The Michigan Panthers overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Houston Roughnecks 26-22 on Sunday at Rice Stadium behind a stellar performance from quarterback Bryce Perkins off the bench.

Perkins Power Entering in the second half, Perkins provided an immediate spark, finishing with 121 passing yards, 79 rushing yards, 1 passing TD and 2 rushing TDs to rally Michigan (7-2) from a 22-12 hole.

His 5-yard TD run with 3:36 left proved to be the game-winner as the Panthers scored the final 14 points.

Defensive Dominance Defensive end Breeland Speaks also had a monster game, recording 3 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Speaks now leads the USFL in both sacks (8.5) and TFLs (12) on the season.

The Panthers’ defense came up huge in the fourth quarter, with Ron’Dell Carter and Mika Tafua sacking Nolan Henderson to help get the ball back for the Perkins-led comeback.

Roughnecks Strike First Houston (1-8) jumped out to an early 9-6 lead behind a 63-yard TD pass from Henderson to Justin Hall in the third quarter. Hall caught another TD later in the quarter as the Roughnecks built a 22-12 advantage.

But they were unable to put Michigan away, with Perkins and the Panthers offense catching fire over the final 15 minutes.

Offensive Output Both offenses had productive days, combining for 587 total yards. Michigan’s Siaosi Mariner had a game-high 8 catches for 95 yards while Hall paced Houston with 109 receiving yards and 2 TDs.

In addition to Perkins’ big day, Danny Etling started and threw for 110 yards before exiting. Henderson passed for 150 yards and ran for 67 more for the Roughnecks.

Down the Stretch The win was Michigan’s fifth straight as they improved to 7-2 heading into next Saturday’s regular season finale at Birmingham (8-1).

Houston fell to 1-8 with the loss but battled until the end in their final home game. The Roughnecks will wrap up the year next Sunday at Memphis.