32–21 and showed a 9.5-point difference toward the Hilltoppers against the market line used in the Saturday graphic. Nevada won 49–14, ran for 323 yards and averaged 9.2 yards per carry. That was a clear miss.

Neither position was an official Rule 5 selection. The Premium lean on Tulsa was right. The Western Kentucky projection was badly wrong.

Three FCS teams beat FBS opponents

The Citadel beat Charlotte 43–41 in three overtimes. Charlotte forced overtime with 24 seconds remaining and gained 538 yards, but The Citadel won the turnover battle 2–0 and converted the decisive two-point play to Whit Hobgood.

Idaho State beat Utah State 29–17 despite being outgained 407–241. The Bengals intercepted four passes, committed no turnovers and got five field goals from Mason Lindberg.

Tarleton State beat Bowling Green 20–13 on the road behind 250 rushing yards from Tylan Hines. The Texans ran for 258 yards and held Bowling Green without a touchdown after halftime.

The Citadel and Idaho State combined for six takeaways without committing one. Tarleton did not need a turnover advantage because Hines ran for 250 yards.

Elsewhere, the leading teams handled their openers

No. 6 Indiana looked ready to defend its title. Josh Hoover threw four touchdown passes in only 16 attempts, and the Hoosiers beat North Texas 52–16.

Ohio State gained 671 yards in a 56–3 win over Ball State. Julian Sayin completed 21 of 25 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith had eight catches for 151 yards and two scores—all before halftime.

Alabama held East Carolina to two rushing yards and 162 total yards in a 48–10 win. Keelon Russell threw for 256 yards and added 86 on the ground.

Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel threw seven touchdown passes in a 59–14 win over Miami (Ohio). South Carolina gained 645 yards and shut out Kent State 57–0.

Indiana, Ohio State, Alabama, Pittsburgh and South Carolina did what heavy favorites are supposed to do. Michigan did not. Clemson raised a different and more serious question: whether the program’s offseason changes fixed any of the problems that produced last year’s 7–6 record.

Michigan still left with a win. The Big Ten has explained why the last snap existed. Nothing in that explanation makes Michigan’s underlying performance reassuring.