‘Don’t feel sorry for us’: WMU moves forward after loss to Michigan

September 6, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Western Michigan University football coach Lance Taylor said he had one message for his players on Saturday night after the team’s season opening loss against No. 16 ranked University of Michigan.

“When I walked into the locker room, the first thing I told them was I’m proud of them and I love them and they should hold their head high for what they did last night,” Taylor said. “And they should. And whether you win or lose that game, that does not take away how they played and what they put on full display. And that was evident.”

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The loss in Ann Arbor came after a controversial decision by the game’s officiating crew to put an extra second on the game clock, after the presumed final play of the game ended with a throw from U-M sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood that sailed out of bounds as the broadcast’s game clock expired.

Shortly after, WMU began celebrating, only for the Big Ten officiating crew to announce that the play was being reviewed. One second was added, awarding Michigan with an extra opportunity that the Wolverines capitalized on. Underwood connected with sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan on a game-winning 47-yard Hail Mary pass in the end zone, ending the Broncos’ chances at a historic upset.

“Gut wrenching, heartbreaking loss on the final play. So a lot of emotion and a physical football game," Taylor said during a press conference Sunday afternoon. “They’re going to come in hurting today and I think they’re going to still be reeling when they get in. But it’s again, not what happens to you, but how you respond to it and I think that’s my message to our staff, is, ‘What are the things we need to be better at from a coaches standpoint and a players standpoint?’”

Taylor noted that he didn’t want the game’s final seconds to take away from the fact that WMU proved it could compete with nationally-ranked schools, under circumstances that many underestimated the team to succeed in.

“As much as anything, I don’t want this narrative to be about a call that was made or wasn’t made, or how this team got shafted or didn’t get shafted, because that takes away the hard work and preparation and really what our kids and team put on display last night,” he said. “And I think that everybody saw that and everybody recognized that.

“Don’t feel sorry for us,” he said. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

Taylor acknowledged that his players were still grappling with the loss less than 24 hours afterwards, but said he and his players were focused on moving ahead.

“It’s okay to be human and hurt, because I was hurting, those players were hurting,” he said. “They wanted to win that game very badly and thought that we had won that game. And I think ultimately the thing that I want them to take away from it is, we played well enough to win that game and should be proud of what we put on full display. And the whole world now knows more about Western Michigan and Bronco football because of that game.”

The loss, Taylor said, solidified what WMU’s players and staff already knew heading into their first game of the year.

“For our players, I want them to see and have confidence that we can play with anybody in the country,” he said. “Last night proved that we can go into a hostile environment at the Big House, against a nationally ranked team, on national television, where nobody in the world gives us a chance, except those men in that huddle and on that bus and in that locker room. They were the only ones that believed we could win. And when we walked out last night, we created a ton of believers. A ton of Bronco believers.”

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