Number 1 on the DC Defenders, Bryce Thompson, is not getting any Christmas cards from the fans in Louisville any time soon. The Chants of “Number 1 sucks,” after Thompson expressed his ill feelings to a Kings fan during the game about how his team, or that number 1 talking in the 3rd person, is better than sliced bread. Number 1 and the Defenders have fallen on their shields in the power rankings. A storm is brewing at the number 1 spot. One team is officially in the post-season. The King of the Spring Fling has a hiccup. Dallas is still at the bottom. Houston has no problems last week. Plenty of movement in week 9 power rankings. We will discuss each team from the best to the worst in our latest addition.

WEEK 9 UFL POWER RANKINGS

#1. ORLANDO STORM (6-2) Moved up 4 spots from last week

With the Defenders and the BattleHawks losing in week 8, the UFL has a new sheriff in the league at number 1 in the power rankings.

Every team will be gunning for a new sheriff and especially the Storm as they are the first team to clinch a post-season spot. They also have the best record in the UFL after 8 weeks of action. Jack Plummer is the best quarterback in the league right now. Plummer did not throw any passing touchdowns in week 8. He did tally 238 passing yards and used his legs to score two rushing touchdowns.

He leads the UFL in passing yardage. He is in the top few in most categories. The Storm beat the Renegades on the road which is not much to brag about as Dallas has been on the electric slide in the wrong direction. The Storm have a well-balanced offense. They have multiple play makers that Plummer can throw to. The Storm’s defense is not lights out but can definitely rain on your parade.

#2. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (5-3) Fall from top of the mountain one spot to second in the power rankings.

Al Bundy said once on Married with Children, “If you lose to the Rams, your team should get kicked out of the league.” It should apply to the BattleHawks who had a let down last week and took a loss to the Houston Gamblers at home in the Thunderdome. Luis Perez threw for 300 passing yards. Steven McBride had 8 catches for 116 receiving yards. With numbers like that, how the hell did the BattleHawks lay an egg versus the Gamblers?

The King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez, threw two interceptions of which one was a pick six. The BattleHawks were down 20-9 at halftime. The BattleHawks defense only allowed a field goal in the second half. The BattleHawks only managed a touchdown in the second half which was not enough to be stunned by the visiting Houston team. It was the first loss at home for the BattleHawks.With the loss, the Storm perched themselves in front of the BattleHawks for the number 1 playoff seed. However, help is on the way for St.Louis.

The BattleHawks signed one of the best tightends to have played spring football over the last few seasons. Former Renegades tight end Sal Cannella will come to Arch-City and join his former teammate Perez suiting up for St.Louis. Cannella played in two NFL games for the Browns in 2025 and caught two balls for 11 yards. He became available when the Browns recently cut him from their roster making him a free agent. Cannella has played 4 seasons starting with the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers back in 2022. He has played for the Renegades for the last three seasons which included helping them win an XFL championship. He has caught 175 balls in spring football for 1,765 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. St.Louis’ offense now has become even more potent.

#3. LOUISVILLE KINGS (4-4) Moved up 1 spot from last week

The Kings have the hex over the Defenders, beating them twice in the last two weeks and Louisville has evened their record at 4-4. The Kings are in the mix right now for post-season with 2 weeks left to play. It may have been one of the best games of the year as the Kings win a thriller at home. This game had it all including a kickoff return by Tyler Hudson to tie the game at 7’s.

If you were at the concession stands or in the bathroom, this game had 14 points on the scoreboard in less than a minute. Also on the Kings special teams, Tanner Brown had a big day kicking multiple field goals including nailing a 60 yarder for 4 points.The Kings knocked out the Defenders starting quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, in this one. Some thought the Kings fans were going to see Jason Bean who was Louisville’s quarterback the first few weeks until he was traded to the Defenders. Instead they dealt with run first/ask questions later Spencer Sanders who is not really much of a passer. Chandler Rogers threw a touchdown pass and had an interception for the Kings behind center. The Kings tallied up 134 rushing yards in this one. Wide receiver Isiah Winstead had 5 catches for 92 yards while hauling in a touchdown pass.

Louisville had over 10,000 screaming fans on hand rooting the Kings on. Out of the gates the Kings looked like a team that would take awhile to get their shit together. In the last few weeks, they are one of the hotter teams in the league and could certainly make some noise in the post-season if they end up getting one of the spots. They play well in all phases of their game.

