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Fox Sports
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
2025 UFL Power Rankings: Panthers on the rise, Defenders slide after Week 6
Week 6 of the 2025 UFL season was filled with plenty of thrilling results, including a statement win by the Michigan Panthers . The opening two games of the weekend were decided by a combined seven points, as the Battlehawks topped the Renegades on Friday night, 12-6, while the Roughnecks survived against the Showboats, 21-20, in a dramatic contest on Saturday. The most notable result of the weekend came on Sunday as the Panthers cruised to a 38-14 victory over the Defenders, while the Stallions closed out the weekend with a dominant 26-3 win over the Brahmas. With that, it's time for my updated UFL Power Rankings following a jam-packed Week 6: 8. San Antonio Brahmas (1-5) Week 6 result: Lost to Birmingham, 26-3 Interim coach Payton Pardee was looking for a spark for his team's offense, giving Kevin Hogan his first start for the Brahmas this season. Hogan played well, completing 17 of 26 passes for 179 yards with an interception, but he could only do so much with a rushing attack that garnered just 24 yards in the game. The Brahmas needed a win against Birmingham to give themselves a realistic shot at getting back to the playoffs. But with four games left to play and three games out of first place in the XFL, San Antonio will find it difficult to play postseason football after winning the conference title last season. 7. Memphis Showboats (1-5) Week 6 result: Lost to Houston, 21-20 Dressen Winn completed 22 of 34 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second start of the season. But the Showboats fell a possession short. Now, Memphis is in the same predicament that the Brahmas are in, looking at the standings three games back with four weeks left to play. While Dee Anderson caught five passes for 47 yards, star wideout Jonathan Adams caught just two of five targeted passes in a game where the Showboats could've used his big-play ability. 6. Houston Roughnecks (3-3) Week 6 result: Defeated Memphis, 21-20 The Roughnecks have become a different team with Jalan McClendon at quarterback. The former NC State and Baylor QB completed 20 of 28 passes for 149 yards with a touchdown in a 21-20 win over Memphis. McClendon's impact on the team has made the offense functional, opportunistic and has put the Roughnecks in position to achieve a winning record after the halfway mark of the season. The Roughnecks scored 11 points off of turnovers, and the offense played turnover-free football, allowing its defense to stay in a game that came down to the final minutes before Houston walked away with the win. 5. Birmingham Stallions (4-2) Week 6 result: Defeated San Antonio, 26-3 Though Case Cookus started the game, the Stallions needed to play a different quarterback due to injury for the fourth game in six weeks. Still, Cookus and backup Andrew Peasley were more than enough for the Stallions to secure a 23-point win against San Antonio. Cookus played his best game of the season, completing 16 of 23 passes for 166 passing yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Harrison Mevis put the game out of reach for the Brahmas with field goals of 49 and 50 yards in the third quarter, while the Stallion defense didn't allow a single third-down conversion — holding San Antonio to 0-for-10 — and notched more sacks (four) than it allowed points (three). 4. DC Defenders (4-2) Week 6 result: Lost to Michigan, 38-14 Despite another great performance by quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who completed 19 of 36 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns, as well as a brilliant nine-catch, 144-yard receiving day from wide receiver Chris Rowland, the Defenders were summarily sacked by the Panthers. The loss moved the Defenders into a tie for first place as the team's rush defense was exposed on Saturday. The Defenders gave up more than 200 rushing yards while the team gave up 90 yards in penalties. Interim head coach Shannon Harris will find plenty for his defense to fix before this weekend, but the Defenders are still in good shape to win the XFL Conference, if they can regain their form. 3. Arlington Renegades (3-3) Week 6 result: Lost to St. Louis, 12-6 The Renegades committed four turnovers, including three lost fumbles, in what was a one-score game with their most immediate competition for the second playoff spot in the XFL Conference. On a weekend filled with games that had major playoff implications, the Renegade offense couldn't run or throw the ball with efficiency. Kalen Ballage, the league's leading rusher heading into Week 6, finished with nine rushes for just 30 yards. While the Renegade defense played admirably, allowing just 171 total yards, one big play was enough to dash their chances of a win. 2. St. Louis Battlehawks (4-2) Week 6 result: Defeated Arlington, 12-6 Hakeem Butler made the difference. His 30-yard touchdown grab was the only TD scored in the contest. Since returning to the field in Week 5, the reigning UFL Offensive Player of the Year has recorded three catches and all three have resulted in TDs. The Battlehawks earned a win against an Arlington team that is also vying for a spot in the XFL playoffs. Former TCU QB Max Duggan completed just seven passes for 93 yards while the St. Louis' offense converted just three of 13 third-down conversion attempts. Meanwhile, St. Louis' defense took advantage of its prodigious crowd advantage and recorded 5.5 sacks and an interception against Arlington. 1. Michigan Panthers (4-2) Week 6 result: Defeated DC, 38-14 Bryce Perkins put together his best performance of the season, and the rest of the Panthers joined him. Perkins completed 13 of 18 passes for 188 yards, rushed for 76 yards on nine carries and proved responsible for three touchdowns in a dominant win over what was the best team in the UFL through the first half of the season. Running back Toa Taua led all rushers with 94 yards on 19 carries as the Panthers rolled for 213 yards on the ground. The Michigan defense allowed just two scores on nine Defender drives and gave its offense an average starting field position at its own 42-yard line. By contrast, the Defenders began with an average starting field position at their own 22-yard line. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Five things to watch for in Week 5 of the 2025 UFL season
