Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham’s targeting penalty from the second half of its season opener was upheld by the Big Ten, and he’ll be forced to miss the first half of Saturday’s top-25 matchup at Oklahoma, head coach Sherrone Moore said Monday.
Barham was assessed the penalty on a hit of New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne in the third quarter of the 18th-ranked Wolverines’ 34-17 victory. It was originally ruled a scoop-and-score fumble return by Barham for a touchdown, but overturned to a sack and then became a first down for the Lobos and an ejection of Barham after an instant-replay review.
Per NCAA rules, players ejected for targeting in the second half of a game are ineligible for the first half of the team’s next game.
“(The ruling) was upheld, and we don’t agree with it …,” Moore said. “It’s a rule we have to get changed, and we have to look at in college football just for the general toughness of the game, and how you want to teach tackling, and how you want to teach guys that are 6-3, tackling a guy that’s 5-8.”
Barham, a senior from District Heights, Md., was second on the Michigan defense with 66 tackles in his first season with the program in 2024, adding 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. He began his career at Maryland.
The ruling being upheld after appeal will make things tougher for the first half of Michigan’s road game against the 14th-ranked Sooners and their revamped offense led by Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer. He led the way to a 35-3 win in the team’s season opener against Illinois State on Saturday.
