The face of the UFL & CEO of the league, Mike Repole, loves horse racing. He put a team in Louisville & calls them the Kings with a horse head as the logo. Repole has a horse racing this weekend in the Kentucky Derby named Renegade. Named after the Dallas Renegades perhaps? In the picture above, he certainly is not just whispering in Renegade’s ears and saying, “Hello, Mr. Ed.” Renegade is favored to win the big horse race this weekend. Meanwhile the team Repole put in Louisville is on the climb in the standings and power rankings. However the Renegades of the UFL are falling and can’t get up. Hopefully Renegade the horse, can do better than the Dallas team. We have another week of power rankings coming right around the turn as we sort out all the uppers and downers of the league with week 6.

UFL POWER RANKINGS WEEK SIX

Starting with the best and ending with the worst in the league.

#1. DC DEFENDERS (4-1) In the same spot from last week.

The Defenders fan base looks like a college frat party at Comic Con. I want to go there. In only the last two weeks the Defenders have finally unleashed their aerial attack in full force. Should the rest of the league be nervous the Defenders were scoring high numbers with only a skeleton fraction of their passing game working? The Defenders defense and the running game were key in the early part of the season. The defending champions Defenders have won 4 straight since taking a loss to the BattleHawks in the opening week. In the last two games, the Defenders star quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, is finally playing his best football. Versus the Stallions he completed 15-22 for 275 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes. No interceptions. GREAT SCOTT!!

Ty Scott caught three balls for 84 receiving yards and hauled in two touchdown passes. In the running game we know the Defenders have a stud in the back field named Deon Jackson. Who the hell is Xazavian Valladay? Another weapon in the backfield. Valladay had 8 carries for 50 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. The Defenders put up their 3rd game of the season where they have scored 40 or more points in one game. The Defenders defense greeted Dorian Thompson-Robinson in his first ever spring start of his career in the UFL with two picks. Thompson Robinson came over from the Storm in trade with the Stallions and played in the NFL not too long ago. The Defenders defense gave up 28 points, but the game was out of reach for Birmingham as they score some of those in garbage time.

#2. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (3-2) Moved up three spots from last week

Frosty the Frostman is still leading the BattleHawks parade even though St.Louis hammered out a trade to get the King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez from the Dallas Renegades. Harrison Frost bounces back with a better game than he had in week 4. He’s still making mistakes as he had two interceptions vs the Orlando Storm. The BattleHawks were facing their old head coach Anthony Becht, who were undefeated 4-0 until St.Louis came to town. Frost completed 64.5% of his passes. He tallied up 185 passing yards, threw a touchdown pass, and used his legs to score a touchdown.

Steven McBride led all BattleHawks with 4 catches for 53 yards. McBride with Hakeem Butler and Jahcour Pearson have formed into a deadly trio of wide receivers for this St.Louis team. To fully use all these weapons, they need to scrape the frost off their windshields and start Perez at quarterback. The BattleHawks held a great Storm team to 17 points. They can play some solid defense. They are the only team to beat the Defenders. Perez is the last ingredient in this BattleHawks stew.

#3. ORLANDO STORM (4-1) Same spot from last week

The Storm lost their first game of the season last week. I have the Storm staying right where they are because Dallas is in a free fall right now. The Storm’s head coach Anthony Becht could not beat his former team, the BattleHawks. The Storm have played well so far winning 4-5 games in the first half of the season. The Storm have one of the best quarterbacks in the league with Jack Plummer. He threw 44 balls last week for only 143 passing yards. He completed only 24 of those. That’s a lot of dinking and dunking with short passes last week. Plummer does not make mistakes and can make big plays happen. The BattleHawks defense contained him from delivering the big play. The Storm is coming in the second half and I expect plenty of thunder and lightning from Plummer.

The Storm defense has been a major Payne for opposing offenses this season.

Pheldarius Payne racked up 2 sacks last week versus the BattleHawks offense. Becht teams have always played solid on defense. I can see that defense with Plummer at QB the Storm will be one of those 4 teams standing in the post season when the sun finally comes out.

#4.LOUISVILLE KINGS (2-3) Moved up two spots from last week

Are the Kings this good demolishing the Renegades 47-25 ? Or is Dallas just this bad right now? The Kings have won 2 straight games. In this game it was not Jason Bean’s replacement at quarterback that killed it for Louisville. Bean they traded to the Defenders after week 4. Chandler Rogers completed 72% of his passes versus the Renegades defense. His numbers were 13-18 for only 150 passing yards. No touchdown passes & no interceptions. He did not need it. The Kings had their running game firing on all cylinders.

Ian Wheeler did his Al Bundy, 4 touchdowns in one game, impersonation. Who is Ian Wheeler?

If you thought of Bobby Wheeler’s son on that old sitcom Taxi, you were wrong. Ian Wheeler was part of the Chicago Bears like the Renegades quarterback Austin Reed. Wheeler had 13 carries for 62 rushing yards and 4 scores as he was King for this game at least. The Kings piled up 4 interceptions on the Renegades. Two of them were pick sixes. That Kings defense has been feisty all year long. Louisville is on the rise.

#5. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (2-3) Moved up the ladder two spots from last week

The Gamblers get their second win of the year as they escape a defensive battle versus the Aviators to perhaps save their season. This was not Jake Plissken pulling out a wonderful mission to escape New York or LA.

This was a sloppy offensive game by both teams. Missed kicks by both sides. Definitely the missed kicks helped Houston salvage this one for the win column. What we know is Nolan Henderson is the better option at QB than Tua’s brother Taulia Tagovailoa. Henderson found the end zone with his legs for a score. I give the Gamblers defense here lots of credit. That defense played lights out and was their best performance of the season so far.

