We are through with half of the second UFL season and I bet we are all confused. Is it a bird, a plane, a stallion, Renegade? I really don’t thing we have that super Stallions team right now. The best team in the league in the first half are the Defenders. The Stallions are falling. The BattleHawks are soaring again. The Showboats season has not sunk yet. The power rankings once again are a mess. We have another team on top of the power rankings making their second appearance as king of the mountain. We have a new bottom dweller. Are the Roughnecks making a run? We will try to sort it out as we kickoff the second half of the UFL with week six power rankings coming at you in plane bird style, that is not super. Enjoy the bottom dwellers to the top in our newest power rankings segment.

#8. SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (1-4)

XFL CONFERENCE: It did not take long for the Brahmas to fall back to the bottom of the UFL power rankings. The Brahmas are back in their comfort zone and fell two spots from last week.

ANOTHER ALAMO SLAUGHTER

Another slaughtering at the Alamo has occurred. This time it was the hometown Brahmas being trampled on by the Roughnecks at the Alamo dome. How do you beat the best team in the league one week and follow that up with a clunker to one of the worst teams in the UFL, Houston? They should load up the entire herd of Brahmas and send them packing to the slaughterhouse for mustering a total of 189 yards of offense that equaled to 3 points. The Roughnecks put a beat down on the Brahmas, 27-3, in an embarrassment in front of the San Antonio faithful bringing back old memories of the bad Gunslingers teams the city witnessed in the original USFL.

The Brahmas played their best game in week 4 defeating the undefeated Defenders and doing it through all three phases of their football team. Last week then they averaged 2.8 yards per play. Made it to the red zone twice the entire game. The defense was terrible. The quarterback play was horrific. The Brahmas still trot out Kellen Mond behind center like he has turned the corner. Which his stats tell a different story completing 4-9 passes for 35 passing yards. The Brahmas even gave the X Roughneck QB a try. Jarrett Guarantano was about the same as Mond completing 6-15 passes for 29 yards. Both QB’s threw an interception. I’m confused how this team beat the Defenders. The fix was in.

#7.MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (1-4)

USFL CONFERENCE: Moved up one spot from last week.

The Showboats’ entire season was sinking as they were the last team to finally put a W in the win column. It happened on Friday night lights as the Showboats took down the Stallions. Many are saying the Showboats used an illegal banned substance called flex seal.

Maybe the head coach of the Showboats, Jim Turner, read my power rankings segment as I mentioned they needed to try anyone else at QB.

The Showboats gave Dresser Winn his first UFL start of his career and all’s he does is win. Who is Dresser Winn? Winn played his college ball at UT Martin wherever the hell that is. He also played up north in the CFL (Canadian Football League) for the Edmonton Elks. He has been in the Rams camps as well. He’s 26 years old and he lit up the Stallions defense who are very solid this season. Dresser connected with his favorite target in this one, Dee Anderson, on a 78 yard deep ball for a score. The Stallions tied this game up and sent it to overtime. Anderson caught the clincher 2 point conversion in the OT face off rules of the UFL, the best out of three times at the 2 yard line. The Showboats scored also on a missed kick by the Stallions trying to connect on a long field goal. Isiah Hennie caught the ball in the end zone and ran it all the way back for a touchdown which a 108 yard play. With Dresser behind center, the Showboats receivers finally got the ball. Winn finished his master UFL debut completing 17-29 passes for 235 passing yards. Can Winn guide these Showboats to the post-season with a second half run?

#6. HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (2-3)

USFL CONFERENCE: Moved up one spot from last week.

The Roughnecks notched their second win of the 2025 season. Houston has doubled their win total from the 2024 season. The Roughnecks shut down the Brahmas stampede and momentum San Antonio had after beating the hot DC Defenders squad in week 4. The Roughnecks defense has kept this team in games with the shaky quarterback situation all year around. They held the San Antonio herd to a 118 total yards last Sunday. The Roughnecks defense allowed only 3 points a field goal.

Marvin Moody leads this Roughnecks defense in tackles as he had 5 last Sunday which was tied for the team high. Rayshad Williams collected his second interception of the year off the Brahmas’ bad quarterback play. The Roughnecks had two interceptions in the game. The Roughnecks QB situation has improved as they inserted spring veteran Jalan McClendon behind center and he made his first start of the year and gets the win. McClendon showed last week that he is the best available that Houston has in moving this offense up and down the field. The Roughnecks running backs scored two rushing touchdowns in this one which was enough as Houston scored a season high of 27 points on a decent San Antonio defense. Suddenly Houston looking like they can make a run at a post-season spot as they are approaching the rear view mirrors of the Panthers and Stallions who both lost last week.

#5. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (3-2)

USFL CONFERENCE: The Stallions are not galloping free and far ahead of the competition as they dropped one spot from last week in the power rankings.

I don’t think I ever had Skip Holtz’s Stallions in the bottom 4 of the spring power rankings. Here they are at number 5 after losing to the Memphis Showboats in overtime. The same Showboats who notched their first win on Stallion meat. With Matt Corral still injured. The Stallions former MVP Alex McGough is still on the IR with no timetable of returning. The Stallions turned to their 3rd starting QB of the season with spring veteran Case Cookus.

