UFL Michigan Panthers

Michigan Panthers Game Notes for Week 6 vs. the Arlington Renegades

Published on May 1, 2024 under United Football League (UFL)
Michigan Panthers News Release


The 3-2 Michigan Panthers secured a much-needed 35-18 victory last week against the Memphis Showboats, shoring up the second USFL conference playoff spot as the season reaches the halfway mark. Along with a trio of Wes Hills rushing scores, the defense had a monster day, tallying seven sacks (entered the game with six total) and four takeaways (entered the game with four total). Breeland Speaks racked up three of those sacks, as he now sits tied for second in the league with four in that category. Safety Kai Nacua recorded an interception for the second straight game, and he now leads the league with three. Danny Etling, making his first start for the Panthers, going 14-of-21 for 175 yards and added one rushing touchdown. He looked very comfortable under center, as he will continue being the starter with E.J. Perry out due to injury. It was all hands on deck for the Panthers, who look to stack consecutive wins for the first time this season. As for the 2023 XFL Champion Arlington Renegades, it has been a season to forget thus far, sitting at 0-5 with the worst record in the league. Three of their five losses have come in one-score games. Quarterback Luis Perez has been a bright spot, leading the league in passing yards (1,151). Arlington's offense also features two top-six receivers in J.P. Payton and Tyler Vaughns. Additionally, Juwan Manigo is third in the UFL in all-purpose yards, leading the league in kick return yards with 501.

LIVING IN A SIMMULATION

Michigan wide receiver has taken the league by storm through the first five weeks of the season, ranking second in the league with 318 receiving yards and three touch- downs on only 15 receptions. His 21.2 average per catch leads the league. After only making two receptions for 38 yards in Week 1 against St. Louis, he followed that per- formance up with three catches for 96 yards, including a 76-yard catch, against Birmingham and four catches for 84 yards, including a 66-yard score, against Houston. Against San Antonio, the West Virginia product finished with four catches for 63 yards, including the team's lone touchdown which went for 41 yards. In Week 5 at Memphis, Simms had two catches for 37 yards. He also ranks fifth in the league in all-purpose yards after recording 474 yards, which includes 156 kickoff return yards as he has returned six kickoffs through five weeks.

BATES CONTINUES WITH THE BOOT

Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates kicked his way into football history after drilling a 64-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game against St. Louis in Week 1. The 64-yarder is tied for the second longest field goal in professional football history, only behind Justin Tucker's 66-yard field, which he connected on in 2021 at Ford Field. Bates tied Matt Prater, who hit a 64-yard field goal in 2013. What makes Bates field goal impressive is that he connected on it twice. The first attempt didn't count as the Battlehawks coaching staff called a timeout directly before the play, but Bates' was already in his kicking motion and the ball easily went through the uprights. After being iced by St. Louis, he calmly settled in and connected on the extremely long field goal once again and gave Michigan a 18-16 lead. Even more, the field goal was Bates first-ever made field goal in his football career at any level. The ball that Bates kicked is now representing the UFL in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He followed that performance up in Week 2 going 2-for-2 against the Birmingham Stallions. He started by nailing a 62-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. He became only the second kicker to connect on back-to-back 60 plus yard field goals in back-to-back weeks. Brett Maher of the Dallas Cowboys is the only other who did it in Weeks 6 & 7 in 2019, connecting on 62 and 63 yard field goals. Bates continued his perfect start to the season by going 2-for-2 against Houston in Week 3, connecting from 46 yards and 55 yards. Against San Antonio in Week 4, Bates converted his only attempt, which was from 49 yards. In Week 5, he missed two attempts as weather played a bit of a factor. Bates was 1-of-3, connecting on a 30-yard attempt, but missing on 58-yard and 62-yard attempts in the second quarter. Bates served as a kickoff specialist from high school to college. However, the Texas native did go 2-for-3 on extra point attempts for the Houston Texans during the 2023 preseason.