Former Defender now Gambler Malik Fisher registered one sack versus the Columbus offense. The Gamblers forced two turnovers and recorded 4 sacks in 17-13 outcome. The Gamblers offense had a total of 266 yards. A win is a win. This one was an ugly one.

#6. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (1-4) Dropped two spots from last week

The Aviators did pull out an ugly last week versus a bad Houston squad. I figured on a sober Ted Ginn as the head coach. A spicy Todd Haley as the OC and Jalan McClendon going up against his former team. Coming off a good win versus the Renegades. I thought along with many fans, that the Aviators would fly high in this one. The Aviators only mustered up 13 points against one of the worst secondaries in the league. In a defensive stand still when you lose the turnover battle, you’re going to lose the game. This was an ugly game with plenty of missed kicks on special teams. The Aviators defense held Houston to a total of 266 yards of offense. They only needed 17 points to pull off the victory. Both teams needed this victory. Both teams came in with identical records of 1-3. Being 2-3 after half the season gives your franchise hope at least. Columbus will have to win out or take 4-5 games to get in the post season. Those are not guarantees.

Up next for the Aviators is the sequel versus the Gamblers. Let’s hope it’s better than Weekend at Bernie’s two.

#7. DALLAS RENEGADES (3-2) Dropped 5 spots from last week

It feels like the Renegades season just took a plunge off a tall building. The Renegades started this season 3-0 and everyone had their quarterback Austin Reed being some NFL team’s number 2 QB in this upcoming season. The Renegades were destroying teams now that they are the team that is getting kicked around. First it was the Aviators that knocked them off their perch high in the sky. Last Sunday the wheels of the Renegades came off the bus as they were manhandled by the Louisville Kings. Reed threw 4 interceptions. Two of them were run back for pick sixes by the Kings. The Renegades were playing well on both sides of the football in the first three weeks. Besides the offense hitting skid row, their defense picture is on milk cartons as they have been missing in action the last two weeks. The Renegades traded away probably the best quarterback in the league that was holding a clipboard all season long for Dallas. Luis Perez now with the BattleHawks. If Reed does not turn it around, that may go down as one of the worst trades in history of the league. Reed’s play definitely has him staying in the UFL for years to come.

One bright side of the Renegades is wide receiver Drake Stoops, who is the son of the former Dallas head coach Bob. Drake had 4 catches last week in the blow out for 47 receiving yards. Drake is emerging as one of the top targets for Reed and the Renegades passing game. Maybe he should ask his dad to come back to work the side lines for the Renegades.

#8. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (1-4) In same spot from last week

Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s UFL debut as a starting quarterback definitely jump-started the Stallions offense. DTR threw the ball 43 times and tallied up 313 passing yards versus the Defenders defense. DTR is a duel threat quarterback who led all Stallions running backs with 43 rushing yards on the ground and found the end zone with his legs. He was better than Matt Corral, the Stallions old starting QB, who then was shipped to Orlando to get DTR. He threw 2 touchdown passes but did his best Corral impersonation with two picks. The Stallions were shut out the previous week. This was the second highest points this team has scored in one game this season. DTR brought life back to the Stallions wide receivers who went MIA. Jayden Mickens had 9 catches. Deon Cain tallied up 57 yards of receiving including a touchdown.

Is it too late for the Stallions that have dug their own grave with a first half record of 1-4? What happened to their defense? They gave up 45 points. The Stallions will need to win out or take 4 out of the 5 games they have remaining and maybe sneak through the doggie door of the post-season with a 5-5 record.

The Dallas Renegades have fallen from the number 1 spot with their first loss of the year. The DC Defenders are back on top of the UFL power rankings and received good news from the league on their quest to repeat as champions. During the week we have many quarterbacks on the move. The King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez, has a new home. Will his presence punch a ticket for his new team on their quest for a championship? The Orlando Storm are still undefeated. Are we not giving the Storm the credit they are due? The Stallions have officially hit rock bottom. Let’s sort it all out with Week 5 UFL Power Rankings starting with the best and ending with the people under the stairs.

WEEK 5 UFL POWER RANKINGS

#1. DC DEFENDERS (3-1) Moved up one spot from last week

Once again the beer snake in DC is well and growing along with being back on top of the league. The defending champs get revenge against their division rival, the BattleHawks, last weekend which were the only team that beat them so far this season. It was week 1 when the BattleHawks defense blanketed the Defenders offense and held them to 10 points in St.Louis. Since that loss, the Defenders have won 3 straight games and have been blowing out the competition despite not getting the productivity this team is used to. This is in the passing game with their star spring football quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu.

The Defenders have been winning with a solid running game and defense getting turnovers. Jordan has done okay. In week 4 Ta’amu had his best game completing 22-36 passes for 204 yards. He had two touchdown passes & no interceptions. He also averaged 5.5 yards per carry with 11 runs for 61 rushing yards. The Defenders defense racked up one interception off the BattleHawks’ new quarterback Harrison Frost who pulled out a few miracles the week before. Frost only completed 28% of his passes against that Defenders defense. The Defenders upgraded their QB room by acquiring the Louisville Kings’ starting quarterback Jason Bean in trade. The Kings will get long time Defenders back up Mike Diliello. Diliello has played in 7 games over the last two seasons and had two touchdown passes for the Defenders. The league also announced that the UFL championship game this season will be played in DC. The Defenders could have a home game if they get there and could win back to back championships.

