UFL Power Rankings Week 4: Aviators Take Flight

Week 4 saw the standings tighten after separating in week 3. Columbus and Louisville both got their first win of the season and now find themselves tied with 4 teams in 5th place, 1 spot out of the playoffs. The Orlando Storm remain the lone undefeated team after the Dallas Renegades absorbed their first loss.

• Crown Holder 👑: Columbus Aviators
  The Columbus Aviators stole the Crown with a 28-14 home upset over the Dallas Renegades. They will look to defend The Crown on the road Sunday night in Houston.

• Court Jester 🃏: Dallas Renegades
  The Columbus Aviators foisted the unfortunate title of Court Jester upon the Dallas Renegades by defeating them at home. The Renegades will host the Louisville Kings on Sunday.

If a team defeats the Crown Holder, they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder. If a team loses to the Court Jester, they become the new Court Jester, freeing the previous holder.

1. DC Defenders (3-1)

Previous Rank: #2

• Week 4 Result: 28-22 win vs St. Louis

• Week 5 Opponent: at Birmingham Stallions Friday 8 ET

The DC Defenders had an impressive 28-22 victory at home over their rivals, the St. Louis Battlehawks, this past weekend. Last week, I wrote about how quarterback Jordan Ta’amu was having a slower start to the season than he has at times in the past. Week 4 saw him play what was clearly his best game so far this season as he efficiently passed for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding 61 rushing yards on 11 rushes. St. Louis had strong play from their defensive line in limiting DC’s rushing game and putting pressure on Ta’amu, but Ta’amu remained calm as he navigated the pressure to lead DC to victory. If Ta’amu can continue to play at the level he did this past weekend, then I’d have to say the Defenders are the current team to beat.

2. Orlando Storm (4-0)

Previous Rank: #3

• Week 4 Result: 16-0 win at Birmingham

• Week 5 Opponent: at St. Louis Battlehawks Saturday 7 ET

The Storm remain undefeated after a dominant road win in Birmingham. It was the first shutout in the history of the UFL as the Storm won 16-0. It was an impressive outing for a lot of Orlando’s secondary that held Birmingham to 166 pass yards with multiple corners having standout performances, such as Brandon Sebastian having 2 pass breakups and allowing just 5 yards in the 3 targets his way, or Micah Abraham allowing just 16 yards over 5 targets his way by my count. Linebacker Tavante Beckett helped the run defense limit Birmingham to just 33 rushing yards with his 3 solo run stops. Orlando’s defense has been lights out while the offense has been reliable.

3. Columbus Aviators (1-3)👑

Previous Rank: #7

• Week 4 Result: 28-14 win vs Dallas

• Week 5 Opponent: at Houston Gamblers Sunday 12 ET

The Aviators built on their best performance of the season in week 3 by following it with an even better one and got their first win of the season. Columbus finished the back-to-back series with Dallas with 600 yards of total offense to Dallas’ 457, a really impressive defensive performance against a team that was setting offensive records in weeks 1 and 2. Columbus ran the rock down Dallas’ throat for 202 rushing yards in a game that saw the offensive line find its footing after some struggles earlier in the season. We’ll need to see Jalen McClendon continue to elevate his game for the Aviators to be contenders this season, but they are really taking off the last 2 weeks.

4. Dallas Renegades (3-1)🃏

Previous Rank: #1

• Week 4 Result: 14-28 loss at Columbus

• Week 5 Opponent: vs Louisville Kings Sunday 3 ET

The Dallas Renegades were the most dominant team over the first 2 weeks of play until Columbus made them look beatable in week 3. Week 4 saw Columbus emerge victorious 28-14. After seeing Austin Reed set records over the first 2 weeks, Columbus may have demonstrated a defensive blueprint for slowing down the Renegades' offense. Dallas has had fewer than 240 yards of total offense in each of their last 2 games and under 150 passing yards in each of its last 2 games. The Renegades will look to get their offense rolling again next week against Louisville. If the offensive production has more struggles than Renegades fans might feel pretty remorseful about the recent trade that sent Luis Perez to St. Louis for pennies on the dollar.

5. Louisville Kings (1-3)

Previous Rank: #5

• Week 4 Result: 24-22 win at Houston

• Week 5 Opponent: at Dallas Renegades Sunday 3 ET

The Louisville Kings got their first win against a wounded Houston Gamblers team in week 4 in overtime, but it was a tough game for the offense, and the team traded away their starting quarterback, Jason Bean, not long after the game in exchange for the DC Defenders' backup Mike DiLiello. Louisville had just 206 yards of total offense and continued to struggle in the run game as well, and released RB Benny Snell to shake things up. Snell rushed 8 times for 6 yards in week 4 and was the sacrificial lamb for a team that has struggled in run blocking. Moving forward, Chandler Rogers is named the starter for Louisville. We will see how Louisville plays in Dallas in week 5 as they enter this new chapter.

6. St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2)

Previous Rank: #4

• Week 4 Result: 22-28 loss at DC

• Week 5 Opponent: vs Orlando Storm Saturday 7 ET

The St. Louis Battlehawks look like a really good team with a really big flaw, and unfortunately, that flaw has been the passing game. Hakeem Butler made a couple of big plays in week 4 that inflated the numbers by turning a simple screen play into a 75-yard touchdown and going up in triple coverage for a 34-yard gain late in the third quarter. If not for those 2 plays, we would have seen Harrison Frost complete 4 of his 19 passes for 35 yards. He may have the potential his coach believes he has, but it was not on display in week 4. St. Louis will be an instant contender once Luis Perez is under center, whom they recently traded for, but the placements in these rankings are earned on the gridiron, not in the office.

7. Houston Gamblers (1-3)

Previous Rank: #8

• Week 4 Result: 22-24 loss vs Louisville

• Week 5 Opponent: vs Columbus Aviators Sunday 12 ET

The Houston Gamblers lost a tough game in overtime in week 4 that saw some really good play from the defense, but just 73 yards in total passing in a game that saw Nolan Henderson leave early due to injury, as Taulia Tagovailoa completed 7 of his 14 passes for 64 yards. Quarterbacks Nolan Henderson and Hunter Dekkers are working towards being game-ready, but their status is unclear as to whether either will be able to play in week 5. In such a short season, the Gamblers are going to run out of time to get the offense right amid all these injuries. They could have really benefited from being the team to get Matt Corral if the QB room is going to remain injured over the near future. Defensive end Malik Fisher was a bright spot for the team in week 4 as he had half a sack, 7 additional pressure past a blocker (by my count), and a solo run stop.

8. Birmingham Stallions (1-3)

Previous Rank: #6

• Week 4 Result: 0-16 loss vs Orlando

• Week 5 Opponent: vs DC Defenders Friday 8 ET

The once prestigious Mecca of spring football victory is starting to look more like the Springfield tire fire. It’s been a dramatic few days for the Stallions after they were the victim of the first shutout in UFL history in their home opener. The Orlando Storm is a very good team, spearheaded by their strong defense, so it would be dishonest to spin this as a total tailspin for Birmingham to get shut out by Orlando, but they do need to be better. The offense just couldn’t get going in week 4, and Matt Corrall was pulled after completing 13 of his 20 passes for 83 yards. On Sunday, the Stallions traded Matt Corral and defensive end Amani Bledsoe to Orlando for the Storm’s backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. We’ll see how Birmingham looks moving forward. They’ve struggled in multiple areas at times so far this season.