My Take on Michigan vs Michigan State

4th and 2 from the Michigan State 47 yard line. 10 seconds left, and Michigan is punting. But, the snap is fumbled by the punter, Michigan State recovers, and returns the ball for a TD to win the game. Behind the ending to the Iron Bowl in 2013, this was the craziest ending to a football game I have seen.
But, this could have been completely avoided, unlike the FG returned 110 yards for a Touchdown.

Re-watch the play. You can do so here. The snap was fumbled, but the way the punter handled it was a mistake. In that case, instead of trying to fix the broken play, Blake O'Neil should have fell on the ball. If that happened, it would have been a turnover, and Michigan State ball on the 40 Yard line with :08 to go. There would have been time for one more play, since neither team had a time out remaining.

Alternatively, Michigan could have gone for it on 4th down, thinking that even if they didn't get it, Michigan State wouldn't have had the opportunity to run the ball back, and the field position would be miserable with no time outs remaining. If I was Jim Harbaugh, that would have been my plan of attack. But I'm not Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh is Jim Harbaugh, and he made a bad mistake giving the Spartans a glimmer of hope to win the game by punting.

Think back to December 19th, 2010, when the New York Giants punted the ball to DeSean Jackson of the Eagles with :14 seconds left. Instead of kicking the ball away, or going for it, they gave the Eagles a glimmer of hope by punting. Punting in a late game situation is a terrible idea. That gives the opposing team an opportunity to capitalize on an awful coaching decision. The Michigan Wolverines could easily be undefeated right now, and ranked in the Top 10. But, they punted, and took the risk. And the risk didn't pay off.