#2. DALLAS RENEGADES (3-1) Drop 1 spot from last week

In week three the Renegades just survived an Aviators comeback that came up short. In the rematch between these two teams, the Aviators bombarded Dallas’ defense and gave the Renegades their first loss of the season. The Renegades score a season low of 14 points. The Renegades star quarterback Austin Reed did throw two more touchdown passes in the loss with an interception. He only completed 48% of his passes as it was pretty much his worst game of the year. The Renegades defense could not stop the Aviators running game. It was a poor outing overall for the entire Dallas team which results in their first loss of the year.

It may not be the smartest move, but news came that the Renegades have dealt their back up QB, the King of the Spring, Luis Perez to St.Louis. The Renegades get an offensive lineman Corey Stewart in return from the BattleHawks.

The Renegades can sure up that offensive line with Stewart. Perez helped the Renegades win a championship years ago back in the XFL. Austin Reed has been solid this year. A guy like Perez, who has always been a top passer in these spring leagues, could be an instant ticket for St.Louis to win it all.

#3. ORLANDO STORM (4-0) Moved up 1 spot from last week

The Storm have been feasting on the two other teams like themselves that relocated to another city for wins this season so far. Orlando brought dark clouds to the Stallions; home opener last week as the Storm’s defense registered the first shut out of the season in the UFL. Jack Plummer did not have his usual big day, but he did have a touchdown pass. The Storm scored 16 points of which 9 points came from the kicker.

Anthony Becht has proven he may be the best head coach right now in the UFL. In St.Louis he always had a solid defense, and now in Orlando he does even thought he’s an offensive-minded HC. The Storm held both Stallions quarterbacks to 130 passing yards. The Stallions averaged 2.4 yards on the ground versus this Storm defense. Orlando made an interesting trade this week with the Stallions, the team they just beat. They gifted them a quarterback they were not using with NFL experience in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Storm get the Stallions’ first QB in their recent history, who could not cut the mustard in Matt Coral who will back up Plummer in Orlando.

The headliner in this trade with the Stallions, the Storm will also get defensive end Amani Bledsoe in this deal. Bledsoe has 13 tackles and 1 sack this season. He will give the Storm another defensive piece for Anthony Becht’s squad.

#4. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (1-3) Moved up 1 spot from last week

A sober Ted Ginn as the Aviators’ head coach back on the sideline, equals Columbus’ first ever win in the UFL. It’s a biggie. The Aviators knocked off the Dallas Renegades, a team that was perfect 3-0 until this point.

The Aviators faced the Renegades in week 3 with Ginn being absent from that game due to a DUI in the wee hours of the night. The Aviators made a comeback in that one that fell short. This go-around the Aviators ran the ball down the Renegades’ throat with their three-headed monster they have in their back field. Toa Taura and Zaquandre White each had rushing touchdowns.

John Lovett led all Aviators backs with 80 rushing yards. Jalen McClendon was solid behind center completing 10-15 passes for 126 passing yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. The Aviators held one of the high scoring teams in the league to 14 points. Columbus has not really done well on defense until this point. Flying aces for the Aviators right now as they can easily win two in a row playing the Gamblers this weekend.

#5. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (2-2) Dropped two spots from last week

If you take away the 75 yard touchdown catch by wide receiver Hakeem Butler last week, Harrison Frost’s numbers would have been much worse last week. In his first start as the BattleHawks quarterback, things did not go well for Frost. In week three after a few hiccups, he had ice water in his veins as he led a epic comeback to upend the Stallions. Versus the Defenders he completed 6-21 passes for 144 passing yards with 1 touchdown and another interception.

His QB rating was 51.7 as he completed only 28% of his passes. Frost looked like the better option than the veteran spring QB Brandon Silvers. That may not be the case as St.Louis makes a trade during the week and land the King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez from the Renegades. The BattleHawks give up one of their offensive linemen in Corey Stewart to get this deal done. This is a trade that could completely turn around the BattleHawks season right now if they bench Frost and insert Perez. The BattleHawks head coach, a former wide receiver in the NFL, Ricky Proehl, wants a high powered aerial attack which Perez can give them. Perez got beat out by Austin Reed in training camp and has been holding the clip board ever since. Last time Perez was traded in his career, it was to the Renegades in mid-season a few seasons ago. The results were he guided the Renegades to an XFL championship.

#6. LOUISVILLE KINGS (1-3) Same spot from last week

It’s the second week in a row that the Kings had to play overtime to decide their faith. In week 3 a penalty by the Kings’ defense gave the Storm the victory. During the week, the UFL decided they should make a rule change where a penalty does not decide the faith of a team. Especially in overtime. The Kings had a halftime lead. Then in the 3rd quarter, they saw that lead disappear as the Gamblers put up 16 unanswered points. This game had 8 field goals. For the Kings, it was Tanner Brown who had 5 field goals. It was Brown’s 48 yard boot that tied the game that sent this one to the OT.

It was James Robinson, the Kings’ new running back &former Jacksonville Jaguar of the NFL, who scored the only touchdown of the game for Louisville. It was Jason Bean in his last start for the Kings that hit tight end Tre McKitty for the 2 point try in over time in a hockey-style shoot out the UFL uses to decide games. It was Bean hitting McKitty with a pass that gives head coach Chris Redman his first victory as a head coach. It also gives Louisville their first ever UFL victory.

Bean went 1-3 as the Kings’ starter this season as he will head to DC and be the back up QB for the Defenders. Bean completed 58-122 passes for 819 passing yards with 4 touchdown passes and 1 interception. The Kings get the Defenders’ back up QB back in the deal, Mike Diliello. That means Chandler Rogers will become the new starting QB for the Kings in week 5.

