The Michigan Panthers will have several goals Saturday when they face the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL Conference title game: win a playoff game for the first time in three seasons, reach the inaugural UFL championship and avenge a last-second loss of the last week at the end of the regular season.
The Panthers and Stallions face off at 3pm on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. Michigan lost its final game of the season in Birmingham last weekend despite taking the lead in the final minute. The Panthers are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, improving to 7-3 this year from 4-6 last season in the USFL. (The USFL and XFL merged this season to form the UFL.)
“Finishing the year the way we did was an improvement over last year,” said coach Mike Nolan. “Naturally, winning a playoff game, getting to the championship and winning the championship would be another improvement. That is the goal of our football team. We are certainly capable of achieving this goal.”
FINAL: Jake Bates misses FG in Michigan Panthers 20-19 loss to Birmingham Stallions
To do that, Michigan must address one of the few teams that has intrigued them in 2024. Two of the Panthers’ three losses this season have been to the Stallions, who are led by MVP favorite – and former Detroit Lions Quarterback – Adrian Martinez leading the best offense in the league.
Both losses came by one-score margins: Birmingham handed Michigan its first loss, 20-13 in Week 2 at Ford Field, then triumphed over the Panthers at home on a 5-yard TD pass from Martinez to tight end Jace Sternberger to finish with the league’s best record, 9-1.
“As soon as the game ended, we thought, ‘OK, we know what we need to do, let’s get them back,’” said Michigan running back Nate McCrary, a Muskegon native and Saginaw Valley State alumnus. “So the confidence is extremely high.”
The winner will face either the San Antonio Brahmas or the St. Louis Battlehawks, who play Sunday in the XFL Conference championship in St. Louis. The UFL title game is scheduled for 5 p.m. June 16 in St. Louis.
When the Panthers have the ball
Michigan has used four different starting quarterbacks this season, and has often had two QBs in a single game. Last week, Danny Etling returned from a hand injury to start before going to Bryce Perkins in the second half. Etling finished the game after Perkins left with a leg injury.
Nolan said Etling “will be the starter” in the playoffs. However, he did not rule out the possibility of using Perkins, who is still evaluating his availability for Saturday, or Brian Lewerke, who also started while Etling was out.
Michigan’s offense was overwhelmed by the Stallions — who led the UFL in allowing just 18 points per game — in the second half last week, managing just one field goal after scoring on three of their first four possessions. The offense gained 324 yards, 203 of which came in the first half, when Michigan scored 16 of its 19 points.
“*It seemed like we came out a little slow,” McCrary said. “(It was) almost like they were throwing the punches and we were just sitting there taking the punches.”
The Panthers struggled to sustain offenses while ahead, despite Etling going 16 of 31 for 195 yards and having four rushers combine for 135 yards, outscoring Birmingham by more than 100 yards.
“We know the corrections we need to make individually,” McCrary said. “We went in and watched the film to take care of business.”
Michigan’s RPO-based offense found seams on the ground after being held to just 47 yards in the first meeting. The passing game, which mainly revolves around quick plays, was unable to carry the attack and struggled again in the last game. Michigan finished the season third in total offense (300.7 yards per game), averaging 125.3 rushing yards, second most in the league, and scoring the most rushing touchdowns (19).
“Our offensive line has become a line that can run the football extremely well,” Nolan said. “Our offense did a great job, but the other day in the second half, I think we shot ourselves in the foot a few times.”
When the studs have the ball
Michigan enters the playoffs allowing teams 19 points per game, third best in the UFL, and is coming off a strong game that ended bitterly.
The defense, which has been a strength all season, restricted Birmingham’s attack until the final possession last week, when Martinez put together a series of shots and two fights to lead the Stallions to a comeback victory. Prior to that campaign, Michigan held Birmingham to 167 total yards and 13 points through 3 1/2 quarters while recording five sacks and double-digit pressures.
“I think they changed their mindset a little bit until they recovered and then they did what they normally would do,” Nolan said. “Adrian Martinez will always be an important factor in this offense, and a big factor as well.”
The focus will again be on slowing down Martinez, who led the All-UFL team after throwing for 1,749 yards (third best in the UFL) and leading the league in rushing (528 yards).
“Normally, you don’t have the opportunity to come back the next week and correct your mistakes,” said linebacker Bumper Pool, who signed with the Panthers midseason. “Normally you have to take it to the next team, but we can go back and fix the mistakes we made last week.”
Michigan’s seven offensive linemen, who have averaged three sacks per game this season, will be tasked with disrupting Martinez’s timing by rushing down the field, while the back-end defenders focus on their discipline while dealing with the quarterback. double threat. The Panthers hope Martinez and the Stallions — including running back duo CJ Marable and Ricky Person Jr. — run more on Saturday; Even with his struggles, Martinez made just five quick attempts at the end of the season.
“There will be things we do better just because we saw that and getting those live reps at the end of the season is hard to replicate in practice,” Pool said.
Mike Nolan and seven Panthers players receive league honors
Seven Panthers players were named to the All-UFL team released Wednesday, the most of any team in the league. Wide receiver Marcus Simms, offensive linemen Daniel Wise and Breeland Speaks, cornerback Nate Brooks, safety Kai Nacua, kicker Jake Bates and long snapper Jordan Ober were honored.
Simms, the only offensive player honored, finished with 426 yards in eight games, averaging a league-high 18.5 yards per catch. Speaks led the UFL in sacks (9½), while Wise played defense as the best defensive tackle before a season-ending injury after five games. Brooks recorded 36 tackles and one interception, while Nacua led the team in tackles (47) and tied for the league lead in interceptions with three. Bates was 17 of 22 on field goals and 3 of 4 on kicks of 60-plus yards, while Ober handled all snapping duties.
Nolan was named UFL Coach of the Year. Nolan, who is in his second year as head coach of the Panthers after decades of work in the NFL, received the award after leading Michigan to the longest winning streak in the UFL while dealing with key injuries to quarterback and linebacker Frank Ginda, the defensive lineman. of the USFL in 2023. of the year and Michigan’s leading defender at the time of the injury.
“I have no intention of being anything other than the coach of this football team,” Nolan said days before the award was announced. “I’m not trying to go to the NFL, I’m not trying to do any of those things, I’m trying to help these guys achieve their dreams. And one of those dreams, besides trying to get back to the NFL, is to win a championship.”
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Michigan Panthers vs Birmingham Stallions UFL Playoffs Preview
