The NCAA's FBS oversight committee said Wednesday that it "does not have the authority" to overturn the result of Western Michigan's controversial loss to Michigan on Sept. 5.
The committee, however, also said that instant replay protocols "were not followed" by the Big Ten, and that had protocols been followed, "the outcome of the game would have been different."
Michigan won 13-12 on a Hail Mary touchdown pass after Big Ten replay officials put one second back on the clock. The clock shown on the NBC broadcast showed zeros before quarterback Bryce Underwood's first Hail Mary was touched outside the back of the end zone.
In letters sent Sept. 8 to the NCAA and the College Football Playoff, Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon A. Steinbrecher said "replay protocol was not properly followed" and asked that Western Michigan be recognized as the "actual winner."
"The final outcome was directly affected by a replay officiating error resulting from the failure to follow an established and specific protocol governing precisely this type of end-of-half timing situation," he wrote.
That added second prevented Western Michigan, the defending MAC champion, from defeating the Wolverines for the first time in program history.
Days later, the NCAA issued new guidance "to establish a standard timing protocol that ensures consistency in the administration of all college football games."
ESPN obtained a copy of a memo from NCAA national coordinator of officials Ron Snodgrass, which was approved by the NCAA's secretary rules editor, Matt Young.
"The official time for all college football games is the time displayed on the in-stadium game clock," the memo said. "When a replay review requires time to be restored or otherwise adjusted, the replay official's decision will be based on the embedded game clock contained within the program feed. If the broadcaster is unable to provide an embedded game clock, the replay official will use the game-clock graphic displayed as part of the broadcast feed.
"This timing protocol should be followed consistently at all institutions and game sites."
On Thursday, the CFP followed up with a statement of its own, saying, "The CFP has reviewed the letter from the Mid-American Conference. While we appreciate the concerns that were raised, the CFP does not have the authority to change or otherwise alter the outcome of games played during the regular season.
The CFP Selection Committee evaluates all teams on a comprehensive body of work over a full season, driven by how teams perform in each game," the statement continued. "The Committee's evaluation is informed by a broad range of inputs, not just wins and losses. These measures and data points include Opponent Team Strength, Schedule Strength and Record Strength, with rankings determined by comparing the full profile rather than any single metric. The performance of both teams in this contest will be evaluated by the individuals on the Selection Committee as played, alongside every other game on both teams' schedules."
Michigan is 2-0 after defeating Oklahoma last weekend.
Western Michigan (1-1) is coming off a 49-14 win over Monmouth.
ESPN's Heather Dinich contributed to this report.