#7. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (1-3) Moved up 1 spot from last week

I have the Gamblers moving up 1 spot because they played a solid game versus the Kings even though they come away with a loss in OT. The Gamblers’ only win this season is still from the Stallions. The Gamblers scored two touchdowns & most of their scoring comes on field goals. The Gamblers went with two quarterbacks once again. Nolan Henderson was back in action as he completed 4-7 for 43 passing yards. Taulia Tagovailoa was better as he completed 7-14 passes for 64 passing yards. Taulia had a rushing touchdown. Both QBs did not throw any interceptions.

It was the Gamblers’ running back Marcus Yarns who gave Houston some juice in that 3rd quarter versus the Kings with a 68 yard rushing touchdown. He finished the 8 carries for 111 rushing yards and that TD. The Gamblers went scoreless in the 4th and did not succeed in OT for another loss on their record.

I’m surprised the Gamblers did not get another quarterback like many teams did this week. They have two solid veteran spring wide receivers in Justin Hall and Jontre Kirlin, which both combined for 5 catches in the loss versus the Kings. Waiting on the QBs they do have, I just don’t see Houston having a good second half like they did last year.

#8. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (1-3) Dropped 1 more spot from last week

The Stallions are officially at rock bottom in the UFL. It’s either the glue factory or making horseradish out of AJ McCarron’s Stallions. The Stallions were shut out versus the Storm, 16-0. Their offense was horrific. They are also the first team to get shut out in the UFL this season. Perhaps help is on the way. McCarron may have found a fix at the quarterback position and got rid of their current problem at the position. The Stallions unload Matt Corral to the Storm for former Cleveland Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has seen NFL action the last few seasons.

The Stallions also had to trade away one of their defensive stars, Amani Bledsoe, to seal the deal on the trade. Now McCarron is not stuck with marching Corral back out there to get the same results. The Storm has done well with Jack Plummer this season, which makes Thompson-Robinson expendable. The Stallions get a duel threat QB that hopes playing time can get him back to the NFL. This move is a definite upgrade for Birmingham, who has struggled since their week 1 win over the Kings. The Stallions have lost 3 straight games which has been unheard of for them over the years.

Could the old Oklahoma Outlaws be reborn in the UFL? The UFL has plans of expanding and they have awarded Oklahoma City with a team coming in 2028. Could they use the old USFL nickname, Outlaws, for the expansion team? The three teams that relocated this season changed their names to other nicknames, not from either old leagues of the XFL or USFL. I would love to see them go with the Outlaws in those black uniforms that would give the Gamblers a run for their money as good guys wear black. The league already has the Renegades with that bad dude in a cowboy hat covering his face with a bandana.

I don’t think we have to worry about the Minneapolis Ice coming any time soon since we’re talking face coverings. More to come on what Oklahoma expects to call themselves as it is a few years away as well. Oklahoma should be a solid venue for this league. Speaking of the present day desperadoes, the Renegades are still on top of the food chain in week 3’s UFL Power Rankings. We have horses heading into the glue factory direction. Have the Kings crowned themselves as the league’s bottom feeder? Here is the latest version of the UFL Power Rankings starting with the good & ending with just ugly.

#1. DALLAS RENEGADES (2-0) Same spot as last week

The Dallas Renegades right now are the best team in the UFL as all three phases of their game are humming. They have dispatched two post-season teams from last year, when the Defenders won it all in 2025. This week St.Louis found out how good the Renegades were, being held to 15 points. The Renegades defense held the Defenders to only 10 points. The Renegades defense snatched two more interceptions to add to the take away list that is off to the races. On special teams, the kicker Colton Theaker hit a 48 yard field goal and converted his extra points. Let’s talk offense. The Renegades in two games are averaging over 30 points per contest so far. In his second start of his early UFL career, Austin Reed threw 4 touchdown passes & now has 7 for the year. He tallied up 240 passing yards and the one blemish was an interception. It was Austin’s and old Luis Perez’s number 1 target wide receiver Tyler Vaughns who stole the show in week 2 versus the BattleHawks defense. Vaughns has played for the Renegades the last 4 seasons. He caught 11 balls for 146 yards and had three touchdown catches in week 2. Tyler has played in 31 spring games for his career and caught 135 passes for 1,570 receiving yards with 11 touchdown catches.

#2. DC DEFENDERS (1-1) Moved up 3 spots from last week

The Defenders laid a clunker in week 1 versus the BattleHawks as they were held to 10 points. Last year’s champs back on the road in back-to-back weeks got off the bus and ran the ball down the throats of the Aviators. In 36 attempts as a team, the Defenders tallied 230 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns running the ball. The Defenders averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

The leading running man for the Defenders was Deon Jackson who racked up 97 rushing yards and found the end zone three times. Abraham Smith who’s been running with the Defenders for years tallied 40 rushing yards. The Defenders scored 44 points even with their star quarterback Jordan Ta’amu only throwing for 99 yards. The Defenders defense gave up 26 points, however they racked up two interceptions. The Aviators scored points in each quarter, but they were really never in this game that was dominated by DC. After two road games to start the season, DC now will get a little home cooking from the beer snake and Defenders nation. Once the Defenders get that aerial attack working along with the running game, they will be one of the best teams in the league like last year.

#3. ORLANDO STORM (2-0) Moved up one spot from last week.

If the UFL is having a tournament on just the three teams that relocated, the Storm are WINNING !!! In week 1 the Storm beat the Aviators. Last weekend the Storm had their way with the Louisville Kings for their second straight victory. The former BattleHawks head coach Anthony Becht in 4 seasons in spring football now is 23-8 in regular season. Becht has a solid QB in Orlando in Jack Plummer, a guy who leads the league in completion percentage. Plummer had two more touchdown passes in week 2. His favorite target is wide receiver Chris Rowland, who had 8 catches for 59 yards including a touchdown.

