In the season finale for the Panthers and Stallions, this game was the first matchup against each other since Week 2, where the Stallions defeated Michigan 20-13 at Ford Field. This was the fourth all-time matchup between the two franchises, with the Stallions winning the three previous meetings. Birmingham defeated the Panthers 27-13 at Ford Field last season during week six of the 2023 USFL season. In their first matchup in 2022, the Stallions took down the Panthers 33-17 at Protective Stadium, also in week six.
The Stallions wanted to win this game to make up for their only loss of the season, which took place last week to the San Antonio Brahmas in the Alamodome. A win would also seal up first place in the USFL conference. A win by the Panthers would tie them with the Stallions in the standings and give them momentum heading into next week’s USFL Championship game, which has already been scheduled to take place in Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.
Birmingham Stallions kicker Chris Blewitt kicked off into the end zone for a touchback, and the ball was spotted on the Michigan 25-yard line. Michigan quarterback Danny Etling passed to Siaosi Mariner but the ball fell incomplete, and then attempted another pass to Mariner that was also incomplete. On third and 10, Etling rushed for 9 yards and the Panthers decided to punt.
Amari Rodgers returned the Brock Miller punt to the Birmingham 33. Martinez’s pass to Rodgers was incomplete, and then he handed to C.J. Marable for a 2-yard gain. On third down, a 12-yard pass to Deon Cain moved the markers. Martinez passed deep left to Jace Sternberger who ran up the sideline for a 53-yard gain to the Michigan 1-yard line. A handoff to Marable was good for a 1-yard run and a Stallions touchdown. On the two-point conversion a 5-yard pass to Jordan Thomas was caught, but ruled an incompletion after review, to make the score 6-0 for Birmingham.
The Blewitt kickoff was returned by Terry Wright to the Michigan 41. Etling’s pass to Devin Ross fell incomplete, and then a pass to Cole Hikutini gained 15 yards. A handoff to Nate McCrary gained 17 yards to the Birmingham 27, and then another McCrary run gained 3 yards. A pass to Mariner gained 4 yards, and then on third and 4, Etling’s pass into the end zone flew over everyone’s heads. Michigan settled for a Jake Bates 39-yard field goal to make the score 6-3 for Birmingham.
The Bates kickoff was returned by Cain to the Birmingham 29-yard line. Martinez handed to Marable for a gain of 6-yards, and then handed again to Marable who went left and ran up the sideline for a 19-yard gain to the Michigan 47. Martinez was pressured and sacked for a 13-yard loss, and then Martinez was sacked a second time for an 8-yard loss. On third and 29, Martinez was pressured and had to throw a pass out of bounds. The Stallions were forced to punt.
The Colby Wadman punt went out of bounds for a touchback, and the ball was placed on the Michigan 25-yard line. Etling handed to Toa Taua for a gain of 12 yards, and then a pass to Hikutini for a gain of 3 yards. A pass to Mariner gained 15 yards for a first down on the Birmingham 46.
Etling handed to McCrary for a 7-yard gain, and then passed to Devin Gray for a 10-yard gain and another first down. A handoff to McCrary gained good yards but an offensive holding call pushed the Panthers back 10 yards as the first quarter ended.
Etling passed incomplete to Hikutini, and then passed to Devin Ross for an 18-yard gain. On third and 2, Etling kept the ball and scampered 23 yards for a Michigan touchdown. The one-point conversion was good on a one-yard Taua rush, to make the score 10-6 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, and the ball was placed on the Birmingham 25-yard line. Martinez passed 12 yards to Binjimen Victor, and then a handoff to Marable gained no yards. A pass to Marable gained 9 yards, and then a handoff to Marable gained 2 yards to move the chains. Another handoff to Marable went for no gain, and then Martinez was sacked for a 6-yard loss. On third and 16, a Martinez pass fell incomplete, and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Wright to the Michigan 24-yard line. Etling handed to Taua for a 2-yard rush, and then attempted a pass to Taua that fell incomplete. A pass to Mariner gained 20 yards to the Michigan 20, and then a hand off to McCrary gained 3 yards. Etling was sacked and fumbled, but a Birmingham defensive holding call negated the play and gave the Panthers a first down.
Etling passed 46-yards to Mariner for a Michigan touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 16-6 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff was returned by Cain to the Birmingham 25. A short pass to Rodgers was good for a 4-yard gain, and then a catch by Marable was overturned by a Birmingham face-masking penalty. A pass to Marable gained 9 yards, and then on third and 12, Martinez passed incomplete to Rodgers. The Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was downed on the Michigan 17-yard line. A handoff to McCrary gained no yards, and then an Etling pass sailed wide. On third down, a pass to Ross was dropped and the Panthers were forced to punt.
The Miller punt was returned by Rodgers to the Birmingham 39-yard line as the two-minute warning was announced.
Martinez was chased down by Javin White and sacked for a 7-yard loss. On second down, a false start penalty pushed Birmingham back 5 yards, and then Martinez passed to Marlon Williams for a 13-yard gain. On third and 9, Martinez’s pass went out of bounds, and the Stallions were forced to punt. On the punt, a “running into the kicker” penalty against Michigan resulted in a 5-yard penalty. It was still fourth down, so the Stallions punted again.
The Wadman punt was downed on the Michigan 15-yard line with 0:06 remaining. The Panthers killed the clock, making the score 16-6 for Michigan at halftime.
