Sherrone Moore Receives Strong Oklahoma Warning After NCAA’s ‘Asini-e’ Michigan Treatment

Sherrone Moore’s redemption year is off to a good start, with Michigan registering a 34-17 win over New Mexico. However, a real test now awaits the Wolverines at Norman against a ranked opponent in Oklahoma. The QB battle between Bryce Underwood and John Mateer will grab the headlines. However, ahead of the game, the Michigan camp has been hit with disappointing news related to the availability of their defensive star.

The NCAA has denied Michigan’s appeal of the action on star LB Jaishawn Barham, whose targeting penalty last week saw him get ejected from the game. According to the rules, if a player is given a targeting ejection in the second half of a game, it results in a suspension for the first half of the team’s next outing. The Wolverines appealed the decision, but to no avail. FOX analyst Joel Klatt is worried about the repercussions of the decision on Michigan’s ability to hold the Sooners’ offense.

“Barham is now suspended for the first half against Oklahoma, which is a massive thing for Michigan and that defense, because he plays such a vital role on that defense. That is a bad call,” Joel Klatt said in a September 3 episode of his show. The reason why the ruling is fiercely being ripped apart by experts is that there was no malicious intent behind Barham colliding with Layne.

The incident happened in the third quarter of Michigan’s Week 1 game. Barham collided with New Mexico QB Jack Layne, caused a fumble, and even scored a touchdown. After reviewing the collision, Barham was accused of targeting Layne and, per the rulebook, was ejected from the game. Sherrone Moore reacted to the development during his presser. “We don’t agree with it, Tony (Petitti) doesn’t agree, AJ (Edds) doesn’t agree with it. It’s a rule we have to get changed.”

Jaishawn Barham is the star of the LB room—a unit that shone in the defense last year. Along with Ernest Hausmann, Barham was looking to keep up the reputation of the defense. Last year, he hauled in 66 tackles with PFF grades of 87.2 on run defense and 83.2 in tackling. Back in Norman, a brilliant John Mateer awaits a proven Michigan defense.

But with Barham gone, Oklahoma’s offense will make use of the gaping hole on the other side of the field. The controversial call against the star LB prompted a passionate argument from Klatt. He also called for immediate action on how targeting calls should actually be delivered.

Joel Klatt calls the ruling committee on Jaishawn Barham “spineless”

“The targeting call in college football is terrible. It’s one of the worst things that we do in our sport, in particular, attaching an ejection automatically to a penalty like that,” Klatt said. Michigan promptly appealed the call to the NCAA, which in turn sided with the referees.

Klatt had harsher words for the NCAA. “I think that – letter of the law – I can understand why it was called… The fact that we don’t have two different categories of targeting is a massive fail in college football. And the adults in the room have got to fix that. It’s totally asini-e that the play from Jaishawn Barham carries a suspension for the next game, the same as a targeting where someone is literally lowering their head using the crown of their helmet, and trying to spear someone and injure them. Those are two totally different things,” he said. Barham doesn’t seem to intentionally lower his head in the sacking attempt that can be deemed as enough to cause injury. The contact on the head just happened to be. The LB is 6-3, while Layne is 5-8.

Klatt, however, regarded the suspension as a dramatic consequence. “They’re spineless. The rules committee is totally spineless when it comes to the targeting call,” he added, clearly unhappy about how Barham is being kept from an important opportunity. Targeting is easily among the most controversial college football rules. In the Alabama-FSU clash as well, safety Earl Little was given the penalty, but it was retracted by the referees. The debatable penalty has now taken off the top player from an important group ahead of Michigan’s clash with Oklahoma. How Brent Venables tries to utilize this situation can stand to turn the game in the Sooners’ favor.