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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 . 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
Fox Sports
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
UFL Playoffs By The Numbers: Michigan RB Toa Taua dazzles with hat trick
The 2025 UFL postseason was thrilling, and just two teams remain — the Michigan Panthers and the DC Defenders . The Panthers took down the defending champion Birmingham Stallions in the USFL Conference Championship Game on Sunday, 44-29, followed by the Defenders pulling out a 36-18 win over the powerhouse St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL Conference Championship Game. Here are the numbers to know ahead of the upcoming UFL title game on Saturday: 2: St. Louis finished the regular season with the best record in the league but saw its championship hopes dashed in the conference title game for the second consecutive season. Road teams went 2-for-2 this weekend. 3: After leading the league in rushing touchdowns in the regular season with six, Michigan RB Toa Taua kept it rolling in the playoffs with 85 rushing yards and a season-high three scores in the Panthers' double-digit win in Birmingham. 4: Birmingham's quest for a fourth consecutive spring football title under head coach Skip Holtz — Birmingham had won back-to-back USFL titles in 2022 and 2023 before taking the inaugural UFL crown last year — came to an end on Sunday. The loss also snapped a seven-game winning streak against Michigan that dated back to 2022. 5: The Defenders' defense dominated up front in the upset over the Battlehawks. The Defenders had five sacks and nine tackles for loss in the win, as head coach Blake Williams' group controlled the game from start to finish. 15: While it came in a losing effort, Battlehawks All-UFL linebacker Willie Harvey stuffed the stat sheet against the Defenders with 15 total tackles — the most by any player in a single game this season — and a sack. 24: The Panthers will take on the Defenders in the 2025 UFL Championship Game on Saturday. The two teams met in Week 6 of the regular season, with the Panthers handing the Defenders their worst loss of the year, 38-14, in Detroit. 44: The 44 points scored by Michigan were the most Birmingham has allowed in a UFL game and the second most it has allowed in four years of spring football; the defunct New Orleans Breakers scored 45 against the Stallions in 2023. 73: Michigan and Birmingham's 73 combined points is the most (regular or postseason) in a game in UFL history. 100: St. Louis' offense this season was predicated on its run game. It finished the regular season averaging a league-best 144 rushing yards per game. However, DC was the one team that figured out how to stop it, as it was the only team to hold the Battlehawks under 100 rushing yards in a game. What's more, the Defenders did it twice — in their Week 3 win in St. Louis and the playoff win on Sunday. 272: After sitting out the final three games of the regular season with an ankle injury, Panthers All-UFL QB Bryce Perkins showed no ill effects in the win over Birmingham. He completed 80% of his passes (20 of 25) and had 272 total yards of offense to go with two total touchdowns. 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
Fox Sports
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Panthers vs. Stallions live updates: Top moments from 2025 UFL playoffs
The 2025 UFL postseason is here! Kicking things off, the Michigan Panthers are taking on the defending league champion Birmingham Stallions at Protective Stadium in the USFL Conference Championship Game on Sunday afternoon. Live Coverage for this began on 2:06p ET recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Birmingham Stallions' Skip Holtz, J'Mar Smith reunite with chance to make history
For the fourth time in four years, the Birmingham Stallions ended up right where they expected to be when the 2025 UFL regular season came to a close: in the postseason, hosting the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium. But the route they took to get back to within two wins of claiming a fourth consecutive professional spring football league title was circuitous. The Stallions entered their first season without former general manager and wunderkind Zach Potter and with some new faces making their way to Birmingham out of sheer necessity. The Stallions, who have never looked like an unbeatable team even when they have been virtually unbeatable, have made finding ways to win their hallmark. This season stands as the best example of that, especially at quarterback. What began with a former league MVP and championship-caliber QB in Alex McGough quickly became a near-season-long exercise in triage by coach Skip Holtz, who also acts as quarterbacks coach and playcaller. In 10 weeks, he's been forced to play five different quarterbacks and start four. Not one Birmingham QB has started more than three games, and only one has not been forced to miss playing time due to injury. And yet the Stallions enter the postseason sitting at 7-3 with an offense and defense that is playing so well that they beat the Memphis Showboats 46-9 in their regular-season finale. With so many changes in place, from injuries to new individuals running his offense, how has Holtz managed to come through this season with not only a winner, but a team that looks capable of taking the 2025 UFL crown? "I don't know," Holtz said with a brief chuckle as he attempted to put a season unlike any other he's coached into context. In 10 regular-season games, the Stallions have suffered injuries on the offensive line, defensive line and both cornerback positions. Still, the circumstances surrounding the team's quarterback room were unique. Just two of the five QBs on Birmingham's roster this season, McGough and Matt Corral, were present for the first five days of installation at training camp. Veteran Case Cookus joined the team a week late and was thrust into duty after McGough and Corral went down with injuries. Holtz even brought in former Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley to play meaningful snaps. That is when it became clear that Holtz wanted J'Mar Smith to return to the team. Holtz not only needed a player he could trust, but someone he was familiar with. When Corral went down, Holtz knew he needed to get a QB in his room who knew his offense, his scheme, and could give them a chance to finish the season with an offensive identity. "I tried to call J'Mar, but he was getting a new phone or something, and didn't call me back," Holtz said. "And so I went and moved on Peasley, not thinking that he would be interested." Eventually, Smith