The USFL packed a season’s worth a highlights into the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and overtime, of Saturday’s North Division title game between the Michigan Panthers and Pittsburgh Maulers.
Last thing first: The Maulers downed the Panthers 31-27 in overtime to earn a spot in the championship game against either New Orleans or Birmingham, who played on Sunday for the South crown.
The Panthers and Maulers did the league proud, as 27 points were scored in the fourth quarter and two two-point conversions connected in overtime.
The final quarter saw:
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- A 59-yard field goal by Chris Blewitt gave Pittsburgh a 20-17 lead.
- An E.J. Kelly touchdown pass of 55 yards to Trey Quinn appeared to give Michigan the lead. However, a penalty flag was thrown for a facemask. Mike Pereira in the review booth overturned the penalty and said the touchdown would stand.
After review, @MikePereira overturned the call of a face mask and the result of the play is a @USFLPanthers touchdown ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JRd7sAub9a
— USFL (@USFL) June 25, 2023
- Then, the Maulers drove the field and scored a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal in the final minute to go up 27-24 after the PAT.
- Not to be outdone, Michigan got a 47-yard field goal by Cole Murphy as time expired to tie the game at 27 and force overtime.
On to the shootout:
- After the Maulers scored on their first two-point attempt in the best-of-three shootout, the Michigan running back attempted to reach the ball over the goal line. He fumbled it into the end zone and it was recovered by a Panther.
That brought Mike Pereira and the review center back into the discussion. It was ruled the back had lost possession prior to the ball breaking the plane and like in the final two minutes of a half it could not be advanced, So, the two-point attempt failed.
- The Maulers converted their second two-point conversion and were on their way to the USFL title game when a Kelly pass was batted down on Michigan’s second attempt.