Rowland is a veteran of the spring leagues as he started with the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL reboot a few years back. Last two years before suiting up for the Storm, he played for the Defenders. He’s the Storm’s top receiver and has been a great return man his entire career in spring football. The Storm held the Kings offense to a total of 227 yards and shut them out completely in the 2nd half. Next week they have a rematch with the Kings in Louisville. I would like to see how this Storm rides out with the other teams in the league more than the relocation teams. We will have to wait until week 4.

#4.ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (1-1) Dropped 1 spot from last week

Is the recipe to beating the BattleHawks grinding their running game to a halt and keeping the Pita chip Taumoepenu from penetrating your QB dip bowl? The Renegades kept the Pita away from their QB as he did not record a sack in week 2. The BattleHawks running game averaged 3.1 yards per carry.

Now the BattleHawks have to rely on the arm of spring veteran quarterback Brandon Silvers. Silvers was not the starting QB last year for these BattleHawks. He is a serviceable quarterback that I think needs a solid running game behind him.

Silvers lacks the silver he needs to deliver when it comes down to his arm. He does not have that silver sword like Abraham Setrakian in the series the Strain to deliver the kill shots all over the field. Silvers is under 200 passing yards and threw two interceptions. The BattleHawks have solid receivers in Hakeem Butler and Jahcour Pearson. You wonder who is QB 2?

#5. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (1-1) Move up 3 spots

If you are a leg man, John Hoyland may be your guy. If you are a boob guy, John may not be your guy unless you know. The Gamblers kicker last week leaned on the leg of Hoyland who kicked 5 field goals to put Houston over the top of the Stallions. Houston scored 22 points and 16 of them were from Hoyland. Houston rebounded from their humiliating loss they suffered in week 1 versus the Renegades as they beat the Stallions 22-20 in an early season shocker. The Gamblers QB play along with the defense was better than what happened in that week 1 beat down. The Gamblers used two QB’s, Nolan Henderson and Hunter Dekkers. Both were turnover free. The Defense picked off the Stallions QB twice.

Gamblers running back Jalen White scored the only touchdown of the game for Houston. He tallied up 82 yards on the ground for the Gamblers. You’d like to see one of the Gamblers QB’s take the job and run with it. The Gamblers are loaded at the wide receiver position. You hope their defense has turned the page from being bombarded by the Renegades aerial attack.

#6. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (1-1) Dropped 4 spots from last week

Former Stallions head coach Skip Holtz mastered the Houston Gamblers who rebranded to the Roughnecks last season. The Stallions suffered their first loss of the year and scored only 20 points which was 5 more points then week 1 when they needed the last minutes of regulation to put away the Kings of Louisville. The defense in two games has done well for the wild horses. Only 13 points allowed in week 1. Then 22 points in week 2 of which 15 of those points were from field goals. The Stallions defense is not giving up touchdowns.

It all depends what you get with the Stallions QB, Matt Corral. You can get good, bad, or ugly with him. Versus a defense that the Gamblers have is not very good. He completed 21-27 passes for 226 passing yards. He threw 2 touchdown passes. Good numbers. However he was also picked off twice. The running game only averaged 3.4 yards per carry which is not very good. The Stallions may have help on the way for their quarterback position. Taylor Elgersma, who is Canadian, has been inactive because they can’t iron out his work visa for him to play in the states. Could he be the answer for the roller coaster ride Corral gives the Stallions on a weekly basis?

#7. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (0-2) Same spot from last week.

The Aviators may have one of the best committees of running backs in the UFL. Former Panthers running back Toa Taua had 5 carries for 44 yards which is 8.8 a carry. Last year he was a scoring machine for the Panthers down by the goal line. The Aviators also have former Brahmas running back John Lovett. Then the starting running back is Zaquandre White. Throw in their quarterback Jalan McClendon last week when the team averaged 6.4 yards per carry. The problem is the Aviators defense is giving up the same average as the Defenders ran all over Columbus last week. Over 200 yards and the Defenders hung a 40 berger on them.

The Aviators defense is a problem. The aerial attack is a concern as well. The Aviators are not flying in the air as good as they are on their ground attack. McClendon threw the ball 37 times and tallied up only 156 passing yards. In week 1 he may have thrown the football 40 times and the numbers are about the same. The Aviators did score 26 points off the Defenders last week, but it seemed like they were out of that game from the first whistle. The Aviators along with the Kings have not won a game yet while everyone else in the UFL has at least notched 1 victory.

#8. LOUISVILLE KINGS (0-2) DROPPED 2 SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

I think it will be a long season for the Kings because they have issues at the number 1 spot on the field. The quarterback. The Kings offense has been dreadful the first two games. In week 1 they scored 13. In week two they mustered up only 9 points. Their starter Mr. Bean in Jason Bean is not even completing 50% of his passes. The Kings have thrown Chandler Rogers some playing time and really got nothing from him. The Kings defense has been a different story. They have kept Louisville in both games. In week 1 they gave up 15 points to the Stallions. Then they kept the Storm under 20 points last week.

The Kings have a tackling machine in their middle linebacker Jaheim Thomas who racked up 10 tackles in the loss to the Storm last week. If the Kings head coach Chris Redman can fix his QB situation this team will win some games. Until then they will be cemented to the bottom of the league in the standings and these power rankings.