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

The Stallions right now are one of the hottest teams in the league winning three games in a row and are at the .500 mark. Birmingham started off the season 1-3 in their first 4 games. Now they have turned things around going 3-1 in their last 4 games. Since the Stallions landed Dorian Thompson-Robinson, they are 3-1 with him as the starting quarterback. Last weekend the Stallions were shut out in the first half by the Aviators, 3-0. It was the Stallions defense and special teams that won their 4th game of the season for head coach AJ McCarron. The Stallions only scored 14 points which was enough to beat the worst team in the league, the Aviators. The win was not very impressive which is why they dropped a spot in the power rankings.

Defensive back Steven Gilmore blocked a 55 yard field goal attempt by the Aviators and then scooped up the ball and took it to the house for a touchdown. Steven’s brother is Stephon Gilmore who has played multiple years in the NFL.

The Stallions defense held the best rushing team to 61 yards on the ground, which averages out to 2.4 yards a carry. The Stallions defense only gave a field goal in a big win for them as they are pushing for a post-season spot.

#5. DC DEFENDERS (5-3) Fallen 3 spots from last week.

The defending champs are in big trouble. They have lost back to back games to the Louisville Kings. Now they have lost three straight games. The biggest problem they have is last week they lost their starting quarterback, Jordan Ta’amu, to a knee injury early in the contest versus the Kings. He is out for the rest of the season.

It looks like the beer snake is dead as the back up options at QB do not look promising. Last week the Defenders second string quarterback, Spencer Sanders, completed 7-15 passes for 83 passing yards and 1 interception. He used his legs for 5 carries & 27 rushing yards. Not sure why the Defenders did not insert Jason Bean, the X Kings quarterback who started multiple games for Louisville earlier this season. At least he can pass the ball. They landed Bean in a trade with the Kings for Mike Diliello who was the back up to Ta’amu the last two seasons. I bet they wish they did not make that trade because Diliello in my opinion is better than any of the guys that DC has. Look for the Defenders to rely heavily on the running game. The Defenders defense will need to practically shut out teams. The UFL championship will be played in DC. The Defenders will not be there as the X champs are drowning in their big gulp beers right now.

#6. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (3-5) Moved up 1 spot with their big upset last week

Somehow the Gamblers are still alive for the post-season as they found a way to upset St.Louis in the dome.

To upset a team like St.Louis in the Thunderdome you have to play like Mad Max. The Gamblers defense did as they intercepted the King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez, twice and gave the BattleHawks their first loss at home this season.

It was defensive back Kary Vincent Jr. who took one Perez’s passes all the way to the promised land for a pick six. The Gamblers defense held St.Louis to 16 points for their 3rd win. The new quarterback for the Gamblers, John Rys Plumlee, threw three passes and completed 2 for a negative 3 yards. Luckily the other guy they have behind center here and there, Hunter Dekkers, played well completing 15-22 passes for 155 passing yards which included two touchdown passes and he did throw 1 interception. But it did not matter because Gamblers won the game and are still alive in the playoff hunt. I would not gamble on the Gamblers getting to the post-season.

#7. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (2-6) Drop 1 spot from last week

In week seven, the Aviators defense gave up the most points. In week 8 the Aviators defense gave up really only 7 points to the Stallions. The other 7 points came from a blocked field goal touchdown on special teams. Yes, Aviators gave up 14 points to the Stallions in a loss because Columbus only scored three points in the game. The Aviators bread and butter has been their running game as they are the number 1 rushing team in the UFL. The three-headed monster at the running back position that features Toa Taua, Zaquandre White, and John Lovett along with their quarterback have combined for 11 rushing touchdowns. However versus the Stallions the running game was held in check. The Aviators offense in general was horrific. Jalan McClendon threw two interceptions. Once again he threw a whole heck of lot of passes for not many passing yards.

The Aviators defense played well. Much of the season the Aviators defense was MIA. Versus one of the hotter teams in the league, guys like Smoke Monday who may have the best name in the league, had 5 tackles and help Columbus swallow up the Stallions offense. Even at 2-6 the Aviators are not mathematically out of it for the post-season. Spoiler alert!! I think by next week their time will run out.

#8. DALLAS RENEGADES (3-5) Still holding down the fort under the stairs in the power rankings.

The Renegades may have played their best game in a very long time. However it’s the same results for the Renegades, another loss which makes the current skid 5 in a row. Austin Reed had three touchdown passes versus one of the top teams in the league, the Orlando Storm.

Former Houston Roughnecks wide receiver now in a Renegades uniform, Emmanuel Butler, hauled in two touchdown catches. Reed only tallied up 131 passing yards in a game the Renegades lost by one score and had the early lead. Reed leads the league in touchdown passes. The Renegades started out of the gates 3-0 and looked like their destiny was the post-season. Now their post-season chances have dwindled taking on another loss.

Reed will have to orchestrate two wins in the final two weeks in an asteroid field with no headlights working. Then hope some teams suddenly fall off the map. Perhaps then the Renegades find the post-season. I think someone pulled the plug on the Renegades season weeks ago.

Do you recall the movie called “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh” which is about a basketball team?

The great fish that saved St.Louis will be Luis Perez who looked pretty good in his first start wearing the BattleHawks uniform. The Renegades traded him, a team that has lost 4 straight games and are in my bottom of the power rankings in the UFL. Now I have St.Louis at the top of my mountain in the power rankings. St.Louis needs to send Dallas a fruit basket or something for the King of the Spring Fling. This week we do not have much movement in the power rankings. The Stallions are hot. The Defenders have fallen. As always we will sort out all the muck of the UFL as we bring you week 8. Starting with the best and ending with the worst.

UFL WEEK 8 POWER RANKINGS

#1. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (5-2) Moved up 1 spot from last week.

The King of the Spring Fling, Luis Perez, gets his first start in a BattleHawks uniform and it pays off for St.Louis. The BattleHawks acquired Perez through a trade with the Renegades weeks ago, finally put him on the field, and it paid off. The BattleHawks offense looked crisp with Perez behind center. Perez had to knock off some rust in his first start of the season. He tallied over 200 passing yards with a touchdown pass. He lost the starting job for the Renegades because the team liked what they saw in rookie Austin Reed. It looked like the Renegades were correct with Reed after the first three weeks of the season. Since then Dallas looks like they made a colossal mistake trading perhaps the best spring football QB of all-time to Arch-town. Last time Perez was traded away during the season, he landed with the Renegades and guided them to a XFL championship win in 2023. With Perez behind center, the BattleHawks scored the most points in their win versus the Aviators in week 7. In week 3 St.Louis scored 34 points versus the Stallions, which was a comeback win with Harrison Frost starting the second half and pulled off the miracle after a sloppy third quarter in his his debut. With Perez behind center, the BattleHawks should average 30 points per game. Now St.Louis has a complete team with the QB change. The BattleHawks defense is legit as well. My bold prediction is St.Louis wins it all this season.

#2. DC DEFENDERS (5-2) Dropped 1 spot from last week

The Defenders’ 5 game winning streak ends as the Kings upset DC at Snake Mountain. The Defenders beer snake goes limp at home as the Kings rally in the second half to overcome a 13-10 DC lead at halftime. Despite Jordan Ta’amu throwing for over 300 passing yards in this game. He threw two interceptions. He only completed about 50% of his passes in this loss.

The Defenders don’t bend/break defense that loves to blitz did not have a good game and could not overcome their quarterback’s blemishes. Defensive back Gareon Conley was one of the Defenders’ lead tacklers of the week. That’s a bad sign when a corner back on the football field is your lead tackler. The beer snake will travel to Louisville in the rematch versus the Kings in week 8. Let’s see if the Defenders get revenge and start a new winning streak.

#3. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (3-4) Same spot from last week.

Look out the Stallions suddenly have won two straight games as they needed overtime to knock off the Renegades 21-17. It was not a pretty game for the Stallions’ new starting quarterback. Dorian Thompson-Robinson had his worst game as a starter in the UFL only completing 46.2% of his passes. He only threw for 159 passing yards, but had two touchdown passes. He also had 1 interception.

Former Memphis Showboats star Daewood Davis hauled in a 46 yard touchdown pass by DTR. The other Stallions play maker, Jaydon Mickens, had a big day catching six passes for 82 yards with a touchdown. The Stallions defense did a nice job holding the Renegades to only 17 points. Austin Reed did not even have a touchdown pass, a guy who took the league by storm in the first three games of the year. Tae Crowder on that Stallions defense stood up tall versus the Renegades offense making 12 tackles. The Stallions are winning ugly games right now. That’s a good sign, finding ways to win close games they have lost in the first half of the season. The Stallions are in a prime position right now of taking the 4th playoff spot.

