Michigan Panthers fall to 1-5 with 33-17 loss to unbeaten Birmingham Stallions

The Michigan Panthers were better late — despite entering Saturday at 1-4 against a 5-0 squad in Birmingham, Alabama, they stayed within one score of the Stallions for three quarters — but it wasn’t enough, as Birmingham scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 33-17 victory.

Quarterback Shea Patterson (Michigan) went 3-for-7 for 13 yards on the Panthers’ first three drives, which resulted in a game-opening 56-yard field goal and two punts, then had to sit as a lightning strike in the area delayed the game. When the game resumed, Patterson was noticeably better, completing 21 of his final 28 passes for 186 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

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Turnovers were costly for the Panthers, leading directly to 10 points for the Stallions. As the two-minute warning approached in the first half, Patterson threw short to Lance Lenoir Jr. at the Panthers’ 19 for 3 yards, only for Lenoir to fumble it on a turnover forced by DeMarquis Gates (Ole Miss), last week’s USFL Defensive Player of the Week. The Stallions recovered on the 18 and three plays later turned it into a field goal and a 13-10 lead going into the half.

After the teams traded TDs in the third quarter — with drives of 6:14 and 7:14 eating up the running clock adopted midseason — Birmingham turned to backup quarterback Alex McGough, formerly of Florida International and a Seattle Seahawks draft pick, and running back Bo Scarbrough, formerly of Alabama and the Detroit Lions, to ignite its offense. The duo combined for seven runs — McGough’s lone pass attempt resulted in a 15-yard defensive pass interference call — for 71 yards, capped by a 28-yard run by Scarbrough, to give Birmingham a nine-point lead.

The Panthers’ rally was cut short, three plays later. After two quick passes from Patterson covering 13 yards, the QB’s third attempt of the drive, from the 50-yard line, was batted into the air by a defensive lineman and caught by Birmingham defensive end Jonathan Newsome (Ball State) at the Panthers’ 47. From there, the Stallions needed 10 plays to find the end zone again, helped by a 40-yard pass from McGeough to wide receiver Peyton Ramzy (Tuskegee) after Michigan cornerback Jameson Houston lost track of Ramzy on a delayed pass play.

Scarbrough finished with 16 carries for 105 yards, while McGough was 2-for-3 passing for 46 yards and rushed five times for 21 yards and a touchdown. For the Panthers, Lenoir caught nine of 12 targets for 82 yards, but none for more than 20 yards.

Michigan finishes up its South Division schedule next Saturday with a game against the New Orleans Breakers at 9 p.m. (FS1), then closes out its schedule with three games against North Division foes Philadelphia, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.

Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford.