Jonathan Smith says Jordan Turner's targeting appeal was unsuccessful

Lost in the mess that was the post-game scuffle on Saturday night was the fact that star linebacker Jordan Turner was ejected in the second half of the game for a hit he made on Michigan's Alex Orji. and Jonathan Smith made sure to appeal the first-half suspension for the Indiana game.

Orji took a snap and ran with it, getting stuffed in the hole and taking a decent hit from Turner which was flagged and called targeting live.

The officials reviewed the hit and upheld the call even though it was controversial.

Was it a good call? You be the judge.

In my opinion, it's one of the weaker targeting calls that I've seen, especially since Orji was the one who lowered his head into Turner when the linebacker was lining up to make the tackle. It's hard to call Orji a "defenseless" runner when he's initiating the contact. It's technically the rule when the crown of the helmet makes contact with the head or neck area, but this was because Orji put his head down.

Either way, the call seemed pretty weak and Turner was promptly ejected.

On Monday, Smith spoke to the media and said that he appealed the suspension because the call was on the softer side but the Big Ten upheld the decision and Turner will miss the first half of the Indiana game. That's a tough blow and a rule that I'd like to see changed. Suspending a guy for a half of the next game because of a toss-up targeting call is egregious.

But apparently it was a good enough call for the Big Ten to uphold that and Michigan State will begin the anticipated Indiana game without one of its best defensive players.

Time for Jordan Hall to step up.