#4. LOUISVILLE KINGS (3-4) Moved up 1 spot from last week.

The Kings get a trophy win versus one of the best teams in the league, the DC Defenders, on the road. Louisville, known for their defense, held the Defenders high powered offense to only 13 points. The Kings defense snuffed out the Defenders offense in the second half as DC scored their 13 points in the first half. The Kings D sacked Jordan Ta’amu 4 times and picked him off twice.

Actor Charles Bronson’s son, Josiah, had a big game for the Kings. It would have been a cool story if Josiah was actually the son of Charles. No relation. Josiah Bronson had 4 solo tackles and a sack for the Kings to help them upset the Defenders.

Josiah is a former Memphis Showboats defensive lineman and played in the NFL two seasons. The Kings quarterback, Chandler Rogers, played his best game behind center as he threw two touchdown passes and tallied over 200 yards of passing. The Kings position themselves with the win for that 4th playoff spot with 3 games remaining.

#5. ORLANDO STORM (5-2) Dropped 1 spot from last week

The Orlando Storm snapped a two game losing streak in a much needed victory to stay afloat at the top of the UFL standings. Beating Houston is a must do. Only winning by 1 point against the a bad Gamblers team may make you question how good the Storm are. I like that other play makers on the Storm have emerged over the last few weeks other than just Chris Rowland who has been a staple on the Storms offense the entire season.

Last week it was KJ Hamler who had a big game for the Storm. This week it was Eliijah Badger who hauled in two touchdown catches for the Storm in a must win game for them. Badger had 4 catches for 75 yards including the two touchdown performance. Jack Plummer was just OK. He had no interceptions and the two touchdown passes. The Storms running game may be a concern down the road. As a group they averaged 2.9 yards per carry. They ran the ball 19 times for only 55 rushing yards. However a win is a win and the Storm are part of only three winning teams in the UFL right now late in the season.

#6. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (2-5) Same spot from last week.

The Aviators scored 20 points off one of the best defenses in the league, the St.Louis BattleHawks. However they gave up the most points in week 7 which was 31 points. The Aviators’ two victories come from teams at the bottom of the league. They split the 2 game series versus the Gamblers. They actually gave the Renegades their first loss of the season after Dallas started out of the gates 3-0.

The Renegades have lost 4 straight since opening the season with 3 wins. The Aviators have a solid running game most of the time using multiple running backs. The passing game is hot and cold. Jalen McClendon was more dink and dunk with shorter passes versus the BattleHawks last week. McClendon is not your young 18 years of age and life to go quarterback.

McClendon started his spring journey as a quarterback back in 2020 with the LA Wildcats of the XFL. In 28 games played in spring football, McClendon has started 17 games. He is 7-10 all-time as a starting quarterback in spring football. Which includes going 4-2 last year for Houston and just missing the post-season.

#7. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (2-5) Still in the same spot from last week.

The Houston Gamblers gave the Orlando Storm a scare last weekend. The Gamblers would end up losing this game by 1 point. The new guy who the Gamblers just signed not even a week ago, throws a 49 yard touchdown strike in his only completion of the day. John Rhys Plumlee only threw three passes in the game. The Gamblers gave the bulk of the snaps to Hunter Dekkers, who threw 41 passes in the game. Hunter had 1 interception and did not throw any touchdown passes. However he did score a rushing touchdown for the Gamblers. I would expect to see more of Johnny Plumlee this weekend as Houston searches for Spock at the QB position.

#8. DALLAS RENEGADES (3-4) They have installed a bathroom in the basement of the power rankings as they hold the same spot from last week.

The Renegades are playing in closer games, but the outcomes have been the same. Another loss in the books for the Renegades. This is the 4th loss in a row the Renegades have suffered. This loss comes in an overtime loss versus the Stallions last week. The Renegades defense played better overall than the last few weeks. The Renegades offense only scored 17 points. Austin Reed had no touchdown passes in this game. He completed half of his passes at a high completion rate and threw no interceptions which has haunted him over this long losing streak. He only passed for 166 passing yards.

