Michigan Panthers’ 2022 USFL schedule: Three things to know
The Michigan Panthers' full schedule for the 2022 USFL season was released Monday.
The Panthers, coached by Jeff Fisher, open their season against the Houston Gamblers on Sunday, April 17, in the first game of a USFL tripleheader at noon ET.
Tickets for all USFL regular-season games drop at 7 p.m. ET Monday and can be purchased directly at theUSFL.com. Adult general admission tickets are $10, and each ticketed adult can receive up to three free tickets for children under the age of 15.
Here's a look at Michigan's 10 regular-season games, which will be played in Birmingham, Alabama, for the inaugural season:
Week 1: vs. Houston Gamblers, April 17, noon ET, NBC and Peacock
Week 2: at New Jersey Generals, April 22, 8 p.m. ET, USA
Week 3 (April 30-May 1): vs. Pittsburgh Maulers
Week 4 (May 6-8): vs. Philadelphia Stars
Week 5 (May 13-15): at Tampa Bay Bandits
Week 6 (May 21-22): at Birmingham Stallions
Week 7 (May 28-29): vs. New Orleans Breakers
Week 8 (June 3-5): at Philadelphia Stars
Week 9 (June 11-12): vs. New Jersey Generals
Week 10 (June 18-19): at Pittsburgh Maulers
Here are three things you need to know about Michigan's schedule.
1. The Panthers’ matchup against New Orleans in Week 7 will feature the first quarterback selected in the USFL Draft, Shea Patterson, against the first defensive end chosen, Davin Bellamy, and the Breakers' stout defensive front.
2. When the Panthers meet the Maulers in Week 3 and again in the Week 10 finale, Patterson will face his former University of Michigan teammate, Pittsburgh defensive end Carlo Kemp. The two were on the Wolverines' 2018 and 2019 teams, and Kemp was the second defensive end/edge rusher chosen in the draft.
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3. The Bandits-Panthers matchup in Week 5 will feature a meeting between Fisher (Panthers) and Todd Haley (Bandits), who last squared off as NFL head coaches for the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. Haley’s Chiefs defeated Fisher’s Titans 34-14 on Dec. 26, 2010, at Arrowhead Stadium. Fisher coached the Titans/Oilers franchise for 17 seasons before spending his final five NFL seasons with the Rams.
RJ Young's game to watch: Panthers at Bandits, Week 5
When Shea Patterson decided to transfer to Michigan from Ole Miss, some Rebels fan believed he was running from a quarterback derby in 2018.
Patterson suffered an injury in the middle of the 2017 season, and Jordan Ta’amu — then a transfer from the New Mexico Military Institute — finished the season with slightly better numbers than Patterson as the offense seemed to find a rhythm.
Since then, Patterson and Ta’amu were invited to training camp with the Chiefs as recently as 2020.
Fast-forward to 2022, and Patterson (Panthers) and Ta’amu (Bandits) were the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the USFL Draft, respectively. This will be their first opportunity to play against each other in meaningful competition.