After one week of the UFL, it looks like the name change has helped the Renegades as they look like the top team in the league. The Defenders lay a clunker in week one defending their title from last year. Relocation, relocation, and relocation… only one team prevails from the off-season move. The BattleHawks defense looks legit. The Stallions are still riding in the top of the league. We have contenders & we have pretenders. We will sort it all out with the week two UFL power rankings. We start with the best and work our way down to the mess of the league. Hope you enjoy!!!

#1. DALLAS RENEGADES (1-0) Moved up 4 spots from last week

The Renegades coming into this season on paper have one of the best quarterbacks in the UFL in veteran Luis Perez. Now this franchise may have two of the top 5 quarterbacks in the UFL with Austin Powers, who got the start over the King of the Spring Fling which was Perez.

Austin Reed was SHAGADELIC in his first ever start in the UFL. Reed lit up the Houston Gamblers setting a new single regular season record in the UFL with 376 passing yards while throwing three touchdown passes. The former USFL QB Rick Neuheisel, now the head coach of the Renegades, looks like a quarterback whisperer going with Reed over Perez. The Renegades scored the most points in week 1 with 36. They played well in all 3 phases of the game. The Renegades the last few years always had a defense that can contribute to the score board. As they had a pick six early in the game that set the tempo. They may be the team to beat with solid defense and a well-balanced offense that can do damage with the running game and aerial attack.

#2. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (1-0) Same spot from last week

Do you remember Snoop Dogg was in the ESPN series called the Playmakers which was about a professional football team? The Stallions unveiled their new running back Snoop Connor who racked up 56 yards on the ground for Birmingham in week 1 with a touchdown.

Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens stole the show in his Stallions debut. The former Defender caught 9 balls for 102 yards as he kept the chains moving as Birmingham just got by the Louisville Kings in low scoring game. It was not pretty. Some of the Stallions wins when Skip Holtz was the head coach were not pretty wins. He just racked up a lot of W’s in his time. His teams got better as the season went on. You could see things with the Stallions that have not changed. That bend don’t break defense that thrives on turnovers got two interceptions. Matt Corral was decent behind center. He did not turn over the ball and guided his team to another W on the back of his football card. In sports it is tough to win games on the road. The Stallions can do that in front of sold out crowds in Louisville.

#3. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (1-0) Moved up 1 spot from last week.

The BattleHawks defend their Thunderdome home Mad Max style. St.Louis is now 10-1 in home games going on their 3rd season in the UFL. They were dominated at home when they played in the XFL as well. The BattleHawks certainly got the crowds they normally get as their home opener had plenty of supporters as they knocked off the defending champions, the DC Defenders. The BattleHawks and Defenders is probably the best rivalry in the UFL. In a rivalry that started back in the XFL and certainly carried over to the UFL.

The BattleHawks would have their work cut out for them as they lost their long time head coach Anthony Becht to the sunshine in Orlando. The BattleHawks lost a few defenders from last season. However you would not notice because they looked like the best defense in the league in week 1. It all starts with defensive player of the year from last year in Pita Taumoepenu, who recorded 2.5 sacks in week 1. He led the UFL last season in sacks and is looking for the repeat of that title this season. They held the Defenders to 10 points. They only scored 16 points which was enough to get the first win of the season and knock off your hatred rival at the same time. I think their offense will eventually catch up to their defense. They have a veteran spring QB in Brandon Silvers, who did throw a touchdown pass and made no mistakes. He was okay. Nothing to write home to mom about. St.Louis has some nice weapons for Silvers to put up bigger numbers.

#4. ORLANDO STORM (1-0) Moved up 3 spots from last week

The Storm were the first among the three teams that relocated to a different city to win their first game of the year. Former BattleHawks head coach Anthony Becht keeps his winning ways with his new team, the Storm. The Storm showdown with the Aviators from Columbus was the first battle between teams that relocated from last year. The Storm looks like they found themselves a solid QB who did well in his spring debut.

Jack Plummer had a mutt of a college career suiting up for Louisville, Purdue, and California. He had a cup of coffee with the Carolina Panthers camp in the NFL. He may have found a nice home with the Storm to showcase his talents. Plummer completed 77% of his passes in week 1 win over the Aviators. Plummer went 17-22 for 240 passing yards and a touchdown pass. A solid debut indeed. You know Becht likes to run the ball. His star running back Jashaun Corbin had two rushing touchdowns for 66 yards on the ground. The Storm also have a spring veteran return man and wide Receiver Chris Rowland, who caught Plummer’s only touchdown pass. The Storm is brewing after week 1.

#5. DC DEFENDERS (0-1) Dropped 4 spots from last week

The Defending champs could be experiencing a little hang over from winning it all last week. The Defenders offensively put up a clunker versus their arch rival the BattleHawks on the road, only scoring 10 points. The Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu was horrible with two interceptions. Ta’amu, one of the better QB’s in the UFL for years, was out of sync in his first start of the year. You could blame the Defenders O-line as Ta’amu was sacked 7 times in the game. It is hard winning in Arch Town. The Defenders defense only gave up 16 points so overall this could be just a hiccup for DC getting off to a slow start.

One of the UFL’s rule changes this season is if a kicker hits on a 60 yard or more field goal, the team is awarded 4 points instead of the normal 3 point play. The Defenders kicker Matt McCrane becomes the first kicker to get the 4 point play in the UFL. McCrane nailed a 60 yard field goal in the dome of St.Louis. The UFL kickers have been scooped up by the NFL like Jake Bates when he was playing for the Michigan Panthers a few seasons ago. He was hitting 60 yard field goals for the Panther and the Detroit Lions signed him, as he’s still kicking in motor city today. McCrane could be next.

#6.LOUISVILLE KINGS (0-1) Moved up 2 spots from last week

We know most of America do not like Kings running the country. We have to think the Stallions don’t like kings either as Birmingham has been the King of spring football for years.