Ellis Merriweather found the end zone twice in the loss to the Stallions. On 14 carries he only averaged 2.9 yards each rush. The first three weeks the Renegades looked like the best team in the UFL. Now they look like the worst team in the league and may finish the season with a 3-7 record. They still have a chance to get a playoff spot as three teams come into week 8 with 3-4 record. It would be a great time of the season to get hot as a team, not the Texas weather.

It looks like the Mighty Stallions have suddenly turned around their season as they found a solution at the quarterback position. I always love when America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys, are bad. I know the Renegades are not America’s team, but the city of Dallas has another bad football team that has hit rock bottom in the UFL.

Remember when the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to Minnesota in a move that pretty much built a Cowboys dynasty? The Renegades may go down with the worst trade in UFL history trading the King of the Spring fling to St.Louis because they thought they had a better QB than Luis Perez. We have some movement in the power rankings. I can see two teams that are elevated into a tier of their own while the rest of the league is fighting for two playoff spots in a scrum style. We will sort it all out as we bring you lucky week 7 of the UFL.

WEEK 7 UFL POWER RANKINGS

#1. DC DEFENDERS (5-1) Still holding down the number 1 spot.

When it comes to the Defenders and the Renegades, the rivalry goes back years ago to the XFL days. In 2023 the Renegades beat the Defenders in the XFL championship game. The Defenders are the defending champions from last year winning the second UFL championship. It looked like the Renegades were going to be one of those top teams in the UFL this season based on the way they started. Last week the Defenders prevented the Renegades replacement wheels on the bus that continues to skid out of control. The Defenders defense held the once upon a time talented Renegades offense to only six points.

Veteran Defenders defensive back Deandre Baker recorded his first interception in the UFL as he picked off Austin Reed. The Defenders tallied 24 points on offense which is one of their low scoring games of the season. It was the defense that did the heavy lifting in this one. The victory gives the Defenders a 5-2 all-time record versus the Renegades. Which includes one of those losses coming in that championship which both teams still have guys that were on that roster that played in that game. Weeks ago you could have said Renegades vs Defenders was a playoff preview. Now it does not look like that will be possible.

#2. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (4-2) Still in same spot from last week.

I’m still waiting for the BattleHawks to come to their senses. The Spiderman has a headache with his spidey senses tingling out of control, watching St.Louis continues to march Harrison Frost out there on the field behind center. Why did they trade for perhaps the best quarterback in spring football all-time acquiring Luis Perez the King of the spring fling from the Renegade?. Frost only completed 55% of his passes versus the Kings last week. He threw the ball 40 times. He had two touchdown passes and piled up 242 passing yards but had another interception. St.Louis tallied up only 16 points. Thank the lord that Arch-city has maybe the best defense in the league as they allowed only three points to the Kings. The BattleHawks defense tallied up 1 interception and this group had six sacks.

Former Michigan Panther, now BattleHawk, Taylor Stallworth racked up 1.5 sacks in this game vs the Kings. Then former defensive MVP from last year, Pita Taumoepenu, also chipped in with 1.5 sacks on the day. The Pita has three for the year. Last year he tallied up 7.5 sacks. With this defense and if they insert Perez, this team should win it all. Yes, it’s that simple like an easy button.

#3.BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (2-4) Moved up 5 spots from last week.

What a pretty girl can do for a car. What a car can do for a regular looking girl. The Stallions have found their Mustang at the quarterback position and his name is Dorian Thompson Robinson. DTR lost in his UFL debut last week. However, he haunts his former team the Orlando Storm who traded him to Birmingham only weeks ago.

After throwing 271 passing yards along with a touchdown pass in a huge victory which might save the Stallions season… DTR told his old team, “they should have kept him.”

The Stallions weakness this season was at the quarterback position. DTR fixes that and helps the Stallions escape the glue factory for now. He completed 70.4 5 of his passes. This guy started 5 games in the NFL. He had two starts for the Browns during the 2024 season. This kind of move can propel Birmingham into the post season. They beat a pretty good team in Orlando as well.

#4. ORLANDO STORM (4-2) Dropped 1 spot from last week

Sunny days for the Orlando Storm on the football field lately. Suddenly the Storm has dropped two straight games. The Storm started out of the gates with a strong start going 4-0 before they have hit a few potholes in the last few weeks. In week 5 the Storm’s head coach Anthony Becht was beaten by his former team the BattleHawks.Then last week the Storm were beaten by their former QB, Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Storm traded DTR to the Stallions a few weeks back. Now the former Cleveland Brown haunts his old team. The Storm have one of the talented QB’s in the league. Jack Plummer tallied up over 300 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes in the loss to Birmingham.

