Matthew Colburn II #26 of the Michigan Panthers runs the ball against the Houston Roughnecks during the second quarter in the game at Ford Field on April 14, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images for UFL)
Houston Roughnecks (0-2) at Michigan Panthers (1-1)
Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 12:00 PM ET
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Attendance: 6,952
Broadcaster: ABC
Announcers: Lowell Galindo (Play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (Analyst), Harry Douglas (Sideline analyst), Kayla Burton (Sideline reporter).
The Houston Roughnecks met the Michigan Panthers for the first time in team history. Head coaches C.J. Johnson and Mike Nolan met each other last year when the Houston Gamblers fell to the Michigan Panthers 29-13 during Week 1 of the 2023 USFL season.
Since this is an inter-conference game, both teams want to get the win.
Michigan is coming off a disappointing loss at home to the Birmingham Stallions in a game that was close but saw the Stallions pull away at the end. Houston is coming off a road loss to the D.C. Defenders, in which their starting quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was injured.
For the Michigan Panthers, this will be the third game in a row at home at Ford Field.
Jake Bates kicked off 66 yards and Isiah Hennie returned the ball to the Houston 48-yard line. Houston quarterback Reid Sinnett handed off to T.J. Pledger and he ran for 10 yards. Then Sinnett passed to Justin Hall for a 6-yard gain, and then handed to Pledger for a one-yard gain. On third and three, Sinnett passed to Keke Chism for 5 yards and a first down.
A handoff to Pledger lost a yard, and then Sinnett passed to Hall for a 6-yard gain. Then, Sinnett passed to Emmanuel Butler and he ran for 24-yards to the Michigan 1-yard line, and then, Reid Sinnett ran the remaining yard for the Houston touchdown. The two-point conversion was good on a 5-yard pass Butler at the back of the end zone. The score was 8-0 for Houston.
Molson kicked off 70-yards and De’Gabriel Floyd returned the ball to the Michigan 38-yard line. Michigan quarterback E.J. Perry handed to Wes Hills who rushed for no gain, and then he passed to Hills for a 2-yard gain. On third down, Perry passed 23-yards to Trey Quinn for the first down.
A handoff to Hills lost one yard and then a catch by Simms made 6 yards. On third and 5, Perry scrambled for 3 yards. Jake Bates kicked a 46-yard field goal to make the score 8-3 for Houston.
Hennie returned the Bates kickoff to the Houston 42. A handoff to Pledger lost 5 yards, and then a pass to Cyril Grayson gained 3 yards. Two false start penalties in a row set the Roughnecks back. On third and 22, Sinnett handed to Pledger for a 9-yard run, and then the Roughnecks were forced to punt.
Floyd bobbled the punt return and went down with no gain at the Michigan 22-yard line. Perry handed to Matthew Colburn for a 3-yard gain, and then Perry passed incomplete to Jordan Suell. A defensive interference penalty gave the Panthers a first down on their own 30. Perry handed to Colburn, but a defensive offside penalty moved the sticks for a first down.
Perry handed to Colburn but he lost 3 yards, and then Perry scrambled for 7 yards himself. A run by Wes Hills moved the markers to the Michigan 40-yard line. Perry passed 26 yards to Devin Gray, and then passed incomplete to Cole Hikutini as the first quarter ended.
Colburn rushed for 5 yards, and then Perry passed to Quinn for a 4-yard gain. On third and five, Perry ran for 2 yards and moved the chains. A handoff to Hills made 3 yards, and then a 9-yard pass to Simms moved the markers to the Houston 11. A handoff to Hills gained no yards, and then a pass to Siaosi Mariner was almost picked off.
On third down, Perry scrambled 11-yards into the end zone for a Michigan touchdown. On the two point conversion Perry was sacked, but Houston was given an offside penalty. The two point conversion was re-run from the 2 yard line and a handoff to Hills was stopped short. The score was now 9-8 for Michigan.
Jake Bates kicked off 71 yards and Hennie returned the ball to the Houston 35. Sinnett was pressured and had to throw the ball away, but Michigan was called for holding, giving Houston a first down. Sinnett passed 6 yards to Grayson, and then handed to Pledger for a 4-yard gain to move the markers.
Nolan Henderson came into the game and handed to Pledger for a 3-yard rush, and then he passed 6-yards to Hall. On third down, a run by Evans was short of the first down marker. Reid Sinnett, back in the game, snapped the ball and quickly passed to Steven Dunbar for a 19-yard gain and a first down. Another pass to Dunbar was incomplete, and then a Sinnett pass was tipped and intercepted by Kai Nacua on the Michigan 22-yard line.
Danny Etling came in at quarterback for Michigan. He rushed for 5 yards and then rushed again for 2 more yards. On third and 3, Etling passed incomplete to Hills. Michigan was forced to punt.
From his own 28-yard line, Reid Sinnett passed short left to Grayson who gained 8 yards, and then handed to Pledger for a 4-yard gain and a first down. Sinnett passed 14 yards to Justin Hall, and then handed to Pledger for a 2-yard rush. Another handoff to Pledger lost a yard as the two minute warning was announced.