The Bates kickoff went out of bounds and the ball was spotted at midfield. Martinez was sacked for a 9-yard loss, and then rushed for a 10-yard gain. On third and 9, a pass to Rodgers resulted in contact and a defensive pass interference call for a 15-yard penalty. A screen pass to Kevin Austin gained 9 yards, and then a 5-yard Marable run moved the markers to the Michigan 20. Another handoff to Marable resulted in a 20-yard touchdown. The one-point conversion was good on a one-yard Martinez run, to make the score 16-12 for Michigan.
Wright returned the Blewitt kickoff to the Michigan 33-yard line. Bryce Perkins came in as the Michigan quarterback, and he handed to McCrary, but an offensive holding call negated the play and drove Michigan back 10 yards. Perkins kept the ball and gained 5 yards, and then had a pass almost intercepted. On third and 15, Perkins scrambled 14 yards. On fourth and 1, Michigan punted.
The Miller punt was taken by Rodgers with a fair catch on the Birmingham 15-yard line. Martinez handed to Larry Rountree for a 5-yard run, and then went back to Rountree for a one-yard gain. On third and 4, Martinez had his pass knocked down and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Wright on the run, taking the ball up to the Birmingham 46. Perkins handed to Taua for no gain, and then Perkins kept the ball and ran for an 18-yard gain. Perkins handed to Taua for a 3-yard run, but Bryce Perkins was injured on the play. Etling came back in and handed to Taua for a 5-yard gain. On third and 3, Etling handed to McCrary for a touchdown run, but an offensive illegal shift penalty negated the run and pushed them back 5 yards. Now on third and 8, Etling threw a dart to Devin Gray for a 12-yard gain and a first down on the Stallions 14.
Etling handed to McCrary for no gain, and then completed a 4-yard pass to Trey Quinn. On third and 6, another pass to Quinn was good for 6 yards and a first down. On first down, a false start penalty pushed the Panthers back 5 yards, and then Etling passed to Hikutini on the 1-yard line, but an ineligible man downfield penalty negated that catch and pushed the Panthers back 5 more yards. Etling’s pass to McCrary was not caught, and then a pass into the end zone flew over everyone’s head as the third quarter ended.
On third down, a pass into the end zone was caught by Siaosi Mariner; however an offensive holding call negated the play. Again on third down, a good run by Taua was brought back due to an offensive holding call. Again on third down, a 2-yard pass to Mariner put the ball on the Birmingham 25. A 44-yard Jake Bates field goal was good to make the score 19-13 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, with the ball placed on the Birmingham 25. Martinez kept the ball and ran for a 13-yard gain, and then a pass to Rountree gained 6 yards. A pass to Williams sailed over his head, and then on third and 6, a pass to Austin was dropped. The Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Wright to the Michigan 25. Etling handed to McCrary for a 4-yard gain, and then a pass to Mariner was incomplete. On third down, an 8-yard pass to Mariner moved the markers. Etling’s pass to Quinn was incomplete, but Michigan’s head coach Mike Nolan challenged the play for defensive pass interference and was successful for a 15-yard penalty against the Stallions.
From the Birmingham 48, Etling passed incomplete, intended for Samson Nacua, and then handed to McCrary for a 4-yard gain. On third and 6, a pass to Quinn could not be caught, and the Panthers punted.
The Miller punt went into the end zone for a touchback, putting the ball on the Birmingham 25. Martinez passed incomplete, intended for Cain, and then kept the ball and rushed for 6 yards. On third and 3, Martinez had a down field pass nearly intercepted, and the Stallions were forced to punt.
The Wadman punt was returned by Wright to the Michigan 25. Etling handed to Taua for a 3-yard gain, and then handed to Taua again for no gain. On third and 7, Etling’s pass was tipped up into the air and nearly intercepted. The Panthers had to punt.
The Brock Miller punt was returned to the Birmingham 39-yard line by Amari Rodgers. Martinez passed to Cain, but he was well-defended and dropped the ball. Martinez faked a handoff and scrambled for a 7-yard gain, and then passed 7 yards to Williams to move the markers as the two-minute warning was announced.
A pass to Austin fell incomplete, and then a handoff to Marable gained 12 yards for a first down on the Michigan 35. Martinez was pressured and could not complete a pass to Mariner, and then a pass intended for Sternberger was batted away by Kai Nacua. On third and 10, Martinez rushed for a 3-yard gain. On fourth and 7, an 18-yard pass to Austin was caught on the 25-yard line.
A defensive “too many men” penalty gave the Stallions a 5-yard gain, and then Martinez was pressured and nearly sacked, but managed to complete a 3-yard pass to Cain. With 1:08 remaining, on second and 2, a 3-yard Marable rush gave the Stallions a first down on the Michigan 5.
Martinez passed to Jace Sternberger for a 5-yard touchdown. The one-point conversion was good on a 2-yard pass to Marcus Baugh, to give the Stallions a 20-19 lead.
The Blewitt kickoff was returned by Wright to the Michigan 37-yard line. With 0:54 on the clock, Etling was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and then Etling completed an 11-yard pass to Mariner. On third down, Etling’s pass sailed over Quinn’s head, and on fourth down, Etling passed to Gray for an 8-yard gain. A roughing the passer penalty tacked on 15 yards to move the ball to the Birmingham 49.
Etling passed 9 yards tot Quinn, and then rushed for another 5 yards to the Birmingham 35. With 0:03 remaining, Jake Bates attempted a 53-yard field goal and missed wide right to end the game.
The final score was Birmingham Stallions 20, Michigan Panthers 19.
