By: Jesse Germonprez
It finally happened.
The Michigan Panthers didn’t just squeak by the Birmingham Stallions. They walked into the USFL Conference Championship and laid down their most complete performance of their season, snapping a seven-game losing streak to the spring football juggernauts in convincing fashion, 44–29. They were physical, efficient, and for once, Michigan was the team doing the punishing.
Now, after years of suffering, waiting, and preparing, the Panthers are heading to the UFL Championship game. There, Michigan will face the XFL Chamption DC Defenders who are a fast, hard-hitting team with plenty of momentum and talent of their own. But after Saturday’s performance, it’s hard to imagine anyone being hotter than Michigan.
Rested and Ready
From the first pair of drives, it was clear — Bryce Perkins came ready to win.
The Panthers quarterback looked calm, confident, and in control. His reads were clean, he led receivers well, and he didn’t take unnecessary risks. At one point he slid instead of fighting for even more yards, growth. Perkins completed 20 of his 25 passes and tacked on a rushing TD, but his stat line doesn’t even tell the full story.
Many had doubted whether he was even 100%. He had a noticeable amount of tape on his ankles going into the game, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he moved. Perkins stood tall in the pocket, took care of the ball, and made the Stallions pay on all levels. He turns sure broken plays to intricate dances around defenders regularly and it was a blessing to have him back under center.
The big blow came late in the third quarter, when Perkins dumped off a short ball to Malik Turner, who made one defender miss and exploded up the righ sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. That wasn’t just a highlight, it was the moment Michigan proved they weren’t just the better team on paper.
Toa Taua Sets the Tone
While Perkins toyed with defenders, Toa Taua bulldozed his way over them.
Taua has been a consistent, tough runner all year long, and on his biggest stage yet, he delivered again. He punched in three rushing touchdowns, consistently pushed the pile, and gave the Panthers a sense of rhythm that Birmingham never found. He ran angry and down hill breaking tackles, finishing with power, and controlling the pace of the second half.
Taua’s production was the heartbeat of Michigan’s 39-carry, 144-yard rushing effort. In contrast, the Stallions managed just 61 yards on the ground, not controlling the clock or setting up play-action. Taua alone had more rushing first downs than Birmingham’s entire offense.
After the game, Taua as usual didn’t want the spotlight. He instead directed the praise straight to the offensive line, praising them for creating lanes and dominating the line of scrimmage all night. That unit, beautifully coached by Tim Holt, imposed their will from the opening snap and made sure Michigan stayed on schedule the entire game.
J’Mar Stalls, Corral Can’t Hoof It
The Stallions came in riding a wave of confidence after a 46–9 blowout win in Week 10, but that momentum evaporated fast.
Birmingham tried to start hot with J’Mar Smith, but the veteran quarterback never found his footing. Aside from a deep ball to Cain that set up the Thomas score in the 2nd quarter, his throws were late and his reads were off. With just over for minutes left in the first half, Smith tried to fire a short sideline throw — and Kai Nacua, reading him like a book, jumped the route and took it 25 yards the other way for a pick-six.
It was the same kind of energy Nacua brought in Week 1, when he logged two interceptions — including a pick-six — in Michigan’s opening win over St. Louis. This one felt just as big. It slammed the door on any first-half momentum and served as the final nail in the coffin of J’Mar Smith’s 2025 campaign as HC Skip Holtz would put Matt Corral in for the remainder. Corral would throw three touchdowns, an interception, and loose a strip sack trying to claw Birmingham back into the game, but it was already well out of reach.
The Numbers That Mattered
While Birmingham technically out-passed Michigan by a few yards (249 to 238), the Panthers were far more efficient. They held the ball for nearly 35 minutes, converted more third downs (7-of-12), and finished with 22 first downs to Birmingham’s 18 — including 10 by way of the run.
They also ran 12 more plays, had less penalties, and averaged 5.7 yards per play, identical to Birmingham, but did it with way more balance.
Most importantly? Michigan was +2 on turnovers and was nearly perfect in the red zone — 4-for-5 — while Birmingham settled for a long field goal and came up empty on early fourth down chances.
Turner’s Rise Continues
With Siaosi Mariner — the UFL’s 2025 regular season receiving yard leader — mostly bottled up, the Panthers needed someone to emerge on the perimeter. Malik Turner answered that call in a big way.
Turner, who has already to established himself as a dependable target, exploded for 99 yards on six catches, including the dagger, a 76-yard touchdown catch-and-run that all but put the game out of reach. He was a nightmare in space, breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage and racing untouched down the sideline directing traffic.
Turner continues to show he’s more than just a secondary option. He’s become the team’s most reliable receiver when it counts — physical off the line, smart against zone, and dangerous after the catch.
Defense by Committee
This wasn’t a one-man show on defense. The Panthers got meaningful contributions across the board. Alongside Nacua’s pick-six, Trey Tarpley, Tyrone Stallworth, and Nate Dawkins each recorded sacks with Stallworth also forcing a fumble.
The secondary played solid, limiting big plays and forcing Birmingham to drive the field the long way. Outside of one big gain from Deon Cain, the Stallions were never able to flip the field.
The biggest momentum swing may have come in the second quarter, when Tarpley stepped in front of a Corral pass and snagged an interception that set up even more Michigan points. It was another veteran play from a unit that’s been opportunistic all season long.
One More Hunt
With the win, Michigan moves on to face the DC Defenders in the UFL Championship on June 14th in St.Louis. Its shaping up to be a physical battle between two teams with potent offenses that have had wildly different paths.
But this victory was more than just a playoff game. This was the ghost, the Panthers curse of Bobby Layne. This was the wall Michigan hadsn’t been able to climb. And they didn’t just clear it — they tore it down, Gorbachev style.
Now, Perkins is steady, Taua is rolling, and the defense that keeps punching above its weightclass. Michigan enters the biggest game in franchise history looking like a team that finally found its identity.
They’re not the underdogs anymore. They’re the hunters.
