Defending champion Stallions' abrupt exit tops storylines from UFL playoffs
All good things must inevitably come to an end, and that's never been truer for the Birmingham Stallions. After three consecutive spring football championships, Skip Holtz's squad is out of the running for the 2025 UFL title after falling 44-29 to the Michigan Panthers in the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium on Sunday.
"It's hard to lose, but it's with great respect that I say congratulations to Michigan," Holtz said. "It's with great pride that I say that I have really enjoyed coaching this football team and [watching] what this football team has been able to accomplish."
Sunday's win marked the first time in eight meetings that Panthers head coach Mike Nolan earned a win in a head-to-head matchup with Holtz. Even though his team got the win, Nolan said things are far from finished. "There's still work to be done," he said. "Our football team knows that. We're excited to have another week to play."
The Panthers will face the DC Defenders — who dominated the St. Louis Battlehawks by double digits, 36-18, in the XFL Conference Championship Game at The Dome at America's Center on Sunday — in Saturday's title game.
"We just didn't show up when we needed to show up," Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said about his team's loss after six consecutive wins to finish out the regular season. "DC really put it on us in all phases."
Here's a look at other storylines from conference championship weekend: It's Toa Taua time!
The Panthers entered Sunday's USFL Conference title game as the second-leading rushing team in the league, averaging 127 rushing yards a contest, and continued to assert their dominance on the ground in a decisive win over the Stallions, totaling 144 rushing yards. Taua was the catalyst, finishing with 85 yards and three touchdown runs.
Taua rightly gave credit to the Michigan offensive line, calling it "an example of resiliency," as he routinely broke into the second level of Birmingham's defense without being touched.
"When you can just walk into a touchdown untouched, that's nobody but them (the O-line)," he said. "I've just got to not be blind and see it. It was a great day collectively as an offense."
In his first action since missing three games due to an ankle injury, QB Bryce Perkins completed 20 of 25 passes for 238 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Perkins also rushed for 34 yards and a score.
Most importantly, Michigan finished with no turnovers, while Birmingham coughed up the ball twice — a 25-yard pick-six by Michigan safety Kai Nacua and lost a fumble. Battlehawks have no answer for Jordan Ta'amu & Co.
Despite being well-rested and prepared, Becht acknowledged his team was dominated in all facets of the game. The Battlehawks went into last week's contest knowing they had to slow down Defenders QB Ta'amu. However, they were never able to do so. The Ole Miss product went 18-for-26 for 204 yards, highlighted by a 38-yard touchdown to receiver Seth Williams midway through the first quarter to give the Defenders a lead that they would never relinquish.
"He really came out and executed on all cylinders," Becht said about Ta'amu. "He's a veteran in this league. He's still young. Just a hell of a performance by him."
Ta'amu's only blemish was a pick-six in the first half — his first interception in 128 passing attempts.
The Defenders were equally effective at moving the ball on the ground, as standout running back Deon Jackson rushed for 116 yards and two scores on 21 carries. The Defenders finished with 388 yards of total offense, scored on seven of 10 possessions and went 7-for-11 (63.6%) on third down. Holtz benches J'Mar Smith in favor of Matt Corral
The Stallions never found any real consistency at the most important position on the field this season, which is one of the biggest reasons they'll be watching the championship game from their couch for the first time in four years.
Holtz used five different players at quarterback and none started more than three games. Although Smith had played well entering the USFL title game, Holtz replaced the Louisiana Tech product after he threw a pick-six that put Birmingham down 20-6 late in the second quarter.
"[After the interception], I just said, 'You know what? We need a boost. We need a spark,'" Holtz said. "I put Matt in, and I thought he did a good job of getting us back in the football game."
Corral had not played since mid-April due to an abdominal injury. He went 12-for-25 for 147 yards and two scores, but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble. Smith went 4-for-10 passes for 102 yards, one touchdown and an interception before he was replaced.
Deon Cain led the Stallions with six receptions for 124 yards. Birmingham finished with just 61 yards on the ground. Defenders overcome adversity under Shannon Harris' leadership
With head coach Reggie Barlow and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams leaving at the start of the season, interim head coach Shannon Harris did a masterful job of leading his squad to the title game for the first time in team history.
The Defenders' offense rolled to 36 points against the top-ranked defense in the league on the road in a hostile environment at St. Louis. Greg Williams' son Blake Williams, serving as the defensive coordinator for the Defenders, held St. Louis to 240 yards and a 22.2% conversion rate on third down. The Defenders also finished with five sacks.
"It came down to us, we and ours — and that has been our motto the entire season," Harris said. "We're going to do this together. It's not a one-man show on any of this stuff. As a head coach, you get praise for it and you get a record put on you, but at the end of the day, it's us. We and ours."
These two teams will meet for the second time this season. The Panthers easily handled the Defenders in Week 6 of the regular season at Ford Field, 38-16. In that game, the Panthers rolled up 233 yards on the ground, including 99 yards from Taua and 90 from Perkins. Ta'amu went 19-for-36 passing for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Finishing with nine receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown, Chris Rowland was Ta'amu's favorite target.
If the Defenders want a shot at winning this one, however, they must do a better job of stopping the run.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams .
