Danny Etling #8 of the Michigan Panthers hands the ball to Wes Hills #31 against the Memphis Showboats during the fourth quarter in the game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on April 28, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Murphy/UFL/Getty Images)
Michigan Panthers (2-2) at Memphis Showboats (1-3)
Sunday, April 28 at 2:00 PM CT (3:00PM ET)
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN
Attendance: 7,640
Network: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Kugler (Play-by-play), Joel Klatt (Analyst), Devin Gardner (Field Reporter)
Both Michigan and Memphis were coming into this game off of a loss, or losses in the case of the Showboats. In Week 4, the Panthers fell to the San Antonio Brahmas 19-9, and the Showboats lost 32-17 to the St. Louis Battlehawks to extend their winless streak to three games. One of these losing streaks will end. Additionally, the Panthers have a 0-1 record on the road and Memphis has a 0-1 record at home, indicating the possibility of breaking or extending other streaks.
The winner of this game will own the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams as well as an edge in the USFL Conference standings at the midpoint of the season.
Jake Bates kicked off 74 yards for the Michigan Panthers and Titus Swen returned the ball to the Memphis 33-yard line. Memphis quarterback Troy Williams passed to Vinny Papale for 8 yards and then handed to Darius Victor for a 6-yard gain and a first down. Another handoff to Victor gained 4 yards, and then Williams was strip sacked with the ball recovered by Michigan’s Breeland Speaks on the Memphis 39-yard line.
Michigan quarterback Danny Etling handed to Matt Colburn for a 1-yard gain, and then passed to Colburn for 8 yards. On third and 1, a handoff to Wes Hills made 4 yards and moved the markers. Etling handed to Hills for a 19-yard run, and then Etling rushed for 3 yards. Etling passed incomplete twice, but a defensive holding penalty gave the Panthers a first down on the Memphis 2-yard line. Wes Hills ran for 2 yards for the Michigan touchdown. The one-point conversion was good on a pass to a wide-open Siaosi Mariner, making the score 7-0 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 34. Williams passed 2 yards to Daewood Davis, and then handed to Victor for a 2-yard gain. On third down, a 9-yard pass to Papale moved the chains. A pass to Jonathan Adams was tipped and nearly intercepted, and then Williams was sacked for a 4-yard loss. A pass to Davis was not caught, and the Showboats were forced to punt.
As it began to rain, the punt was taken on the Michigan 25-yard line via a fair catch. Etling handed to Colburn for a 9-yard gain, and then went back to Colburn for 1 more yard and the first down. A handoff to Colburn made 1 yard, and a pass to Mariner was incomplete. On third down, Etling called his own number and was dropped for a 2 yard loss. The Panthers faked the punt, and Hills ran 12-yards to the sideline and a first down.
Etling passed 9-yards to Devin Gray, and then handed to Hills for a 1-yard loss. On third down, Etling passed 9 yards to Gunnar Oaks for a first down on the Memphis 35. Then, a handoff to Colburn was good for a huge 35-yard run for a touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt failed when Michigan was called for an illegal formation. Michigan re-tried the attempt from the 7-yard line and failed. The score was now 13-0 for Michigan.
The kickoff was taken by Swen and returned to the Memphis 48-yard line as the first quarter ended.
A handoff to Victor lost 2 yards, and then a Williams pass was batted down. On third and 12, Williams’s pass to Adams was incomplete but a defensive pass interference penalty gave the Showboats a first down on the Michigan 39. Williams passed deep to Davis but the ball fell incomplete, and then Williams scrambled and could not complete a pass to Diondre Overton. On third and 10, Williams was intercepted by Adonis Alexander who returned the ball to the Michigan 45.
Etling scrambled for 2 yards, and then handed to Colburn who lost 1 yard. On third and 9, Etling passed 14-yards to Cole Hikutini for the first down. A pass to Colburn lost a yard, and then a pass to Gray fell incomplete. On third and 11, another pass to Gray was incomplete, and the Panthers settled for a 54-yard Bates field goal attempt, which missed wide right.
From the Memphis 48-yard line, Williams handed to Victor for a 4-yard run, and then went back to Victor for 2 more yards. On third and 4, an 8-yard pass to Papale moved the markers. Williams was sacked for a 7-yard loss, and then he passed 27-yards to Sage Surratt.
A handoff to Victor gained 1 yard, and then a pass was caught by Davis and fumbled. Noah Dawkins recovered the fumble and returned the ball 80 yards to the Memphis 5-yard line. A handoff to Hills gained 3 yards, and then another handoff to Hills made 1 yard. On third down, Hills punched it into the end zone for the Michigan touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 19-0 for Michigan.
Swen returned the Bates kickoff to the Memphis 36-yard line. A Williams pass to Wes Saxton was incomplete, and then and handoff to Victor gained 3 yards as the two-minute warning was announced.
Williams scrambled and managed to pass to Overton, but the pass fell incomplete. Michigan was forced to punt and it was returned by Gavin Holmes to the Michigan 44-yard line.
Etling handed to Colburn for a 5-yard gain, and then passed 14-yards to Mariner to move the markers. A pass to Mariner was incomplete, and then Etling was sacked for an 8-yard loss. A deep pass to Simms fell incomplete, and the Panthers punted.
The punt was taken by Papale and returned to the Memphis 12-yard line. With 0:20 remaining, Williams passed to Daewood Davis on the 18-yard line and he ran 82 yards for a Memphis touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 19-6 for Michigan.