O'KAI, WE SEE YOU!

Michigan safety Kai Nacua recorded his third interception of the season in the Panthers' Week 5 victory over Memphis. It was also his second interception in as many weeks. His three picks rank first in the UFL this season and only St. Louis' Mike Rose has recorded more than one INT this year. Nacua's three picks are as many as the Houston Roughnecks have as a team and more than Memphis (2), San Antonio (2) and DC (0). The Las Vegas native also leads the league in pass breakups with six. He ranks second on the team with 29 tackles this season and has also recorded one sack. As a team, the Panthers ranked tied for second with five interceptions and lead the league with 25 pass breakups through five games.

SPEAKING IT INTO EXISTENCE

Michigan defensive end Breeland Speaks led the defensive charge against the Memphis Showboats in Week 5, tallying three of the team's seven total sacks in the game. Speaks, who was named to the All-USFL team last season, ranks tied for third in the UFL this season with 4.5 sacks.

He has also recorded one forced fumble this season. As a team, the Panthers rank second in the league with 13 total sacks.

MICHIGAN CONNECTIONS

A total of five Michigan Panther players have connections to the Great Lakes State. Running back Nate McCrary (Muskegon) and linebacker Kenny Willekes (Rockford) are natives of the state, while three additional players played college football in Michigan. The full list of players, their hometowns and universities are below:

19 QB Brian Lewerke Phoenix, Arizona Michigan State

28 RB Nate McCrary Muskegon, Michigan Saginaw Valley State

48 DE Kenny Willekes Rockford, Michigan Michigan State

79 OL Jarrett Horst Middleton, Wisconsin Michigan State

84 TE Gunnar Oakes Swanton, Ohio Eastern Michigan

ROLLING HILLS

Last season in the USFL, Michigan running back Wes Hills led the league in rushing with 679 as a member of the New Orleans Breakers. After being selected by the Panthers in the dispersal draft ahead of the 2024 UFL season, Hills picked up where he left off, rushing for 85 yards in the team's season-opening win against the St. Louis Battlehawks. However over the next three weeks, he tallied only 58 rushing yards, but in Week 5, Hills reemerged as the best back in the league.

Against Memphis, Hills rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries and found paydirt three times. Through five games, Hills ranks second in the league in rushing, but leads all running backs, with 225 yards.

NEW YEAR, NEW RESULTS AT FORD FIELD

Last season in the USFL, the Michigan Panthers won only one of their five games while playing at Ford Field. After starting 0-4 in the "friendly" confines, the Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Stars 23-20 and earned a playoff berth with their first home win. In five games, Michigan was outscored 127 to 66 by its opponents. In 2024, though, the Panthers have surpassed their win total in the Motor City with an 18-16 win over St. Louis in Week 1 and a 34-20 win over Houston in Week 3. The 16 points against the Battlehawks are the fewest points ever allowed by Michigan while playing at Ford Field.

