Sunday afternoon at Ford Field will feature an interconference matchup between the Arlington Renegades and Michigan Panthers. This will be the first meeting of all time between the two teams. Arlington, the only winless team in the UFL, currently sits in last place in the XFL Conference, while Michigan stands at second place in the USFL Conference. This will be the only time the Renegades and Panthers face off during the 2024 UFL regular season.
What do we know?
In the week-five Texas Showdown matchup, the Arlington Renegades suffered their fifth consecutive loss versus the San Antonio Brahmas. It was another strong performance from Arlington quarterback Luis Perez, who completed an impressive 26 passes on 36 attempts for 270 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. Despite this and the Renegades’ defensive unit’s three interceptions, the team failed to secure their first UFL victory.
The Arlington Renegades secondary came up with some big defensive plays in the game, as defensive backs Myles Dorn, Ajene Harris, and Steven Jones Jr. each came up with an interception in the loss. Arlington now boasts five interceptions this season, tied for second best in the UFL, and six total takeaways. In the Renegades’ season opener versus the Birmingham Stallions, the defense came up with two interceptions, thanks to Darren Evans and Duron Lowe.
Despite their impressive statistics, the Renegades have struggled to secure a win. The Renegades have been close in three of their five losses, but bad luck has left the reigning XFL champions all but eliminated from any chance of a playoff berth.
If the Renegades could concentrate on establishing the run and continuing their protection of Perez, they would have a better chance of success. It will be interesting to see how they do in this game once they face a daunting Panther’s pass rush. On the other hand, the Renegades have the lowest-graded defense by PFF at this point in the season. In this game, Arlington needs to improve its own pass rush and neutralize Michigan’s running game.
Last week in Memphis, the 3-2 Michigan Panthers secured a much-needed 35-18 victory against the Showboats, shoring up the second USFL conference playoff spot as the season reaches the halfway mark. Along with a trio of Wes Hills rushing scores, the defense had a monster day, tallying seven sacks (entered the game with six total) and four takeaways (entered the game with four total). Breeland Speaks racked up three of those sacks, and now he is tied for second in the league with four in that category. Safety Kai Nacua recorded an interception for the second straight game, and he now leads the league with three.
Danny Etling, making his first start for the Panthers, went 14-of-21 for 175 yards and added one rushing touchdown. He looked very comfortable under center, as he will continue being the starter with E.J. Perry out due to injury. Etling has been nursing a shoulder injury all week, but is deemed ready to go for this game.
Running back Wes Hills finished the game with 16 carries for 82 yards and three touchdowns, while fellow running back Matthew Colburn II added 68 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Wes Hills was a little banged up after the week 5 game as he was nursing a chest injury all week. However he was active in practices and will start the game against the Renegades.
This team has been very successful in stopping the run and making offenses one-dimensional. Last week, the Panthers held the Showboats’ Darius Victor to 17 yards on nine carries. They were able to focus on pressuring the quarterback, which led to six sacks. On defense, Breeland Speaks led the charge with 3 sacks, while the entire defensive unit made 6 sacks. Safety Kai Nacua leads the league with three interceptions and has 20 solo tackles plus nine assisted tackles. Defensive end Kenny Willekes has 11 total tackles and 2 sacks this season.
What should we expect?
Despite the poor start to the Renegades season, the Renegades passing offense, led by Luis Perez, is one of the best in the league. This may be considered a trap game for Michigan, and Panthers head coach Mike Nolan knows this. Surely, he has prepared his charges for the dangers of taking the 0–5 Renegades lightly.
In this game, we may see a repeat of Michigan’s impressive running attack with Wes Hills and Matt Colburn, as well as another outstanding Danny Etling performance, and the Michigan Panthers will be improving their record and solidifying their playoff spot for the USFL conference playoff game.
Oddsmakers are giving Michigan a 4-point spread in their victory, which seems to be a vote of confidence for a game where they are the home team and playing a winless opponent. However, if Michigan does everything they normally do, they will easily win this game by more than 4 points.