KJ Hamler, one of Plummer’s weapons in the aerial attack, caught 8 balls for 113 receiving yards with a touchdown catch. This Storm team has plenty of playmakers on offense. They can play solid defense. They are 1 of only three teams in the UFL that actually has a winning record right now. The Storm could meet the Stallions again in the post-season.

#5. LOUISVILLE KINGS (2-4) DROPPED 1 SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

Only in the UFL can it be that a team scores 47 points in a win & then the next week manages only 3 points.

The Louisville Kings in week 5 were wearing the legit Kings crown beating up on the Renegades 47-25. Last week these Kings were asking their fan base, “Do you want fries with that?”

The Kings were wearing the paper crown last week scoring three points versus the BattleHawks. The Kings quarterback Chandler Rogers is nowhere close to Aaron Rogers’ talent in the NFL. Do Kings fans miss Jason Bean who they traded away? Last week Rogers completed 15-32 passes for 199 passing yards. That is a completion percentage of 46.9%. Yikes. No touchdown passes yet in two games. He did throw an interception. If the Kings can get better results from Rogers, they are in the mix for the 4th playoff spot. The Renegades are in free fall. The Kings obviously beat the Renegades. If they can rack up 2 or 3 wins in the last few weeks of the season, the Kings could sneak through the doggie door of post-season. Of course wearing the paper crowns, not the gold ones as they are not at that level.

#6. COLUMBUS AVIATORS (2-4) In the same spot from last week

The Aviators split the two games series with the Gamblers by salvaging the rematch last weekend.

The Aviators wide receiver Tay Martin had a big game catching six balls for 103 yards. John Lovett, master thespian, had a nice game on the ground for the Aviators.

Lovett gained 63 yards and found pay dirt with a rushing touchdown. Veteran Quarterback Jalan McClendon beats the franchise he played for last year, as they were the Roughnecks. This win keeps Columbus in the playoff chase for the 4th spot which could be Dallas who are 3-3. Then there’s the Stallions, Kings, Gamblers and the Aviators who all have a 2-4 record. Dallas has collapsed losing three straight games.

#7. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (2-4) Dropped 2 spots from last week

The Gamblers lose the rematch game versus the Aviators after beating Columbus in week 5. Seventeen points was enough to beat the Aviators once, but was not enough in week 6 as Columbus put up 24 points. Houston did score more points than their Texas arch-rival Dallas, who only scored six point in week 6. Houston we know has a problem at the quarterback position. They are trying to address the most important position on the field as they made a signing this week bringing in John Rys Plumlee.

Plumlee had stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars in their camps but never has thrown a pass in the NFL. Plumless played college foot ball UCF. He was drafted by the Renegades a few seasons ago but did not sign. Now he find himself in Texas with the Gamblers.

The Gamblers then get rid of one of the problems they had at the QB position by cutting Tua’s brother, Taulia Tagovailoa. Might be Canadian football for Taulia’s future. In three games he only completed 53.1% of his passes. He did tally up 300 passing yards. Threw two touchdown passes. Ran for 1 touchdown. Had 1 interception. He did appear in last week’s game and pretty much was not an impact. We will see if Plumlee can work some miracles for the Gamblers.

#8. DALLAS RENEGADES (3-3) Dropped 1 spot from last week.

The Renegades have officially hit rock bottom in the power rankings. Dallas started off the season winning their first three games out of the gates. They had a high powered offense. They had a deadly defense. They looked like they had the best quarterback in the league with Austin Reed. They even traded away the best spring quarterback in Luis Perez, the King of the Spring Fling, to the BattleHawks. Now the Renegades have fallen and can’t get up losing three straight games. Last week the Renegades offense managed only 6 points. By far the lowest scoring game they have had all season long. When the other Texas team in the UFL called the Gamblers, who don’t have a quarterback< are scoring more than you something is wrong.

Even during this Renegades skid out of control, wide receiver Tyler Vaughns continues to impress with his play style this year. Tyler scored the only touchdown of the day for the Renegades. This season he has tallied up 34 catches for 438 receiving yards while hauling in 5 touchdowns. In 4 seasons all with the Renegades, he has caught 151 balls for 1,718 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches. Nice spring football career he has had.

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.