HISTORY OF THE MICHIGAN PANTHERS

The history of the Michigan Panthers goes back to the 1980s when the team was a charter member of the original United States Football League. Jim Stanley would serve as the team's head coach for the two years they were in Detroit. In their opening season, the Panthers won their first game, a 9-7 win over the Birmingham Stallions, but then dropped their next four games. Michigan then rattled off six straight games before falling to Birmingham. They finished the regular season with a 12-6 record and hosted the Oakland Invaders in the playoffs. The team advanced to the inaugural USFL Championship game following a 37-21 victory over Oakland. Michigan would win the USFL's first championship with a 24-22 win over the Philadelphia Stars after quarterback Bobby Herbert found receiver Anthony Carter for a 48-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The team picked up in 1984 where they left off in 1983, winning their first straight games, but following an injury to Carter, the Panthers dropped eight of their next 10 games. Michigan qualified for the playoffs after winning their last two games of the year. In the first round of the playoffs, the Panthers were on the losing end of the longest professional football game, falling 27-21 to the Los Angeles Express. It ended up being the last game for the Panthers for over 30 years as they merged with the Oakland Invaders. The current iteration of the team began play in 2022 with Jeff Fisher as its head coach and general manager. The team dropped their first two games of the season, falling to the Houston Gamblers and New Jersey Generals, but was able to shut out the Pittsburgh Maulers in their third game of the year. The team would go on to drop six of its last seven games, winning its final game against Pittsburgh, to finish the season with a record of 2-8. Ahead of the 2023 season, Jeff Fisher stepped down as head coach and general manager and Mike Nolan was named the Panthers head coach. The team started the season 2-0 after defeating the Houston Gamblers and Philadelphia Stars. Michigan then dropped four straight games, all by 14 points or more. The Panthers stopped the skid with a three point win over the New Jersey Generals, but followed that up with two more losses. Needing a win to qualify for the playoffs, Michigan defeated the Stars 23-20 to finish the season 4-6 and earned a playoff berth by having a 3-3 divisional record. The Panthers would face the Pittsburgh Maulers in the division finals, but lost in overtime 31-27.

U.S. ARMY BECOMES PRESENTING PARTNER OF THE UFL

The United Football League ("UFL") announced an exclusive partnership with The United States Army (the "Army") in which the Army was named the Presenting Partner of the League. Together the two organizations will collaborate on leadership development initiatives, community engagement events, and increasing awareness of the opportunities the Army and UFL offer young leaders and athletes to create the future they want. The UFL and the Army will leverage each other's platforms - including the broadcast and digital platforms of the UFL partners, which include FOX, Disney (ESPN/ABC), Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson - to reach diverse, new audiences across the nation. As part of the agreement, the Army logo will be featured on all UFL gameday jerseys as well as on the fifty-yard line at games. There will be Army activations at UFL games, including a spotlight honoring veterans and current Army personnel who have served our nation. The UFL and the Army will also work together to host community events and create bespoke programs to raise awareness and recruit the next generation of leaders in local UFL markets. No matter the life goal, the Army accelerates the lives of young leaders from all walks of life. In addition to the many tangible benefits - including college tuition, professional development and career training programs, comprehensive health care, family benefits and more - those who answer the call to serve experience a timeless sense of purpose alongside great teammates.

NEW LEAGUE, BETTER OPPORTUNITY

The merger of the XFL and the USFL has created the strongest collection of spring football talent and has been dubbed the United Football League. The League is divided into two conferences: USFL (Birmingham Stallions, Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats, Michigan Panthers) and XFL (Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas, St. Louis Battlehawks).

Each team will play six in-conference games and four inter-conference matchups. The Conference Championships will pit the top two teams with the best records in their respective conferences against each other.

ALL GAMES NATIONALLY TELEVISED

This season, all 43 games (40 regular season games, two playoffs, one championship) will be featured on a combination of ABC, FOX, ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1. Games on ESPN and ABC will be streamed on ESPN+ and FOX games will stream on the FOX Sports App. 72% of all UFL games will air on broadcast television (ABC or FOX): ABC (10), FOX (21), ESPN (10), ESPN2 (1) and FS1 (1). Michigan will appear on FOX six times this season, ESPN three times and on ABC once. This week's Michigan game will air on FOX with the announcing team of Kevin Kuglar (play-by-play), Robert Smith (analyst) and Devin Gardner (sideline analyst). The entire Week 6 schedule is listed below:

Saturday, May 4 - Birmingham Stallions @ Memphis Showboats at 12 p.m. ET on ABC

Saturday, May 4 - Houston Roughnecks @ St. Louis Battlehawks at 3 p.m. ET on FOX

Sunday, May 5 - Arlington Renegades @ Michigan Panthers at 1 p.m. ET on FOX

Sunday, May 5 - San Antonio Brahmas @ DC Defenders at 4 p.m. ET on FOX

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United Football League Stories from May 1, 2024


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