RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
Another week of action is in the books, which means it’s time for another round of UFL power rankings.
Week 3 featured two one-point games and another one-score game, with three of the four matchups having a touchdown scored in the final few minutes of the game. It was an exciting week, to say the least, for football fans.
[MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League]
That said, it’s time for my fourth power rankings list:
Current odds to win 2025 title: +3500
Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips went to Payton Pardee, the grandson of legendary Hall of Fame coach Jack Pardee, to get his offense up and going — and it worked. The younger Pardee took over as playcaller and offensive coordinator for San Antonio.
However, it was Jordan Williams’ interception that he returned for a touchdown that put the Brahmas back into a one-score game with one of the best teams in the USFL Conference. However, San Antonio is one of two winless teams in the league after three weeks — a far cry from the XFL Conference title team it was a year ago.
With three seconds remaining in the game and after making three field goals earlier in the game, San Antonio kicker Donald De La Haye missed a 53-yard kick that would’ve sent the game to overtime.
Current odds to win 2025 title: +4000
The Showboats were shown up at home by a team that had won just two games over the past two seasons.
Quarterback E.J. Perry threw two costly interceptions, with one being returned for a touchdown. In total, the Showboats committed three turnovers. While the passing game wasn’t as potent as it was a week ago, the lack of rushing attack ought to raise an alarm for Memphis fans.
Former Tulsa running back Deneric Prince ran for just 16 yards on 12 carries, and the offense averaged just 2.8 rushing yards per carry against the Houston defense.
Current odds to win 2025 title: +3500
The Roughnecks earned just their second win in two years, and it was the defense that led the way. Former Texas A&M safety Leon O’Neal’s pick-six gave Houston the lead. A change at quarterback from Anthony Brown to Nolan Henderson meant securing the victory, so much so that Henderson looks like the starter for head coach CJ Johnson’s Roughnecks for the “foreseeable future.”
“Coach talked about grit in the locker room, and I think we displayed that really well,” O’Neal said. “We’re still a young team. We’re still coming together, learning … to feel each other out, [but] we’re together, man. We’re a family.”
Current odds to win 2025 title: +600
The Panthers survived a late comeback attempt by the Brahmas to remain tied for first place in the USFL Conference. All three touchdowns scored in the win came on the ground, with quarterback Bryce Perkins scoring twice while completing 17 of 23 passes for 193 yards.
The Panthers dominated the middle half, outscoring the Brahmas 23-12 in the second and third quarters.
Former LSU QB Danny Etling got the start ahead of Perkins, but for the second time in three weeks, it was Perkins who made the difference for head coach Mike Nolan. Perhaps now he’ll stop playing musical chairs at the position and hand the job to the best player on his offense.
Current odds to win 2025 title: +550
The Renegades defense shut out the defending league champion Stallions in the first half, but Arlington failed to close out what looked like a defensive gem until the final minutes of the game. A normally stout rushing attack for the Renegades amassed just 74 yards on 23 rushes, and their offense failed to score a touchdown in the loss.
“It’s terribly disappointing when you lead the game until the last 20 seconds to lose it,” head coach Bob Stoops said. “It’s hard to take. I told (the team) the areas that we had our chances to seal the game that didn’t work. Either side of the ball could have made another play to win it.”
Current odds to win 2025 title: +260
The Stallions didn’t lead their home-opener against the Renegades until the final 26 seconds of regulation and narrowly pulled out a win. The Stallions have not lost a game at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama, since May 2023.
With 2023 USFL MVP Alex McGough out with an injury and former Ole Miss QB Matt Corral taking over in each of the Stallions’ victories, head coach Skip Holtz is trying to find out what his offense needs to look like. He found success with an empty set that featured two tight ends — 02 personnel — that made his offense go for the final drive and two-point conversion to seal the victory.
“I don’t know what we are right now,” Holtz said. “With Matt at quarterback, are we good enough to methodically move the ball down the field? Do we need to be a big play offense? Are we gonna be hit or miss? I don’t know.”
Current odds to win 2025 title: +270
The Battlehawks had not lost a regular-season game at home since April 16, 2023, but then the Defenders showed up to The Dome at America’s Center this weekend and set the number of days without a loss back to zero.
St. Louis committed four turnovers in the loss after having not committed a single turnover in the first two games of the season. What’s more? Anthony Becht’s squad allowed 15 points scored off of those turnovers, while the offense was held to a season-low 173 total yards.
With the announcement that the UFL title game would be held in their hometown for a second consecutive year, the first reality check of the season came for the Battlehawks, who might yet watch another team take home a championship in their living room.
Current odds to win 2025 title: +270
Jordan Ta’amu hit Ty Scott for a 62-yard gain, and those kinds of plays were indicative of how the day would go for what became the last undefeated team in the league. In his first game as defensive coordinator, Blake Williams’ unit stopped the league’s best offense from doing much at all — in particular in the run game.
St. Louis rushed for just 45 yards on 16 rushes against the Defenders and held Battlehawks star rusher Jacob Saylors to just one single rushing yard on seven attempts.
In a game to decide who’s the best team in the league through nearly a third of the season, the Defenders marched into the most intimidating away atmosphere in spring football and left no doubt that the best in the UFL calls The District home.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.
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