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Fox Sports
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
UFL 2025: Every touchdown from conference championship round
Just one game remains in the 2025 UFL season, as the Michigan Panthers and DC Defenders won their respective conference championship games last week. Michigan beat the Birmingham Stallions on the road in the USFL Championship Game, and DC got a convincing victory on the road against the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL Championship Game on FOX. The 2025 UFL Championship Game will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at The Dome at America's Center, home of the Battlehawks. Let's take a look at every touchdown scored in the conference title round! Michigan Panthers 44, Birmingham Stallions 29 Michigan went three-and-out to open the game, but its offense fared much differently the rest of the way. After forcing Birmingham to punt on its first possession, Michigan put together a six-play touchdown drive that ended with Toa Taua rushing for a 3-yard score. Quarterback Bryce Perkins then finished off a 13-play drive with a 1-yard rushing score on the Panthers' next drive. The Stallions responded three plays later with quarterback J'Mar Smith hitting wide receiver Deon Cain for a 65-yard completion and tight end Jordan Thomas for an 18-yard touchdown on the next play. After forcing the Panthers to go three-and-out, Smith's pass was intercepted by safety Kai Nacua, who ran the pick back 25 yards for a Michigan touchdown. However, Birmingham finished the first half strong, as C.J. Marable's 1-yard rushing touchdown capped off a seven-play drive, and the Stallions trailed 21-14 at halftime. Birmingham opened the second half with a field goal, but Michigan reached the end zone eight plays later, as Taua rushed for a 6-yard touchdown. And two plays after forcing the Stallions to go three-and-out, the Panthers went up 35-17, as Perkins hit wide receiver Malik Turner for a 76-yard touchdown. With Matt Corral under center, the Stallions got back into the game, with the quarterback finding wide receiver Davion Davis for a 3-yard touchdown, and Corral hitting Thomas for a 4-yard touchdown three plays after a Panthers fumble. But Michigan got back on track on the ensuing drive, as Perkins, who finished the day with a 119.7 passer rating while completing 80.0% of his passes and rushing for 34 yards and one score, orchestrated a nine-play touchdown drive that ended with Taua rushing for his third touchdown. The Panthers then intercepted Corral and got a field goal off the turnover, with a Michigan fumble recovery later helping them run out the clock and get the win. DC Defenders 36, St. Louis Battlehawks 18 DC was in command from start to finish in this one. After both teams punted on their first possessions of the game, the Defenders broke the ice when Jordan Ta'amu connected with wide receiver Seth Williams for a 42-yard touchdown. Eleven plays after forcing another St. Louis punt, Deon Jackson rushed for a 2-yard touchdown, giving DC a 14-0 lead. Late in the first half, though, Ta'amu was intercepted by cornerback Myles Jones. A pair of DC penalties put the ball on the 2-yard line for St. Louis and Jacob Saylors got them on the board with a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter. That said, the Defenders got a pair of field goals to end the first half, one of them coming directly after a Battlehawks fumble, and they led 20-6 at halftime. St. Louis turned the ball over on downs to start the second half, and DC made them pay. Seven plays after the Battlehawks couldn't move the chains, Abram Smith rushed for a 2-yard touchdown. St. Louis scored six plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Silvers to wide receiver Hakeem Butler. However, DC kept the pedal to the metal with an eight-play touchdown drive that ended with a 5-yard scoring run from Jackson, his second rushing score of the game. The Defenders added a field goal on their next possession, which the Battlehawks followed with a 10-play scoring drive that ended with Max Duggan rushing for a 2-yard touchdown. But it was too little, too late, as that touchdown would be the final score of the game. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and 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
Fox Sports
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
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 . 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