For the second time this year, a team from Michigan had a double-digit lead on the road in a conference championship game and lost.
This time around, the Michigan Panthers saw an 18-3 first-half lead collapse into a 31-18 loss to the Stallions in Birmingham. Official attendance, via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, was 10,287.
Former NFL quarterback Matt Corral, who was picked by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2022 draft, replaced likely UFL MVP Adrian Martinez with the score 18-12 and presided over the win.
It didn’t look like a good move at first. Corral’s second pass was interception, part of a third-quarter comedy of errors that saw the teams combine for six turnovers. Corral’s miscue was followed by a pick-six that knotted the score at 18. The Stallions then scored the final two touchdowns of the game.
Corral completed nine of 11 passes for 120 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. His performance, and the outcome, will raise questions about whether it will be Martinez or Corral next Sunday in St. Louis, where the Stallions will play either the Battlehawks or the San Antonio Brahmas.
The Stallions are now three-for-three in earning championship berths since the USFL returned in 2022. The Stallions won both titles of the reconstituted four-letter league. They’ll take a 10-1 record to St. Louis in eight days.