On third and 9, Sinnett passed to Pledger for a 19-yard gain and first down on the Michigan 26. Then, a handoff to Grayson gained 16 yards. Sinnett was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and then Nolan Henderson was brought in for a trick play and a pass to Pledger only gained 2 yards. Sinnett came back in and passed short to Butler for 6 yards. On fourth and goal, Molson kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 11-9 for Houston.
With 0:42 on the clock, Perry started a drive on his own 25-yard line. He passed to Colburn for a 6-yard gain, and then went again to Colburn for 5 more yards and a first down. A pass to Quinn made 6 yards, and then another pass to Quinn was for 5 yards as Quinn went out of bounds. With 0:15 remaining, Perry passed to Quinn for another 10 yards to the Michigan 40-yard line, and then passed to Simms for no gain. With 0:04 on the clock, Jake Bates attempted a 55-yard field goal, and made it.
The score at half time was Michigan 12, Houston 11.
To start the second half, Molson kicked off 73 yards and Floyd returned the ball to the Michigan 34-yard line. From there, Perry passed to Marcus Simms and he ran 66 yards for the Michigan touchdown. The two point conversion was good on a pass to Mariner. The score was now 20-11 for Michigan.
Bates kicked off 75 yards and Hennie returned the ball all the way to the Michigan 20-yard line. Sinnett threw an incomplete pass, and then a false start penalty knocked Houston back 5 yards. A handoff to Pledger lost 1 yard. On third down a pass to Pledger gained 9 yards, but not enough for a first down. J.J. Molson kicked a 35-yard field goal to make the score 20-14 for Michigan.
Taylor returned the Molson kickoff to the Michigan 36. Perry handed to Hills for 5 yards and then passed to Mariner for a 25-yard gain to the Houston 34-yard line. A handoff to Hills lost 5 yards, and then Perry rushed for 12 yards. A 1-yard run by Perry was enough to move the markers.
A pass to Hikutini was good for 6 yards, and then Perry scrambled for 3 yards. On third and 1, Hills was stopped short of the first down marker. On fourth down, Hills ran 1 yard for the first down on the Houston 12-yard line.
Perry handed to Hills for a 2-yard gain, and then passed to Hills for a gain of 3 yards. On third down, Perry ran 9 yards into the end zone for another Michigan touchdown. The two-point conversion was good with a 5-yard Colburn run. The score was now 28-14 for Michigan.
Hennie returned the Bates kickoff to the Houston 27-yard line. On first down, Reid Sinnett was sacked hard by Breeland Speaks. The play was reviewed by Dean Blandino in the Command Center and it was deemed to be clean.
Nolan Henderson entered the game as Sinnett was being checked by medical staff. Henderson passed to Braedon Bowman for a 4-yard gain, and then passed incomplete. The Roughnecks were forced to punt, however Hunter Niswander’s punt was blocked.
Michigan took over on the Houston 26-yard line. Etling handed to Colburn for a 14 yard gain, and then handed back to Colburn for 2 more yards. Etling rushed for 6 yards to the Houston 4-yard line, and then handed to Colburn who ran 4 yards for the touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 34-14 for Michigan.
Jake Bates kicked off 71 yards and Hennie returned the ball to the Houston 30. A 10-yard holding penalty moved the ball to the 20-yard line as the third quarter ended.
Reid Sinnett came back into the game and passed to Bowman for a 4-yard gain, and then kept the ball himself for a 5-yard gain. A 5-yard rush by Pledger moved the markers. Sinnett completed a 7-yard pass to Grayson, and then a pass to Hall fell incomplete. On third down, a pass to Chism was incomplete, and then communication issues caused Houston to take at time out.
On fourth and 3, Sinnett completed a pass to Butler who ran up field for a 33-yard gain. Then, a pass to Pledger was nearly caught at the goal line. Sinnett scrambled for 10 yards and a first down at the Michigan 15-yard line. Then, Sinnett handed to Pledger who made 6 yards, and then passed incomplete to Butler in the end zone. A 5-yard pass to Pledger picked up a first down.
Sinnett was pressured, but managed to pass 4 yards to Chism at the Michigan 1-yard line. A handoff to Pledger lost 2 yards, and then a 3-yard pass to Justin Hall scored a Houston touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 34-20 for Michigan.
Molson kicked off 67 yards and Taylor returned the ball to the Michigan 35-yard line. After a false start penalty, a handoff to Colburn lost 3 yards. Then, Perry’s pass was high and was nearly picked off. A Colburn rush only gained 2 yards and the Panthers were forced to punt.
Hall returned the Miller punt to the Houston 34-yard line. Sinnett kept the ball and scrambled for only 1 yard, and then passed down field for Justin Hall but the ball could not be caught. On third and 9, Sinnett kept the ball but could only make 2 yards. On fourth and 7, Sinnett could not complete a pass to Grayson and turned over the ball on downs.
With 4:11 remaining, the Panthers took over on the Houston 36. Perry handed to Hills for a 1-yard gain, and then handed to Hills again for another yard. On third and 8, Perry rushed 12-yards to move the markers. Then, Perry handed to Colburn for a 3-yard gain as the two-minute wanting was announced.
Perry handed to Hills for a 7-yard rush, and then handed to Hills again for another 3 yards. Another 3-yard rush by Hills was followed by the Panthers going into victory formation.
The final score was Michigan Panthers 34, Houston Roughnecks 20.
