20% of the way through the UFL season probably isn’t the best time to start thinking about the championship. But, when you’ve won three straight championships, it’s hard not to look at things through a championship lens.
So that begs the question, is the 2025 version of the Birmingham Stallions a championship-caliber squad?
Two weeks into the season, the results are mixed.
The week one loss hurt.
The week two win (21-12 over the Michigan Panthers) helped.
Offense
The offense looked much better in week two than it did in week one.
That’s a little surprising considering that starting QB Alex McGough went down on the first offensive play of the game.
Thankfully, Matt Corral once again proved to be more than up to the task. His stats were respectable:
- 18–29
- 198 yards passing
- 1 TD
- 2 INT
Corral needs to do a better job taking care of the ball (he was two drops away from a 4 INT day), but it was a good game overall.
Ricky Person Jr also had a respectable day. After only receiving 6 carries in the first game, he put up the following stat line:
- 17 carries
- 53 yards
- 1 TD
His 3.1 yards per carry average doesn’t do him justice. He ran the ball well and broke a lot of tackles. The extra emphasis on establishing the running game bodes well for whoever is under center for the Stallions going forward.
The biggest stat of the game was 0.
That’s the number of sacks allowed by the OL. After allowing 8 sacks in week one, it was nice to see the OL step up in a big way.
Defense
The defense has been the star of the show for the Stallions this season.
They gave up zero points through the first three quarters. Most of the yards and all of the points allowed came after the game was pretty well over.
The entire defense has been playing well, but the defensive line deserves a lot of credit. In week one, it was all about the batted balls. In week two, they finally started to get home with 3 sacks.
The defense’s early-season performance isn’t lost on the coaching staff. In the post-game press conference, Coach Holtz mentioned the effect the defensive success has on his decision-making.
“I felt like, you know what? Let’s just punt the ball away if we can’t get a first down and make them go 80 yards against our defense. I felt really good about the way our defense was playing today.” Coach Holtz
Special Teams
The Birmingham Stallions’ special-teams group has flown under the radar somewhat. This group has been playing well so far this season.
Harrison Mevis is 4 for 4 on his field goal attempts this season. That kind of accuracy will be a weapon in close games.
The return game has done its part in giving the Stallions good starting field position.
Deon Cain has averaged over 30 yards per kick return this season. Davion Davis averaged 17.3 yards per punt return against Michigan.
Special teams doesn’t always get the spotlight, but it’s a huge part of winning championships.
The Verdict
After two weeks, I’ll be honest, I’m not 100% sold on the Stallions as a championship team. Previous versions of the team have felt better.
However, it’s only been two weeks, and things change quickly.
Both the defense and special teams have proven themselves capable of making a run at a 4-peat. The offense, not yet, but they’re moving in the right direction.
The offense was much improved in week two, and if that improvement continues, the Stallion will be tough to beat.
It is worth mentioning that the USFL conference looks very winnable.
The Roughnecks and Showboats are sitting at 0–2, and they already hold a win over the Panthers.
Anything can happen once you get into the playoffs, including winning a fourth straight championship.
3 Comments
by Ken Granito
Hey Greyson, I understand you are trying to write articles to keep everyone interested. I totally get it, but like you said 20% into a season is too early to guess. A larger percent of each team is new. We don’t know what injuries are yet to happen. Even in the NFL injuries knock a team from contention that would have been a contender. I love the thought process of trying to keep it all interesting, but I would consider what teams in the early going are still in consideration and why.
So far, the teams I like are in alphabetical order. Arlington, Birmingham, DC, Michigan and St. Louis and San Antonio. I think Birmingham is the most complete team, unless Manny Wilkins is the real deal. IF he learns to read intermediate routes the team is a B at all the other positions meaning they are tough, but also could be had. They have the St. Louis moniker so they also have an advantage none of the other teams. On top of having a better homefield advantage, they have a league that will consistently be tempted to favor them. It seems to me Wyatt Ray was in the middle of it last year and this year Lonnie Phelps seems to be the guy in the middle of it this year. I really expected the Brahmas to come back whole, except for maybe Garbers, but I expected them to get better at the QB position. Kellen Mond is trying to kick off the rust, but remember how quickly the NFL gave up on him. The UFL will have to figure if he has what it takes. I also felt the #1 place AJ McCarron should have gone was to the Brahmas. I wonder how the Brahmas would fair if McCarron was the QB. That stated, he looked like he was figuring some stuff out against the Battlehawks. I like Jacob Harris. He is trying to find his lungs and his game, but he has a chance to be the real deal. I am still waiting for Greg Ward to find his groove. Arlington and Michigan are solid squads, but they need a better offensive line to really compete in this league and I think each need 1 corner. The Defenders should compete in every game, but they can be beaten each week too. Chris Rowland has the intangibles as does Abram Smith. It just seems that across the board that is what is overall lacking from this team.
The question I have is, “Is it the top two teams from each league that make the playoffs or can 3 teams in one conference make it. I kind of felt that I remember that was in play at one time, because the Battlehawks did not make it in year 1 of the XFL.
by Greyson Alman
You bring up a great point, Ken. I struggled with the wording of this article a lot, and I’m not sure I did a very good job with it. My goal was to think about whether or not they are a championship-quality team, not whether or not they will win it. As you correctly pointed out, it’s way too early, and there are so many factors that go into winning it all.
To answer your question at the end, the top two teams from each conference will meet in the semifinals again. I should have done a better job mentioning that in my article because it’s important to the conclusion I came to, but I didn’t express it well. Because it’s single elimination, anything can happen once you get there. The important part is to get there. It’s too early to say anything definitively, but the Stallions have a reasonable path to being a top-two team in the USFL Conference, which means they have a shot at winning it all.
A more interesting question (which maybe I should write an article about) is should they change the playoff system? From a fairness standpoint, it almost certainly should change. Why should a team with a top 4 record not make the playoffs? But, on the other hand, I understand both former leagues wanting to keep their identity. The NFL keeps the NFC and AFC separate when it comes to the playoffs, even if that means a team with a worse record making it to the postseason. But that separation feels different in an 8-team league because the team with the 4th-best record almost certainly has a shot at winning the championship. Sorry, I’m playing both sides of the argument; it’s an interesting topic.
by Ken Granito
You do a great job and will only get better! If ever you want to bounce an idea or a thought off me, just shoot me an email. Keep it up!