ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The call came in Monday morning: Ruling upheld.

Michigan will be without starting linebacker Jaishawn Barham for the first half of Saturday’s game at No. 18 Oklahoma (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) after he was ejected from the Wolverines’ season opener for targeting.

Barham was disqualified by a group of Big Ten officials in the third quarter of Michigan’s 34-17 win over New Mexico for laying a helmet-to-helmet hit on Lobos quarterback Jack Layne. Under NCAA rules, because the ejection took place in the second half, Barham would have to miss the next half of action.

“Literally just heard about it,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said Monday before his weekly news conference. “We don’t agree with it.”

Moore said Michigan conferred with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and A.J.

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