UFL Championship: Defenders vs. Panthers Odds & Picks
There will be a new king of spring football now that defending UFL champion Birmingham has been eliminated. The Michigan Panthers avenged last year’s USFL Conference Championship game loss by upsetting the Stallions last week, handing the defending champs their first postseason setback in three seasons. Birmingham ruled spring football for three years claiming two USFL championships and winning the debut UFL title a season ago. Long a victim, the Panthers have to feel like world beaters after dropping Birmingham last week. There was an upset in the XFL Conference as well with the DC Defenders beating No. 1 seed St. Louis, 36-18, last week, setting up a title game between clubs making their first appearance in the championship game.
Both Michigan and DC feature elite quarterbacks and electric offenses, which is why the total hit the board at half a hundred. Behind Jordan Ta’amu the Defenders averaged a UFL best 345.4 yards per game during the regular season. Michigan’s Bryce Perkins missed a few games with an ankle injury but still directed the highest scoring team. The Panthers averaged 24.5 points during the season. Michigan won the regular season meeting, 38-14, and opened as a 2.5-point favorite on the UFL betting line.
DC Defenders vs. Michigan Panthers
Date and Time: Saturday, June 14, 2025, 8 p.m. ET
Location: The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, MO
Opening UFL Odds: Panthers -2.5, O/U 50
Defenders vs. Panthers TV Coverage: ABC
The dual-threat ability of Perkins is one reason why the Panthers have been so good offensively. Perkins missed the final three games of the regular season and was sorely missed in the finale when the club scored a season-low point total in a 19-12 loss to Houston. Perkins returned last week navigating a commanding 44-29 victory over Birmingham, the Panthers second of the season against the division champs.
Perkins completed 20 of 25 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown picking apart Birmingham’s secondary. The offense was aided by a ground game that churned out 144 yards, including 34 yards and a score from Perkins. However, Toa Taua was the main threat out of the backfield gaining 85 yards with three TDs on 21 rushing attempts. You don’t often see a team play for a championship after having a negative turnover margin during the regular season, but that’s what the Panthers are doing. They had only 10 takeaways, which was better than only Memphis, and had a minus-2 differential. Michigan forced three turnovers in the conference championship.
Equally impressive was DC’s triumph in a hostile environment last week. The Defenders ventured into St. Louis, blowing out the best regular season team, 36-18, earning a return trip to St. Louis for the league title matchup. I don’t think the team is all broken up about it since they won both trips to the Gateway City, also beating the Battlehawks, 27-15, in Week 3.
After a season in which he tossed a UFL high 17 touchdown passes, Ta’amu might be the league’s MVP. No other QB had more than nine scoring tosses. A 42-yard scoring strike opened the scoring against St. Louis and the Defenders never looked back. They led 20-6 at half and scored first in the third quarter for a 20-point bulge. DC wasn’t known for its defense during the season, placing sixth in the eight-team league in both total defense and points allowed. The group came up with its best outing of the year, though, to stymie St. Louis’s attack. They allowed just 240 total yards and were successful stopping St. Louis on 7 of 9 third down chances. DC forced a pair of turnovers and sacked St. Louis QB Max Duggan five times.
Both teams can march the ball up and down the field, but the difference will be Michigan’s defense. The Panthers were better statistically in every pertinent category and put together one of their better games in recent history in their 38-14 trouncing of DC in Week 6. DC had no answer for Perkins, who was 13 of 18 for 188 yards and two TDs with an additional 76 yards and a score on the ground. The Panthers rushed for 213 yards and three TDs while allowing just 75 rushing yards. Ta’amu completed less than 53 percent of his passes in that game.
Both teams produced big upsets in the conference championship games, so you know anything can happen. I do anticipate some points considering how good both are offensively while possessing defenses that are below average. And Perkins has been a handful for opponents all season giving Michigan the edge.