Case Cookus made his first start of the year against his former team, the Showboats. Cookus was originally with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL as he guided them to the first championship of the reboot. The Stars played the Stallions in that title game as Cookus’ team had the lead until he got hurt. You know what happened after that. Cookus first start started out of the gates very slow. The Stallions defense was not crisp like they normally have been. Cookus is a gunslinger and will need to adjust his game to Skip Holtz’s offense. He completed 15-33 passes for 145 yards as he had two touchdowns and one interception. He threw a nice deep ball to his tight end Jordan Thomas for a touchdown strike. Cookus even had 83 yards on the ground which is not like him as he is a pocket passer. The Stallions made a comeback but lost in overtime. Maybe it took a half for Cookus to knock off the rust.

The Stallions brought their first championship quarterback out of retirement this week. J’mar Smith will be the emergency QB if called upon.

#4. ARLINGTON RENEGADES (3-2)

XFL CONFERENCE: Dropped one spot from last week

The XFL conference has three teams that look like they have a shot at the UFL second season title. The Renegades are one of them. Despite the 3-2 record, this team is not consistent this season. One week they look like they are the best team in the league and solid on all fronts. Then they lay a clunker as one of their units will fail them. The Renegades were up by 11 points on the DC Defenders in the 4th quarter. The Renegades have a true star on both sides of the ball that stand out. Donald Payne on the Renegades defense was having a solid game.

He had a sack, forced fumble, and 4 tackles. Payne in crunch time in closer mode did not shine as the Defenders tied the game. You want Payne to be that pain in the arse to close out the other team. Then on offense the Renegades have one of the best QB’s in the league in Luis Perez. Which is a big reason why this team should be in the post-season. It’s a league without much QB talent. Perez had another big day at the office – one touchdown pass which was a 63 yard strike to Deontay Burnett. He had 268 passing yards. Yet in crunch time he serves up the interception when things are knotted late. Perez has led this Renegades team to an XFL championship a few seasons ago. He can get the job done. This Renegades team has a definite pattern they need to break out of.

#3.MICHIGAN PANTHERS (3-2)

USFL CONFERENCE: The Panthers fall two spots from last week after being perched on top of the power rankings coming into week 5.

The Panthers imploded late in a game versus the BattleHawks. The Panthers were up by 14 points in St.Louis. The BattleHawks second string QB made the start in this one. Max Duggan did not play well in week 4 versus the Renegades. The good signs to the Panthers success and future of this team this season is the play at their QB position. Bryce Perkins is playing at a high level this seasons. Another 235 passing yards through the air. Two more touchdown passes.

The two-headed monster at the running back position could be a scary thing late in games wearing out opposing defenses. Toa Taua had a pair of rushing touchdowns versus the BattleHawks. He had 74 yards on the ground. Now he has 139 rushing yards for the season with 3 rushing touchdowns. I do like the Panthers defense. They crumbled letting Max Duggan escape the pocket and using his legs to gain chunks of yardage. The Panthers look and feel like the best team in the USFL conference. They have to get over their hiccups versus the Stallions though. They will be in the thick of things in the second half.

#2. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (3-2)

XFL CONFERENCE: Moved up 3 spots from last week

The BattleHawks looked like road kill after losing Manny Wilkins to a season ending injury last week. The buzzards and vultures of the UFL were circling. The BattleHawks would soar once again with the horn frog behind center. Max Duggan’s redemption in front of the home crowd gives St.Louis fans hope for the post-season. Duggan was a complete disaster filling in for Wilkins. Duggan completed 9-12 passes for 124 passing yards with a touchdown pass. Then with his legs, he had two touchdowns on 10 carries for 70 yards. The BattleHawks trailed by 14 points in the second half.

Do you remember Hakeem Butler? He has missed some games with an injury. The big, tall, and lanky St.Louis receiver was targeted by not one but two BattleHawks quarterbacks. Butler had two catches for 124 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches. One from Duggan. Then the game winner from Blake Jackson who hooked up with Butler for the game winner on a 57 yard strike. St.Louis needs Duggan or if Jackson is the guy to play well, this team has a shot.

#1. DC DEFENDERS (4-1)

XFL CONFERENCE: Moved up one spot from last week to be at the top of the power rankings once again.

The Defenders finish the first half of the season with the best record in the league. They did come across a major hiccup in week 4 being knocked off their perch by a bad Brahmas team for their first loss of the year. This Defenders team lost their head coach before the first week. He bolted to the college game along with their defensive coordinator following him out the door. Things looked bad last week when they were down to the Renegades looking to give DC back to back losses. The Defenders came back from 11 points down and stunned their division rival, Renegades, in a 37-33 comeback win. Jordan Ta’amu had a 300 yard passing game with three touchdown passes. He leads the UFL in both passing yards with 1,213 yards and touchdown passes as he had 9 of them in 5 games. Versus the Renegades he completed 23 passes out of 46 attempts which is a 50% completion percentage which is not very good. For the year, Ta’amu has completed 88 passes out of 177 attempts which gives him a 49.7% completion percentage for the year. I would want my QB with a much higher completion percentage. In spring football it may be okay. This Defenders team seems to be about the right place right time as their free safety Josh Proctor was picking off Luis Perez late in the game with a tie score.

If Jordan Ta’amu is going to complete his passes at the right time of the game as they did versus the Renegades, it will not matter what his completion percentage or interception totals are. This team is living on the edge. The Defenders rushing attack is pretty much their quarterback. They really don’t have a true number one receiver. The defense thrives on getting turnovers. If the Defenders get to that championship game and are not Johnny on the spot, they will most likely lose. If teams face the Defenders and have a clean game, they could beat this team. In spring football there may not be such a thing as a clean game. We will see how long the beer snake has bite in the second half.