Michigan Panthers 2025 season

[RedRamage]

For all you are suffering from the early exit of the Lions like me, remember that there's still football coming up other than that last game a couple of teams are playing this Sunday. Maybe the Panthers will have a stand out edge this season that the Lions can sign??

Here's the 2025 schedule (all times are Eastern):

Week 1 - Sun, Mar 30 - 12:00noon @Memphis Showboats - ESPN
Week 2 - Fri, Apr 04 - 8:00pm vs. Birmingham Stallions - FOX
Week 3 - Sun, Apr 13 - 12:00noon vs. San Antonio Brahmas - ABC
Week 4 - Fri, Apr 18 - 8:00pm vs. Memphis Showboats - FOX
Week 5 - Sat, Apr 26 - 7:00pm @St. Louis Battlehawks - ESPN
Week 6 - Sun, May 4 - 12:00noon vs. DC Defenders - ESPN 2
Week 7 - Sat, May 10 - 1:00pm @Arlington Renegades - FOX
Week 8 - Sat, May 17 - 1:00pm @Houston Roughnecks - FOX
Week 9 - Sat, May 24 - 3:00pm @Birmingham Stallions - ABC
Week 10 - Sat, May 31 - 3:00pm vs. Houston Roughnecks - ESPN

The schedule's a little odd with three home games early and three road games late, but I imagine that's based on availability of the venues more than anything.

This also appears to be the first year that all teams will play their home game in their home cities.

 

 

[Hongbit]

I have to admit that I was wrong and never in a million years did I think this thread would exist when the league started.  

[RedRamage]

  On 2/4/2025 at 3:27 PM, Hongbit said:

I have to admit that I was wrong and never in a million years did I think this thread would exist when the league started.  

Expand  

I'm a little surprised myself. While I was alive when the original Mi Panthers were around I was relatively young and not much into football, so I had to look up some stuff on it. The original Panthers only played two seasons and the original USFL only had three season. This will be the fourth season of the New Panthers.

Technically the new USFL only lasted two seasons (before merging with the XFL to become the UFL) so old USFL lasted longer.

Doing some wiki-research, the end of the (original) Panthers is kinda interesting. Taubman was the owner of the Panthers. After the 1984 season when the owners were planning to move the season to the Fall, Taubman, a Lions fan and friend of WCF, didn't want to do it. (Side note: The two owners who were apparently spearheading the push to move to Fall were Chicago Blitz owner Eddie Einhorn and NY Generals owner Donald Trump.) Taubman figured the Panthers would never be able to compete straight up with the Lions (if he even wanted to) and wouldn't be able to find a local college stadium to play in anyway so instead merged with the Oakland Invaders.

So I supposed for those who aren't Trump fans you have one more reason to dislike him: The fall of the original USFL.

[Sports_Freak]

Pick 6 to ice the win!

[RedRamage]

It was a nice opening game for the Panthers. The defense showed up and limited the opposition to just one TD and a couple of FGs. The offense wasn't always stellar, but two TDs, two FGs were enough to win, even without the defense pick six.

I'd say that QB Bryce Perkins, late of the LA Rams, was the star of the game. 16 for 19, 163 yards, one TD in the passing game, and then 14 yards on 6 attempt on the ground, including an Barry Sanders-eque run on 4th down, evading tacklers to dive into the endzone.

On defense Frank Ginda (2023 USFL defensive player of the year) had 11 tackles and half a sack, and of course Kia Nacua (brother of Samson Nacua, Michigan Panthers; and Puka Nacua, LA Rams) had the late pick six to really seal the game.

A new other notes:

• Michigan has historically alternated QBs each quarter or half. They intended to do that again this game but QB Danny Etling only saw a few snaps after taking a big hit to the chest. The hit would have been legal (ie, it wasn't roughing the QB or a late hit or a hit to the head) except the defender lowered his helmet and speared Etling in the chest. Etling didn't appear to have major injuries, but also didn't return to the game. I thought Perkins was the better QB in the game anyway, so I wasn't too upset over that.
• During the broadcast they continuously hammered how much access the viewer was given as they interviewed players, HCs, OCs, DCs, and of course head rules bigshot Dean Blandino. I'd say on maybe about 4 or 5 occasions I thought it was informative and helpful to the viewer. The rest of the time it was very distracting for me. It was hard to follow the game when the announcers were asking questions and I was trying to figure out who was answering and what he was saying. It was too much access imho.
• Fan turn out was... HORRIBLE. It looked like a COVID game. Seriously, it was BAD. I hope Michigan fans turn out better for next weeks game but Memphis fans? I think there were more players in that stadium than fans.