With 0:09 remaining, Holmes returned the Coughlin kickoff to the Memphis 44-yard line. In the last play of the half, a 61-yard field goal attempt by Jake Bates was just missed to the right.
The second half began with a 66-yard Coughlin kickoff, with Holmes returning the ball to the Michigan 35-yard line. Etling handed to Colburn for a 4-yard gain, and then went back to Colburn for another 4 yards. On third and 2, Etling passed 6 yards to Mariner to move the markers. Then, Etling passed deep to Hikutini for a 48 yard gain to the Memphis 3-yard line. Etling faked a handoff and ran right for the touchdown. The one-point conversion failed, making the score 25-6 for Michigan.
Swen returned the kickoff to the Memphis 41, and a 5-yard offside penalty by Michigan was tacked on. Williams passed to Victor for a 5-yard gain, and then handed to Victor for no gain. On third down, a pass to Victor only made 1 yard, and the Showboats were forced to punt. The punt returned was muffed by Holmes, and Memphis’s Jay Jay Wilson recovered the ball on the Michigan 7-yard line.
Williams passed 7 yards to Adams for a Memphis touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 25-12 for Michigan.
Gavin Holmes returned the Coughlin kickoff to the Michigan 36. A handoff to Wes Hills gained 6 yards, and then another handoff to Hills only gained 1 yard. On third and 4, Etling was pressured and scrambled to the sideline for no gain. A defensive holding penalty tacked on 5 yards to give the Panthers a first down. Etling passed to Colburn for 7 yards, and then handed to Colburn for a loss of 1 yard. On third and 4, Etling was sacked for a 12-yard loss and the Panthers were forced to punt.
The Miller punt went into the end zone for a touchback. Starting on his own 25-yard line, Williams was sacked for a 5-yard loss. A pass intended for Davis fell incomplete, and then Williams passed deep to Daewood Davis who was hit hard and could not hang onto the ball. An unnecessary roughness penalty against Michigan gave the Showboats a first down.
Williams scrambled for 12 yards to the Memphis 47, and then he passed to Adams but overthrew the receiver. A defensive holding penalty gave Memphis a first down. An incomplete pass to Surratt was well defended by Kai Nacua, and then Williams could not complete a pass to Overton. On third and 10, a deep pass to Adams was caught for a 38-yard gain to the Michigan 9-yard line.
Williams was sacked for a 6-yard loss, and then he scrambled 11 yards to the 4-yard line. On third and goal, Williams complete a pass to Sage Surratt for a Memphis touchdown. The catch was reviewed and confirmed as a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 25-18 for Michigan.
Holmes returned the Coughlin kickoff to the Michigan 36. Etling handed to Colburn for a 1-yard gain as the third quarter ended.
Etling completed a 14-yard pass to Mariner for a first down. A handoff to Colburn lost 2 yards, and then Etling passed to Simms for a 9-yard gain. On third and 4, Etling passed to Simms for a 29-yard gain to the Memphis 13. Then, Etling handed to Hills for a 13-yard run and his third touchdown of the game. The one-point conversion was good on a Colburn 2-yard run, making the score 32-18 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff was returned by Swen to the Memphis 25. Williams passed to Davis, but lost two yards. Williams scrambled and passed downfield to Davis, but Kai Nacua intercepted the ball on the Memphis 41.
Etling passed to Mariner for a 9-yard gain, and then a run by Hill was negated by an offensive holding penalty. Etling was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and then Michigan suffered a delay of game penalty. On third and 19, Etling could not complete a pass to Quinn and the Panthers were forced to punt.
The punt was returned by Papale to the Memphis 33-yard line. Williams passed deep to Daewood Davis, and Davis could not catch the ball that was on his fingertips. A pass to Papale made 8 yards, and then a pass to Surratt was incomplete. On fourth and 2, Etling passed incomplete to Davis and turned the ball over on downs.
A handoff to Hills gained 9 yards and then a 3-yard Colburn run moved the chains to the Memphis 19. A handoff to Colburn was stuffed for a 2-yard gain, and then Etling handed again to Colburn for 5 more yards. On third and 3, Etling completed a 2-yard pass to Hikutini, short of the first down. The Panthers settled for a 30-yard Bates field goal to make the score 35-18 for Michigan.
The Bates kickoff was returned to the Memphis 40-yard line by Titus Swen. Williams handed to Swen for a 1-yard gain, and then passed to Davis for 8 yards. On third and 1, Michigan was offside, giving Memphis a first down. Williams was sacked for a 7-yard loss, and then he completed a 5-yard pass to Victor. On third and 12, a pass to Davis was incomplete, and then Williams completed a 28-yard pass to a wide open Overton. Michigan head coach Mike Nolan challenged the play for a false start and won the challenge, negating the Overton catch, and giving Memphis fourth down and 17.
Williams was pressured, and he managed to scramble and throw a deep pass to Davis that could not be caught. The ball was turned over on downs.
Hills rushed 3 yards to the Memphis 44 as the two minute warning was announced.
Etling handed to Hills for 1 yard, and then handed again to Hills for 4 more yards. On fourth and 2, Brock Miller punted 35 yards out of bounds at the Memphis 9-yard line.
With 1:04 remaining, Williams passed 26 yards to Overton, and then Williams was sacked for a 5-yard loss. A pass to Davis gained 9 yards as the clock ran out.
The final score was Michigan Panthers 35, Memphis Showboats 18.