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League
recommended
Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
32 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Reinhart's first goal of Stanley Cup Final a big one in Panthers' Game 3 rout of Oilers
Forget what the game log says. Monday night was the true return of Florida Panthers star Sam Reinhart. Reinhart scored a goal – his first in six games — and set up another with a filthy pass to Aaron Ekblad in Monday's 6-1 Panthers win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. For the Panthers' regular-season leader in goals, it was his best game since suffering an apparent knee injury early in the Eastern Conference Finals. Reinhart went top shelf three minutes into the second period to beat Stuart Skinner – the same netminder he victimized in Game 7 nearly a year ago — to jumpstart a dominant closing half of an overwhelming Panthers performance. 'The Sam Reinhart goal was the inflection point,' said Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who won his 1,000th NHL game (combining the regular season and postseason) Monday. '2-1, especially with what both teams had been through in the first two, there was no [safe] lead at that point, and Sam's goal was very important to us.' In the micro sense, Maurice of course is correct. Reinhart's goal gave the Panthers much-needed breathing room in the second period, and the Oilers didn't respond well. Oilers coach Kris Knoblach said his team 'unraveled' Monday, and the stat sheet backed that up. Edmonton racked up a staggering 85 penalty minutes and a suspension for Evander Kane isn't out of the question after his inexcusable and dangerous stick found Carter Verhaeghe's neck when the Panthers forward was defenseless on the ice. But from a wider lens, Reinhart's breakout game is even worse news for Edmonton. After two overtime games in Alberta, the Panthers looked like far and away the better team Monday. 'We're a very deep team,' said forward Brad Marchand, who scored for the third time in as many SCF games Monday. 'Not just offensively. A lot of guys play a 200-foot game. That's one of our strengths.' Florida is strongest when Reinhart is at his best. And Monday's performance was huge given his uncharacteristic couple of weeks. Reinhart has been largely a non-factor since the dirty hit laid on him by Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho in the Eastern Conference Finals. Reinhart missed two games after Aho's hip check to his knee and struggled to find his form upon his return. He was minus-3 in the first two games of this series with zero points in nearly 60 minutes of ice time. Monday was the ultimate reversal. His goal – set up by Verhaeghe just 80 seconds after Corey Perry cut a two-goal Florida lead in half – was great. His assist on Aaron Ekblad's third-period power play goal was even better. Reinhart went no-look behind his back, a move that fooled Skinner so utterly that Ekblad couldn't have missed the net if he tried. But it wasn't just offense for Reinhart, the two-way star who finished second in the Selke Trophy voting behind teammate Aleskander Barkov. Reinhart led all Panthers with three blocked shots Monday. 'I think you guys have seen it enough,' Reinhart said of Florida's style of play. 'We try to play the same very night and keep it as simple as possible. 'We're trying to take away some time and space.' Time and space? Luxuries Edmonton no longer can afford after a second straight loss.
Miami Herald
33 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Was a real, bloody rat thrown on the ice after the Panthers Game 3 win?
The customary rain of plastic rats on the Amerant Bank Arena ice after a Panthers win featured a deep cut poke at Edmonton superstar center Connor McDavid. One plastic rat that hit the ice in the defensive zone nearest the Edmonton skidded across the ice, leaving a bright red trail describing its route to the boards. From the upper rows and press box, this looked like someone slashed open an actual rat and hurled it onto the ice. But, a still from the Sportsnet broadcast showed it to be a broken bottle of ketchup hitched to a plastic rat. Why would someone do that? Same reason someone from the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach County metro area might throw a dead bloody chicken on the ice — to vex McDavid. See, it's become well known that the Oilers captain doesn't like ketchup. OK, that's wallowing in understatement. He uses words such as 'fear' and 'phobia' to describe his aversion such as during an interview with former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban. In fact, Heinz made sport of McDavid's fear of ketchup in an Instagram post last October.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Panthers-Oilers Game 3 ends in chaos as Florida takes series lead in Stanley Cup Final
The Oilers were doing a bit of message-sending as the Panthers trounced them, 6-1, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, as the two sides found themselves entangled in some fisticuffs as the final horn sounded. Corey Perry took a whack at Niko Mikkola just as time expired, and after engaging with several Panthers players, he eventually found himself in a brief fight with Tomas Nosek before the refs started to restore order. As the chaos was ensuing on the ice, fans at Amerant Bank Arena began throwing plastic rats onto the ice, a tradition in South Florida that dates back to the Panthers' 1996 Stanley Cup Final run. 4 Fights broke out at the end of the third period on June 9. AP 4 Corey Perry gets in a fight during the third period of Game 3 on June 9. Imagn Images The light fisticuffs punctuated a very physical third period and a game that saw a combined 138 penalty minutes. Things exploded in the third when a line brawl was ignited after Oilers forward Trent Frederic got into it with Sam Bennett. The line brawl sent Frederic, Bennett, Mattias Ekholm, Jonah Gadjovich and Darnell Nurse to the locker rooms early. 4 Corey Perry #90 of the Edmonton Oilers and Niko Mikkola #77 of the Florida Panthers fighting during a hockey game. Getty Images The Panthers led for the entire night, scoring their first goal 56 seconds into the first period and scored five more times through the rest of the game with Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Bennett Aaron Ekblad and Evan Rodrigues all finding the back of the net. Perry scored the Oilers' only goal of the night, which came in the second period. Marchand's goal less than a minute into the game made him the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a Cup Final, and Bennett's goal was his playoff-leading 14th. 4 Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovich fight during the third period of Game 3 on June 9. AP Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 stops for the Panthers in the Game 3 win. The Panthers lead the series 2-1, and Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday in Sunrise.
