Radio host Craig Carton is calling out University of Michigan fans for storming the field in Ann Arbor after a controversial 13-12 win over Western Michigan, a game the Wolverines needed a late officiating reversal to escape with the victory.
The finish turned on a disputed no-call. Officials ruled that a Western Michigan defender had touched quarterback Bryce Underwood’s first Hail Mary attempt in the final second, giving Michigan a second chance on the clock. Underwood used it to connect with J.J. Buchanan for the game-winning touchdown.
Roughly 110,000 fans packed Michigan Stadium for the game, and many of them poured onto the field afterward to celebrate. Carton, whose “Craig Carton Show” debuted on OutKick Tuesday, said the celebration was absurd given the opponent and the circumstances.
“The thing that bothers me more than the hubris of adding a second to the game and giving Michigan another opportunity to win that game was the fact that there was 110,000 people at Michigan for that game and at the end of the game they stormed the field like they were Western Michigan knocking off a Big Ten team on the road,” Carton said. “And it just was a good reminder to me that even though Michigan is thought of as a top educational experience for the kids that take the six years they normally take to graduate, the reality is that they’re a bunch of morons.”
Carton didn’t stop there, tying the moment to broader criticism he has of the athletic program.
“Now, we already know that Michigan is a corrupt athletic program. We know that it’s a dirty athletic program. We know that coaches like to sleep with coeds there. Coaches like to steal signs there. Coaches like to cheat there. But what I didn’t know as a fact until Saturday night is that that 18-27 year olds that call Michigan their undergraduate home are morons.”
Michigan entered the game ranked 16th nationally and was favored by 27 points over Western Michigan, a Mid-American Conference program that has never beaten a team ranked inside the Associated Press top 20. The Broncos have appeared in the AP poll only once in program history, going 13-1 in 2016 under P.J. Fleck. A win over Michigan would have been the biggest in Western Michigan’s history.
Both the Big Ten and the Mid-American Conference issued statements after the game confirming the officiating decision, reiterating that a Western Michigan defender had touched the ball while out of bounds with one second remaining.
Carton argued the win should serve as a warning sign rather than a cause for celebration.
“That’s not a game to be celebrated if you’re a Michigan fan or a Michigan alumni,” Carton said. “That’s a game to give you a warning about what’s to come for the rest of this season. Michigan football is dead. Michigan football is an embarrassment. Michigan football pays their quarterback $10 million a year and I would be better.”
Michigan now turns its attention to a noon ET matchup against Oklahoma this Saturday in Ann Arbor, broadcast on FOX, with questions still swirling around Underwood’s long-term hold on the starting quarterback job.