The Birmingham Stallions , winners of three straight, find themselves in familiar territory at 3-1 and sitting atop the USFL Conference this season. Still, the defending UFL champions haven't been the dominant team football fans expected at the start of the season, which is something head coach Skip Holtz is actively working to fix. [MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League ] The Stallions averaged a league-high 26.5 points per game in 2024, but they're scoring just 16.2 points per contest so far this season. Last year, Birmingham led the league by averaging 136.0 rushing yards a game. This year, the Stallions are averaging just 93.4 rushing yards per contest. "We've shown flashes of who we can be, and I think we've shown flashes of who we are," Holtz said. Holtz and the Stallions get another opportunity to live up to big expectations when they host the Memphis Showboats (0-4) at Protective Stadium in Week 5's opening game on Friday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Then, the Michigan Panthers (3-1) hit the road to face the St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET). In Sunday's doubleheader, the Arlington Renegades (3-1) host the DC Defenders (3-1) at Choctaw Stadium (noon ET), followed by the San Antonio Brahmas (1-3) facing the Houston Roughnecks (1-3) at the Alamodome (3 p.m. ET). Here's a closer look at five things to watch for in Week 5: 1. Case Cookus takes over at QB for Stallions Holtz said Matt Corral suffered an injury to his midsection late in last week's game and will serve as Birmingham's emergency No. 3 quarterback this week. That means Northern Arizona product Cookus will get his first start of the season against his former team. Cookus finished 1-5 as a starter for Memphis last season, completing 61.5% of his passes for 989 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He was also sacked 20 times. Before that, Cookus spent two seasons in the legacy USFL with the Philadelphia Stars, totaling 3,629 passing yards, 27 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions and helping lead them to the 2022 championship game. "I feel really good," Holtz said about Cookus starting. "I think he's got a really good grasp on the offense and what we're doing." Cookus, 29, and his wife are expecting a baby boy in July. Andrew Peasley will serve as the backup quarterback for the Stallions. St. Louis head coach Anthony Becht received some unfortunate news this week when his team's medical staff confirmed that theiir starting quarterback suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear in his right leg. Wilkins was placed on IR, and backup Max Duggan will get his first start of the season this week. Wilkins earned UFL Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 2. He has completed 65.2% of his passes for 498 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions through four games. The Battlehawks brought back QB Brandon Silvers, who was with St. Louis last season, to back up Duggan. St. Louis did receive some good news this week, too. Reigning UFL Offensive Player of the Year and standout receiver Hakeem Butler is expected to return to the field after missing the past three games with a lingering hamstring injury. The Battlehawks, losers of two straight, have turned the ball over eight times in the past two games but look to get back on the winning track at home against the Panthers. 3. QB Dresser Winn elevated to starting job for Showboats Looking to shake things up, Memphis interim head coach Jim Turner will start Winn against Birmingham, while E.J. Perry will serve as the team's backup and Troy Williams will be the team's emergency third-string quarterback. Winn, 26, spent some time with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams in training camp and on that team's practice squad in 2023 and 2024. Winn threw for 5,800 yards and 37 touchdowns in college at UT Martin. Turner said that the Showboats revamped the offense this week now that Noel Mazzone has taken over as the team's offensive coordinator, with Ken Whisenhunt moving on as the team's head coach. The Showboats are averaging just 12.5 points per game and a league-worst 78.3 rushing yards a contest this season. 4. QB Kellen Mond playing in his hometown of San Antonio for the first time Mond, a Texas A&M product, helped lead the Brahmas to their first win of the season last week. Now, he'll get to experience another first as he plays a professional game for the first time in his hometown of San Antonio when his team hosts the Roughnecks in Week 5. The Brahmas are the last team in the UFL to host a home opener. Mond has completed 57.8% of his passes for 562 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in four starts. He has also rushed for 82 yards. "To come out here and be able to go full games and have to execute drives, end-of-half and end-of-game situations — I think is the best thing," Mond said when asked about the growth he has experienced from his college days to now. "It's a quarterback-driven league, and I think it's extremely beneficial, and I've grown. From understanding defenses from my college days and my accuracy level … I think I'm a totally different player." Undefeated at home this season, the Renegades host the Defenders in Week 5 with the XFL Conference's No. 1 spot up for grabs. The Defenders are looking to rebound after losing their first game of the season at home last week, but it will be a tall task, as the Renegades are holding opposing offenses to a league-low 10.8 points per game. The Defenders will look to play a cleaner game after finishing with 13 accepted penalties for 121 yards last week. "You can't overcome games like that with so many penalties," Defenders interim head coach Shannon Harris said. "We've got to clean that up." Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
