UFL Playoffs: Birmingham Wins 31-18, Despite 4 TOs, 11 Penalties, and a QB Benching!
Advances to Championship vs. Winner of St. Louis/San Antonio
It wasn’t pretty. It looked like the game fans and backers of Birmingham most feared when QB Adrian Martinez turned into his Nebraska version rather than the spring football MVP version.
The supposed juggernaut of the UFL fell behind Michigan 18-3!
Martinez threw a TD pass, reverted to a few more miscues, then was benched in favor of talented backup Matt Corral. Birmingham had been keeping Corral sharp through the regular season just in case Martinez turned into a pumpkin in the playoffs. Good planning. A lot of orange seeds on the field in the first half.
Birmingham (-5) won and covered 31-18 despite losing the ball 4 times (Michigan would also suffer 4 TOs) committing 11 penalties for 111 yards (Michigan just 5 for 30), and converting only 25% of third downs tries (Michigan even worse at 17%). Great work by mostly Corral and RB C.J. Marabel on offense…and the Birmingham defense…to help the Stallions close the game with a 28-0 run.
Let’s run the stat box…
Birmingham (-5) 31, Michigan 18
Total Yards: Michigan 253, Birmingham 365
Yards-per-play: Michigan 4.3, Birmingham 6.9
Rushing: Michigan 80, Birmingham 96
Passing: Michigan 19-30-3-182, Birmingham 19-30-2-269
Third Downs: Michigan 17%, Birmingham 25%
Turnovers: Michigan 4, Birmingham 4
Red Zone TD Pct: Michigan 0% (0/2), Birmingham 67% (2/3)
Neither team could move the ball consistently, until Birmingham hit grinding form in the second half. Both were poor on third downs and sloppy with the ball. You do see the favorite’s large superiority in YPP and red zone production. The right team won and covered. Just took a roundabout way to get there…after the most dominant playmaking force in the league couldn’t walk and chew gum in a high-pressure game. Unfortunately, par for his career course.
Hometown fans were happy with the win. Recreational bettors who probably laid the points in a TV game were happy. But, the LEAGUE can’t be happy with that slop. What a mess. This was supposed to be a showcase weekend. But, it only showed how inconsistently UFL offenses execute. And, its regular season MVP wilted under the spotlight even though the rest of his team played well.
Still time for a remaining game to be a great ad for spring football. St. Louis hosts San Antonio Sunday night. Market expects a close one (St. Louis -3 and 44 last time I looked). Championship game next week could get interesting if Martinez is given the start and still flounders (might be a virtual “road” game at secured site St. Louis). Or, if Corral sputters a bit in a letdown spot. But, I guess those scenarios would set up a close game but not necessarily be a great ad for spring football.
Personally, still mostly (or very) disappointed with the product. Most of the storylines are marketing designed to sell the league rather than an accurate portrayal of true player talent and meaning. What we’ve seen has just shown what happens when the large hunk of the bell curve representing “good in college, but not quite good enough to matter in the NFL” play in April, May, and June.
To this point, it’s enough to be TV programming, but not enough to be compelling. Let’s see if that changes tomorrow night.
Back with you paid subscribers late morning Sunday to see how sharps have been betting Game Two of the NBA Finals matching Dallas and Boston. We’ll have a stat recap Monday morning of that game and the other UFL semifinal matching St. Louis and San Antonio. Thanks for reading. See you again soon.