Louisville looks like a keeper for the UFL as fans packed their stadium in the season opener under Friday Night Lights. The Kings played well versus the Stallions. Birmingham won the game in the last minutes of regulation. The Kings quarterback Jason Bean looked pretty good despite throwing two interceptions. One was not his fault bouncing off his receiver’s hands. He threw for over 200 yards. He had one touchdown pass. The Kings defense only gave up 15 points. I think Kings head coach Chris Redman will have a solid squad as the season moves on after they get over their growing pains.

#7.COLUMBUS AVIATORS (0-1) Dropped 4 spots from last week.

The Aviators I thought would be better than they were in their first game. The Aviators settled for field goals in the first quarter. They stayed in the game with the Storm the entire way. The Aviators did not score in the second or third quarter. They made things interesting when they scored their first touchdown of the season in the 4th quarter. It was running back Zaquandre White who found the end zone for the Aviators with his first rushing touchdown of the season.

I think the Aviators running game was not very good in week 1. When veteran quarterback Jalen McClendon has to throw the ball 32 times, it’s not a good recipe to win many games in spring. McClendon tallied up over 200 yards in passing. He had no touchdown passes. He did not throw any interceptions. If you give McClendon a well balanced offense, I think the Aviators would convert more touchdowns rather than relying on field goals.

#8.HOUSTON GAMBLERS (0-1) Dropped two spots from week 1

The Gamblers or last years Roughnecks are teams that do not start well in this league. The Gamblers were blown out by the Renegades in the battle of Texas. They gave up not the most points with 36 points. The Gamblers did out score a few teams with 17 points.

One of the Gamblers’ touchdowns was an impressive kickoff return by Jalen Moreno Cooper which is only the 2nd one in league history. You take that away & the Gamblers offense only racked up 10 points. The Gamblers starting quarterback Nolan Henderson had two interceptions which one was a pick six that got the Renegades off to a fast start. The Gamblers may have hope as Hunter Dekkers came in and completed 19-29 passes for 227 passing yards. He had no interceptions and no touchdown passes. He did way better than Henderson. Which is a positive. The Gamblers defense was dissected like a frog in an 8th grade science class which could be a big concern for the entire season that is left on the schedule.

The UFL is back for its third season of spring football. You have to go back to the 1980’s when the original USFL lasted three seasons. We have had multiple spring leagues open up shop and then close the doors immediately since the original USFL folded because of Donal Trump. The USFL reboot lasted two seasons and could have gone further. The merger of the USFL and the XFL had to happen to keep spring football alive. The UFL added a new business investor in Mike Repole, who has taken over the business side of things in the league. His first goal was he wanted to have all his teams playing in smaller venues so the game looks better on television. In the bigger venues like huge college fields, for years the spring games looked like they had 5 people in attendance. Only St. Louis will play in a mammoth stadium because they know fans will fill up the former professional football stadium that was used by the Rams for years. Repole opens up three new markets: Louisville, Orlando, and Columbus. The league is not expanding yet so they will still feature 8 teams. Opening up three new markets means three old markets have to relocate. On the chopping block of relocation were Memphis, Michigan, and San Antonio. The Michigan move is a head-scratcher. The Panthers were in the top of the league in attendance and sold more tickets than the year prior. With Michigan out, I have to find another team to show my allegiance to. The league will have 6 new faces as the head coach positions. It will also bring Friday Night Lights games every week. We definitely had some roster roulette play out in the off-season. Every team does have familiar players on every roster. How the QB will play out in year 3 is always one of the biggest questions in these spring football leagues. We will roll out the first set of power rankings as we make an educated guess where each team will be before even playing a snap on the field. We may look like geniuses after week 1 plays out or idiots. Either way we will still throw our two cents into the fountain.

#1. DC DEFENDERS (Last season went 6-3 and defending champions)

The Defenders are the only team in the UFL that are coming back with the same head coach. Shannon Harris was thrown into the fire when the former Defender head coach Reggie Barlow took another job right before week 1 last season. Harris got the Defenders to post-season and they thrived. The Defenders roster is still pretty much intact from last year.

You know the beer snake will be slithering well at home games for the Defenders. The Defenders have one of the better quarterbacks in the UFL in Jordan Ta’amu, who has a ton of spring football experience and a championship to back it up.

#2. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (Last season went 7-3 and made the playoffs but lost in the first round.)

How will the Stallions play without their legendary head coach Skip Holtz? Holtz’s replacement is a solid hire by the Stallions in former NFL and XFL Quarterback AJ McCarron. He played two seasons with the St. Louis BattleHawks as their starting quarterback. He has ties to Birmingham playing his college ball at Alabama University. Skip walking away from spring football leaves McCarron with a very good roster starting with a defense that has been very good at forcing turnovers. They have a veteran spring quarterback in Matt Corral who has played with the Stallions the last few seasons and has the tools to thrive in this league.

The Stallions added a huge play-making running back in Anthony McFarland who is a former Brahma and Steeler from his NFL days. His ability to make catches out of the backfield will help Corral and that entire Stallions offense to take the next step into one of the best scoring units in the UFL.

#3. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (Last season as the Michigan Panthers they went 6-4 and went to the post-season, but lost to the Defenders in the UFL Championship)

The Columbus Aviators are one of three new cities in the UFL. The Aviators inherited the best team out of the three cities from last year that relocated. The Aviators went with a new head coach instead of retaining the Panthers old head coach in Mike Nolan, which is a mistake. Nolan was a solid leader for the Panthers. The Panthers new head coach is Ted Guinn, a former NFL wide receiver. Guinn has never been a head coach. This former Panthers team’s biggest loss is their starting QB Bryce Perkins who was MVP last year. He took his talents across the border to play in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Aviators will have a seasoned veteran spring QB in Jalen McClendon, who started a few games last year for the Houston Roughnecks and did well. Houston in the second half of last season made a push for the post-season and came up short. The Aviators will have a solid defense and have a talented back field with multiple solid running backs. This team should be in the mix all season long.

