Birmingham cornerback Daniel Isom returned an interception — the sixth turnover of the third quarter – 48 yards for a touchdown to open the floodgates for the Stallions in a 31-18 victory over the Michigan Panthers in the United Football League playoffs on Saturday.

By beating the Panthers for the third time this season, Birmingham will play in the United Football League Championship Game on June 16.

The Stallions won the past two USFL championships, and after the merger of the USFL and the XFL to form the UFL, Birmingham won the USFL Conference crown on Saturday to advance to the new league’s title game.

Isom’s touchdown tied the game at 18-18 with 2:37 left in the third quarter after Birmingham had fallen behind 18-3 in the first half at Protective Stadium.

“Even with the offensive sputtering the way it was a little bit,” Birmingham coach Skip Holtz said, “the defense kept creating turnover after turnover, and then they said, ‘Hell, if you can’t score we will,’ and then they put the ball in the end zone.”

It came on the heels of a quarterback change for Birmingham. Stallions coach Skip Holtz pulled Adrian Martinez, who is expected to be named the league’s MVP on Monday, for Matt Corral. The quarterbacks had divided duties in the first three games of the season before Martinez took control of the job.

Corral threw an interception on his second snap of the game. But after Isom’s pick-six, Corral directed a 75-yard touchdown drive that featured a 43-yard completion to wide receiver Gary Jennings and a 7-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Amari Rodgers to break the tie with 13:42 to play.

After 6-foot-7 offensive tackle Armani Taylor-Prioleua blocked a 44-yard field-goal attempt by Michigan’s Jake Bates, the Stallions moved 66 yards for another touchdown pass by Corral – this time to running back Ricky Person Jr. from 15 yards out with 4:04 remaining.

“I felt like we needed a spark offensively,” Holtz said. “I’ve said all along I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks. I feel like we have two players who are very capable of leading this football team to a championship, and I felt like we needed a spark. I think Matt is a very talented, but more than anything, I think today is an unbelievable lesson in resolve – not in four quarters of resolve but in two months of resolve as he has had to stand on the sideline. …

“It would have been real easy for him to put his head down, to sulk, pout, and yet he’s been completely in it. He was ready for his opportunity, and what a lesson for everyone who is awaiting their opportunity. You never know when that opportunity’s going to come.”

Michigan’s last gasp for a comeback ended – fittingly – with an interception. Cornerback Ike Brown got his second of the game off Panthers QB Danny Etling on a fourth-and-9 pass.

“For our players, their resolve, their determination is absolutely special,” Holtz said. “There’s a lot of talent on this team, but there’s a lot of talent on every team in the UFL. … They refuse to lose.”

Corral completed 9-of-11 passes for 120 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Martinez completed 10-of-19 passes for 164 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran four times for 8 yards. During the regular season, Martinez led the UFL in rushing yards.

Like a boxer who survived an early barrage, the Stallions were behind on points but still standing at halftime. Michigan scored on its first five possessions and could have made it six in a row, but Bates missed a 51-yard field-goal attempt with 1:51 left in the first half.

After Etling and wide receiver Siaosi Mariner hooked up for a 35-yard touchdown catch-and-run on the opening possession, the Panthers settled for four straight field goals, so even though Michigan scored on five drives and Birmingham scored on three (while incurring eight penalties), the margin was only six points at halftime.

Birmingham’s first-half touchdown came on a 50-yard throw from Martinez to tight end Jordan Thomas, who got behind the Michigan secondary with 3:53 left in the first half.

After Bates’ miss, the Stallions rushed to a 43-yard field goal by Chris Blewitt with 12 seconds left in the first half. The key play on the way to three points was a 29-yard reception by former McGill-Toolen standout Marlon Williams, who scrambled hard to recover his fumble on the play.

Williams had three receptions for 50 yards in the contest.

Former UAB defensive tackle Garrett Marino made three tackles for the Panthers.

Michigan lost three interceptions and one fumble, and Birmingham lost two interceptions and one fumble. All the turnovers came in the second half.

The Stallions will play in the United Football League Championship Game at 4 p.m. CDT June 16 at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

Birmingham’s opponent will be determined on Sunday when the San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks play in the XFL Conference Championship Game at 6 p.m. in St. Louis. FOX will televise the game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.