The Michigan football team opened up the 2025 season on Saturday night with a win against New Mexico. The Wolverines ended up winning the game 34-17, but it wasn't all good. At one point the third quarter, Michigan went from thinking it had a scoop and score touchdown to one of their best defensive players being ejected for targeting. Linebacker Jaishawn Barham sacked New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne and forced a fumble, and he recovered it and returned it for a score. However, after reviewing the play, the refs called targeting on Barham. You make the call:
Jaishawn Barham got ejected for this hit.
Just put flags on the QBs at this point. pic.twitter.com/kINPjH0Sw4
— College Sports Only 🏈🏀⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) August 31, 2025
The penalty didn't have a big impact on the game as the Michigan football team had a comfortable lead throughout, but it could have a big impact on next week's game. Jaishawn Barham was ejected during the second half, so he won't be able to play in the first half of next week's massive clash against Oklahoma. However, the Wolverines are appealing the call.
“Michigan will appeal LB Jaishawn Barham's second-half ejection for targeting, Sherrone Moore says,” Alejandro Zúñiga said in a post. “Currently, Barham would be out the first half of the Oklahoma game.”
Losing Barham in the first half of the Oklahoma game would be unfortunate for Michigan. That is one the biggest games on the schedule, and Barham is one of the Wolverines' best defensive players.
Outside of the targeting call that a lot of Michigan fans don't agree with, there were a lot of positive takeaways for the Wolverines, specifically on offense. The offense was the issue last year, and freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood looked great in his first game. He went 21-31 for 251 yards and one touchdown. Michigan racked up over 450 yards on offense.
Michigan's defense didn't look as strong as we thought it would, and there were a couple of special teams errors. Outside of that, it was good to see the offense find a rhythm. The Michigan football team is hoping to get Jaishawn Barham for the entirety of the next week's huge clash between the Wolverines and Oklahoma.