#4. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (8-2 last season while making the playoffs to be eliminated in the first round.)

You know the BattleHawks will be one of the top teams this season. They have a new head coach as their old leader Anthony Becht is now coaching the Orlando Storm. His replacement was in-house as St.Louis is going with former NFL wide receiver Ricky Proehl as the new face of the franchise. The BattleHawks roster have lost some big names like running back Jacob Saylors who is living his best life in the NFL with the Lions. The BattleHawks at the QB position are going with a spring veteran in Brandon Silvers, who was a back up last year for St.Louis. Look for the offense to be designed as pass heavy rather than getting off the bus and running like last season was for the BattleHawks.

The BattleHawks have lost some pieces on the defensive side of the ball. However they still have those edge rushers that can cause plenty of havoc to the opponent’s offensive schemes. Travis Feeney and the defensive player of the year, Pita Taumoepenu, will be looking to be once again the leading sack artist in the UFL.

#5. DALLAS RENEGADES (5-5 last season)

The Renegades ditched the Arlington name and turned back to Dallas as their city representative. Bob Stoops is out as long time head coach of these Renegades. The Renegades hand over the headset to long time college and NFL coach Rick Neuheisel.

Ricky Neuheisel knows some things about spring football. He was undrafted out of college and played his first professional season of football in the USFL with the San Antonio Gunslingers back in 1984. He also was the head coach of the Arizona Hot Shots in the AAF (American Alliance Football League) back in 2019. The league ran out of money and could not finish the regular season. Neuheisel had the Hot Shots at 5-3 at the time. They were definitely one of the top teams in the league and would have made it to the post-season. The Renegades may have the best quarterback in the league in Luis Perez who is king of the spring fling over the last several years and multiple teams and leagues. Perez has found a home with the Renegades as he helped them win the entire league in the last year of the XFL. The Renegades have plenty of their roster returning for this season. However this team has lost so many close games at the very end of regulation the last two years. If Neuheisel could change that, then look for Dallas to be one of the top teams in the league.

#6. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (5-5 as the Roughnecks last season)

When the XFL and USFL merged, both leagues had a team from Houston. The league chose the Houston from the USFL but changed their name to the XFL nicknamed Roughnecks. This season Houston will be back to the Gamblers name from the old USFL days. Curtis Johnson was the head coach last year for the Roughnecks. He will move on as the franchise is going back to Houston native Kevin Sumlin, a long time college coach. In 2022 he was the head coach of the Gamblers in the USFL. So talk about circling the wagons. Last year Houston just missed the post-season. They beat two out of the 4 playoff teams from last year in the final weeks. Their veteran QB Jalen McClendon has moved on to the Columbus Aviators.

Could Tua Tagovailoa’s younger brother light up the UFL? At Maryland University, Taulia Tagovailoa had his own version of TUA TIME as he razzled and dazzled opponents in the Big Ten. The Gamblers also have Nolan Henderson who showed some promise last year in the Roughnecks uniform. QB play is the most important factor on the football field. Bad QB play will keep you down in the standings and the power rankings all season long. It will be interesting to see which QB Houston goes with.

#7. ORLANDO STORM (Last season as the San Antonio Brahmas they went 1-9.)

Orlando is one of the new cities in this season’s UFL. The Storm inherited a bad team from last year, the San Antonio Brahmas who had the worst defense in the UFL last year. If you are a new fan of the UFL and live in Orlando, you should feel optimistic because your team has one of the best coaches in the league in Anthony Becht. The last few years Becht was head coach of the St. Louis BattleHawks and he has led them to the post-season in almost every season which includes going back to the XFL days. To improve the defense from last season, Becht has a few guys he coached last year on this Storm team. They are former BattleHawks safety Nate Meadows along with linebacker Tavante Beckett.

The Storm have a law firm as their quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson who played two seasons with the Browns in 2023 & ’24. Dorian’s NFL experience may payoff as he played in 15 NFL games. He won 1 start out of 4 behind center. His stats are not very good with 1 touchdown pass to 10 interceptions. He’s 26 years of age and we have to cut him some slack because he played for a bad Browns organization where QB play in jinxed. The back up is Jack Plummer, no relation to former NFL star QB Jake the Snake. He played his college football at Purdue and Louisville.

#8. LOUISVILLE KINGS (Last year as the Memphis Showboats they went 2-8.)

Louisville is one of the new cities in this season’s UFL. Unfortunately the Kings franchise inherited the Showboats from last season. The good news is the first year in Louisville is not the entire roster from last year’s Showboats team. The Kings will keep some of the players from last season that are roster-worthy.

The new city in the UFL has a new head coach, former NFL quarterback Chris Redman. The city of Louisville will remember Redman as he played his college ball there for the Cardinals. Redman played 8 years in the NFL basically for the Ravens and Falcons. He started 12 games and went 4-8 as a starter. He threw 21 touchdown passes to 14 interceptions in a total of 30 NFL games. He won a Superbowl with the Ravens. All the quarterbacks the Kings have are new to the UFL. Most likely, former Kansas Jayhawks starter Jason Bean will be QB 1 to start the season. Being a back up QB all those years in the NFL, Redman may get the best out of all his quarterbacks. The Kings in this league will have to earn their crowns.