What we know about Michigan football going into The Game vs Ohio State
Tony Garcia breaks down what we know about Michigan football going into The Game vs Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.
Tensions are always high when Michigan and Ohio State face off, and linebacker Jaishawn Barham was the first player to get caught up in the drama on Saturday, Nov. 29.
After stuffing Ohio State running back CJ Donaldson Jr. and forcing what should’ve been a third-and-goal, Barham walked up to the referee and appeared to headbutt him.
There was only a small amount of contact and it’s possible that Barham was trying to demonstrate something and not blatantly headbutting the referee, but it was still a major no-no.
Fox’s Joel Klatt said it easily could’ve been an ejection, but Barham was just hit with a personal foul that gave the Buckeyes an automatic first down. That could’ve been costly, but the Michigan defense stood strong and held OSU to just a field goal after five attempts and a sixth one that drew a 5-yard penalty on a false start.
Importantly, Barham was not ejected from the game, which easily could’ve happened in a bang-bang call from the refeeree.
Do you think Barham should’ve been ejected?
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Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.
