With the halfway point here already, it’s time to look at who will continue to move towards locking down a playoff spot and who will start to prepare for their off-season.
Birmingham Stallions at Houston Roughnecks – 7pm EST on FOX
Birmingham travels to Houston this weekend to take on the Roughnecks. Birmingham comes into this game with 17 sacks on the season. The defense is the scariest and best defense of all of the UFL. The Stallions come into the game at 4-0. The biggest thing holding them back is Skip Holtz’ inability to make a decision at quarterback. The offense seems to play very balanced. In my opinion the offense runs better under Adrian Martinez than it does under Matt Corral. I think we will continue to see both QB’s play this weekend.
The Houston Roughnecks are a whole different story. They have struggled all season long. The offense, which is now led by Reid Sennett at the helm has been a painful thing to watch. Last week the Roughnecks finally got their work horse running back from IR, Mark Thompson went off on Arlington. Houston’s strength seems to be their defense more than their offense. Although, now with Thompson back, maybe its more even that it was before. Reid will be starting only his second game with Houston.
Houston could keep it close and show that they could be a threat as a team to anyone. I don’t trust the Roughnecks to keep pace with the Stallions. Birmingham settles in and pulls away in the end. Birmingham wins 37-15.
San Antonio Brahmas at Arlington Renegades – 7pm EST on FOX
The San Antonio Brahmas head to Arlington to take on the Renegades. The Renegades have looked abysmal to say the least all year. They did not meet expectations from the jump as they really got ran off the field by the defending two-time USFL champion Birmingham Stallions. They proceeded to show America that their XFL Championship win was a fluke with a loss to the DC Defenders. To make matters worse, they lost the fan proclaimed “tank bowl” last week with a loss to the Houston Roughnecks.
The offense for the Renegades seems to be out of whack with Luis Perez at the helm. The defense and offense has its moments, but can’t find a way to close the door on teams when ahead, let alone to just close out games as a whole. This could spell trouble for Arlington and head coach Bob Stoops as they are looking down the barrel of an 0-10 season unless they can turn things around.
The San Antonio Brahmas come into this game against Arlington hitting on all cylinders. Even with Chase Garbers out for the season off of an injury that occurred two weeks ago, the offense doesn’t seem like it has missed a beat with Quinten Dormady at the helm. The defense looks like its really coming into form now as they were able to hold the incredible Michigan Panthers offense to only 9 points last weekend. Their defense has been a menace for opposing quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see how they perform against Luis Perez.
When it all comes down to it, I believe San Antonio has enough firepower to hold Arlington to a very limited offense and to be explosive on the offensive side of the ball. San Antonio pulls away with ease in the end and wins the game 41-8.
St. Louis Battlehawks vs DC Defenders – Noon EST on ESPN
The St. Louis Battlehawks are on their own version of what many people call a revenge tour. They have set their eyes now on the DC Defenders, who seem to be having an identity crisis. The Battlehawks into this game at 3-1, while the Defenders come in at 2-2.
AJ McCarron is having a good season so far. He is just one of the 6 headed monster that St. Louis has on the offensive side of the ball. Between McCarron, Butler, Ateman, Shephard, Pearson and Sutherland, among many other pieces, this offense is hard to stop. They seem to look dangerous on both sides of the ball. The defense hasn’t seemed to fall off since the loss of Pita Taumoepenu. Others within the Battlehawks front seven have stepped up and done their part.
The Defenders on the other hand, are filled with problems. They lost Abram Smith in the pre-season. He tore his ACL, and is out for the season. This caused DC to not really have a running game. It has taken time, but DC has slowly put together a run game. The offense mostly goes through Jordan Ta’amu and the passing game. The bolder of the team is the defense that has either kept them in games or sealed a win for them.
DC comes into this game with an undefeated home record sitting at 10-0, going all the way back to 2020. More than ever, I really feel like this could be in jeopardy. Something just tells me that they will somehow
Michigan Panthers vs Memphis Showboats – 3pm EST on FOX
This is an important game within the USFL conference this weekend. The Michigan Panthers are back on the road and heading south to Memphis. The Panthers come into this game at a decieving 2-2 record. The Memphis Showboats come into this game at a dreadful 1-3, with a last chance, last ditch effort to make something of their season.
Michigan has to find a way to keep the offense moving on the back of backup QB turned starter Danny Etling. Etling came into the game last week after what was thought to be a minor injury to EJ Perry. The injury has sidelined him for the season. Etling didn’t look too bad against the Brahmas last week. He did lead the Panthers to their only touchdown in the 19-9 loss last week.
The Panthers defense on the other hand continues to thrive and look unbeatable. They were exposed a little last week as Quinten Dormady was able to go 23/37 for 269 yards and 1 touchdown. This offense isn’t as good as the Brahmas, so it will be interesting to see how the defense looks.
Now on the Memphis Showboats side of things. Case Cookus leads the offense and has been having offensive line issues all season, as he has been sacked 11 times this season. Cookus has proven he can win games for Memphis, but they have to keep him upright. The defense needs to also step up for the Showboats.
Altogether Memphis is a team who seems to have problems on both sides of the ball. They seem to be trying to desperately get through this season, to build for next year. The boats need to find a way to pressure Etling and the Michigan offense into making mistakes and capitalize off of the mistakes.
In the end, I don’t think Memphis can make Michigan make mistakes, let alone capitalize on them. Michigan is too strong on both sides of the ball. They are also extremely balanced on offense. Michigan comes out of Memphis with a huge & extremely important W to move to 3-2. Panthers win 30-12.
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