got in touch with Holtz and let him know that he was indeed interested, but the timing didn't work, as an offer had already extended to Peasley. Corral suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve by the Stallions, and that's when Smith got the call. Holtz found a roster spot and succeeded in getting Smith on the sideline in time for Birmingham's game against conference rival Houston in Week 7. Down 25-6 at halftime, the Stallions looked like they were on their way to another loss, which would put them squarely on the bubble to make the postseason with just three games left in the regular season. And then Cookus, who started that game, reaggravated a knee injury. Holtz put his former Louisiana Tech star quarterback in, and the Stallions finished with the biggest comeback win in UFL history, scoring 27 unanswered points in a memorable 33-25 win. In that game, Smith looked like the player he was at Louisiana Tech, where he averaged better than 3,000 passing yards per season as a three-year starter. The former Bulldog standout, who has thrown for more than 10,000 yards with Holtz as his playcaller, showed off his elite playmaking ability, completing 3-of-5 passes for 63 yards and adding a rushing score in the victory. It was then, in that Week 7 comeback win over the Roughnecks, that Holtz found his quarterback. Since then, the Stallions have gone 3-1 when Smith is under center, including going 22-of-31 for 306 yards and two touchdowns against conference-title foe Michigan in Week 9. "I still had my questions after the St. Louis game [Week 8]," Holtz said. "But it was after the game against Michigan that I said, 'There you go now.' That's when the thing went off where you went, 'All right, that's our guy.'" Smith has relished the opportunity to lead the Stallions into the postseason as QB1. Though he started the first-ever USFL game for Holtz, he has never had the chance to be "The Guy" in the postseason, and now, Smith's son will get to see his father play for a championship too. "I'm literally thinking about it, getting chills," Smith said of playing in front of his one-year-old son. "It's just one of the big things that was very special to me about having this opportunity to play again." It's a gorgeous moment for Holtz and Smith, who have known each other for 11 years — half of Smith's life — across college and professional football. "A lot of people can't say that they've been with their coach this long, especially playing football," Smith said. "In my situation, me being a quarterback and him being an offensive playcaller and coach, it is a great connection, a great feeling. "You understand what he wants. You know the offense: front, back, side-to-side." Both Holtz and Smith admitted that their connection has been a true strength over the last four weeks, and that is quite possibly the reason the Stallions could win the UFL title. In a league where change is a part of the game and being comfortable with the unfamiliar is the best trait you can possess, Holtz and Smith have the one attribute every coach and player in the UFL craves: chemistry built on experience, earned trust and an insatiable desire to be better tomorrow than each was today. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him at @RJ_Young . [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 recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
UFL 2025: Best hot mic moments from Week 10
Week 10 of the 2025 UFL season has come and gone, and we're officially switching gears to the playoffs, which kick off Sunday, June 8. The postseason schedule was set before the final week of the regular season, but football fans were still treated to some fantastic action in the final week. On Friday, the St. Louis Battlehawks took down the DC Defenders on the road in a 13-8 victory on FOX. Both teams rested some players, as these two squads will face each other again soon in the XFL Conference Championship Game. The Houston Roughnecks traveled to Ford Field and took down the Michigan Panthers on Saturday, 19-12. In Sunday's doubleheader, the Arlington Renegades came out with a 23-6 win over the San Antonio Brahmas , followed by the Birmingham Stallions crushing the Memphis Showboats by 37 points on the road, 46-9. Michigan and Birmingham are back in action soon, facing each other in the USFL Conference Championship Game. Here are the best hot mic moments from Week 10! "Sit your f****** ass down!" Battlehawks defensive tackle Austin Faoliu and linebacker Mike Rose got to Defenders quarterback Mike DiLiello for a sack and informed the signal-caller that it was time for him to sit his "f****** ass down." "Wait, there's a penalty. We got to go back, though." Panthers quarterback Rocky Lombardi appeared to have a 49-yard rushing touchdown and was pumped after the big scoring play. However, he later realized that the play was being called back due to a penalty. "That was clean" Showboats quarterback Troy Williams took a hit from Delontae Scott after just getting off a pass. Williams later told the Stallions linebacker "that was clean." "No!" Panthers head coach Mike Nolan was passionately trying to get his players out of a fight that was unfolding. "Get DK to calm the … fudge down." Prior to a fourth-and-10, Brahmas head coach Payton Pardee wanted a player on his team (presumably offensive lineman Derrick Kelly II) to "calm the fudge down." Surely, that's what he meant to say. "You better get your ass down!" Renegades quarterback Luis Perez rushed for a 7-yard touchdown with 6:25 remaining in the first half and dove for the score. After the play, Perez's teammate told him that he has to "get his ass down" on those rushes. "Are you kidding me?" In at quarterback for the Renegades, Holton Ahlers was intercepted by Brahmas safety Jalen Elliott, and Ahlers was incredulous after the turnover. "Block the f*** out of that guy!" Showboats head coach Jim Turner wanted his team to "block the f***" out of a player on the Stallions. Turner also kept yelling "Tom" throughout the game. "Oh, you ass!" DiLiello got the call on the run for the Defenders, and the quarterback stiff-armed Battlehawks cornerback Myles Sims. After the play, DiLiello informed Sims that he was "ass." "God dang" Showboats quarterback Dresser Winn was politely sacked by Stallions defensive end Myjai Sanders, who had two sacks on the day. Winn responded to the play with a "god dang." "Y'all better lift!" Stallions quarterback J'Mar Smith picked up a one-point conversion with his legs on a play. After the play, Smith repeatedly told the defense that they "better lift" — with somebody on the Showboats defense saying "yeah, we do." 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
