San Antonio Brahmas Game #6
Visiting Team: San Antonio Brahmas (1-4, 4th place in the XFL Conference)
Home Team: Birmingham Stallions (3-2, Tied-1st in the USFL Conference)
Game Location: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama
Date and Time: Sunday, May 4th at 4 pm EST
DraftKings Betting Line: San Antonio Brahmas (+10), Birmingham Stallions (-10), O/U 35.5 points
To kick off the 2nd half of the 2025 UFL season, the Brahmas find themselves looking for a recipe that will help them get back into the race for a post-season opportunity. The mission to get back into the mix will be difficult, potentially impossible, after struggling to a 1-4 start and failing to play at a competitive level consistently. In an attempt to forget and move beyond the struggles the Brahmas experienced during their first five games, San Antonio will be starting quarterback Kevin Hogan for the first time since Hogan signed with San Antonio in 2024.
The Birmingham Stallions also find themselves in an unfamiliar position. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterbacks Matt Corral and Alex McGough are both out with injuries. That leaves former Memphis Showboats quarterback Case Cookus set to make his second start for the Stallions in 2025.
The Brahmas and the Stallions are coming into their Week 6 matchup, focusing on returning from poor performances in Week 5. Birmingham struggled with a slow start last week against the Memphis Showboats before making a comeback in the 2nd half. Case Cookus and the Stallions could score late and tie the game against Memphis, but they lost to the Showboats during a two-point conversion shoot-out in overtime. San Antonio had an opportunity to crawl back into the XFL Conference race last week, but the Brahmas failed to control the line of scrimmage on offense or defense. The result was a disappointing home opening performance in a loss to the Houston Roughnecks.
Let’s look at what the Brahmas must do this week to get an upset victory over the Birmingham Stallions on the road.
Depth Charts and Rosters
Brahmas Key to Victory #1: Establish the Run Game
The most crucial factor for the San Antonio Brahmas to set up quarterback Kevin Hogan for success against an aggressive Stallions defense is to establish the running game. Despite running back Anthony McFarland running for 6.6 yards per carry, the Brahmas continue to be a pass-first team. Last week, the inability to run the ball against the Roughneck’s defensive front seven led to inferior performances by quarterbacks Kellen Mond and Jarrett Guarantano.
The lack of success by Mond and Guarantano led to a quarterback competition in practice this week. Kevin Hogan outplayed both quarterbacks during the week, and head coach Payton Pardee decided to start Hogan against the Stallions. Looking back to his Stanford days, Hogan is an effective pro-style quarterback, which means he was at his best when he could utilize play-action passing schemes, including boot passes. Suppose the Brahmas intend to have a chance to upset the Stallions. In that case, they must start by establishing their running game behind a struggling offensive line, running backs McFarland, John Lovett, and short-yardage back Aidan Robbins.
Brahmas Key to Victory #2: High-Percentage Passing
Another negative aspect of the Brahmas offense is an overall lack of efficiency. That inefficiency lies in the hands of the Brahmas wide receivers and tight ends. While it is the quarterback’s responsibility to throw passes that the wide receivers can catch and make plays with, the wide receivers must catch the ball. During the Brahma’s poor start, San Antonio’s core group of wide receivers, including Jontre Kirklin, Jacob Harris, and Greg Ward, have dropped many accurate passes.
What makes the dropped passes worse than simply setting the Brahmas offense up “behind the chains” is that many times, the Brahmas receivers will tip the ball up when failing to catch the ball. By tipping the ball up, they have allowed opposing defensive players in a great position to intercept passes and control the field position in the game. The Stallions have a very opportunistic defensive backfield, so the Brahmas receivers need to catch the ball and keep the Brahmas offense on schedule to maintain balance between their run game and passing game.
Brahmas Key to Victory #3: Force Three Turnovers
If the Brahmas can get their offense to perform efficiently and provide balance in their offensive attack, the defense will also need to rise and improve their performance. So far this season, the Brahmas have failed to stop their opponents’ running game every week. They have also struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks and consistently defend passes.
Brahmas to completely turn around their poor defensive performance in one week, they can control one aspect that would dramatically improve their defensive performance. The key to the Brahma’s defense turning around their season is to take the ball away from the offenses that they face. Against the Stallions, the Brahmas will need to pressure Case Cookus and get him to throw the ball early and get interceptions. Forcing fumbles, pressuring the Stallions quarterback, and intercepting passes will allow the Brahmas offense to get into a more complex game plan, making things difficult for a struggling Stallions offense.
Game Prediction
Birmingham Stallions 17, San Antonio Brahmas 14
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