Alt-Football Digest’s UFL Week Five Power Rankings
We’ve officially reached the halfway mark of the second UFL season. And even after five games, there’s a Jekyll-and-Hyde feeling to some of these teams. How could we possibly accurately rank these teams? Only with some of the shrewdest observers of the game of football in the spring football space. This week, that would include:
-Anthony Miller
-John Lewis
-Mike Mitchell
-Greg Parks
The collective rankings are based on a scoring system that awards eight points for a first place vote, seven for second, so on and so forth. The team’s ranking the previous week can be found in parenthesis after their current ranking. These will be updated each week throughout the regular season. Comments from the panel will follow each team’s place in the rankings.
The rankings after week one can be found here.
Please share your own Power Rankings and comments below!
(4) D.C. Defenders (32 points)
All four voters placed D.C. atop the rankings.
“Step aside, Bryce Perkins. In 2025, Jordan Ta'amu showed why he is the top MVP candidate after gaining 308 passing yards, 37 rushing yards, and four touchdowns. Even with fewer coaches on the coaching staff than there were during training camp, interim head coach Shannon Harris has his Defenders rolling towards an XFL Conference title and could win it all.” (AM)
“The Defenders looked as if they might drop this week, but what a comeback! This team is poised for a run.” (JL)
“For whatever reason, the Defenders' most dramatic regular-season victories have come against the Renegades, specifically in Arlington. For the second year in a row, D.C. mounted a late rally to beat Bob Stoops's bunch on the road, this time, overcoming a two-score deficit. It was a pivotal victory that the Defenders needed after last week's disappointing home loss to San Antonio. D.C.'s pass offense has answered the call these last two weeks; they have had to do so with an essentially nonexistent run game. Abram Smith, understandably coming off a serious ACL Injury, has not been the same star player he was two seasons ago. The Defenders are living and dying off the big play during the first half of their season. It's a dangerous way to live, and it may not hold up, but it's got them atop the UFL for now.” (MM)
“D.C. vs. Arlington was billed as the battle of two teams at the top of the XFL Conference standings. By walking out the victors, D.C. earned the number one spot in the rankings. The offense has become a bit too one-dimensional, even as they’ve found a new weapon on Braylon Sanders, who was a healthy scratch at receiver early in the season. The defense has also dropped off its torrid early-season pace. Nevertheless, Shannon Harris’s squad has found a way to get the job done, and that’s all that matters.” (GP)
T2. (3) Arlington Renegades (24 points - highest rank: 2 - lowest rank: 5)
“The Renegades were in a rare shootout with the Defenders, so the defense gets a pass despite another stellar performance from cornerback Ajene Harris. It was good to see Kalen Ballage bounce back with 79 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Luis Perez was slinging the ball as well as he has all season, but the final drive interception erased what was a great game. The Renegades are still legit contenders in the XFL Conference and UFL title.” (AM)
“Despite the setback against D.C., the Renegades offense is going full-throttle. They’re still in the hunt.” (JL)
“The Renegades have developed a pattern of losing close games during crunch time in the last two seasons. Arlington was 1-5 in games decided by one score in 2024. It's why they were 3-7 instead of a playoff team. In 2025, Bob Stoops's team barely squeaked by Houston 11-9 at home before squandering a game late against the Stallions and blowing a two-score lead against DC this past Sunday. Poor clock management, player discipline, and decision-making in the clutch have been the main culprits for Arlington's late-game meltdowns. The Renegades won't be riding into the playoffs unless they can change the recent pattern.” (MM)
“Arlington didn’t play poorly against D.C. per se; they were more unlucky at times than D.C. was though. The two teams still feel very evenly matched and the conference title may very well come down to the last weekend. QB Luis Perez still has his fastball and his mobility is an added bonus this year. DE Chris Odom has been a find as a pass-rusher after Houston inexplicably let him go in the off-season.” (GP)
T2. (6) St. Louis Battlehawks (24 points - highest rank: 2 - lowest rank: 4)
“Another stellar example of Battlehawks offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan understanding his offense, as he didn't ask Max Duggan to throw much, but he was efficient and ran the ball well. St. Louis' secondary struggled in the game, but overall, it was a nice bounce-back game for the Battlehawks, and Duggan proved that the team is not out of the playoff hunt with him starting.” (AM)
“Whatever questions I had about Max Duggan got answered pretty quickly last week. The Battlehawks are giving Kaw Kaw Nation hope again.” (JL)
“Like its counterparts in D.C., St. Louis won a pivotal game in dramatic fashion. It may come off as hyperbole, but the Battlehawks' season was on the brink in Week 5 after they lost two straight conference games and their starting quarterback. St. Louis desperately needed to win at home against a talented Panthers team. That's what they accomplished, thanks to improved play from Max Duggan and the return of superstar Hakeem Butler. The Battlehawks are not in the clear yet. They face a must-win game at home this Friday night against an Arlington team that beat them two weeks ago. St. Louis can't afford to be swept by the Renegades. With both teams at 3-2, a loss by STL would effectively put them two games behind Arlington.” (MM)
“Credit Max Duggan for shrugging off a disappointing relief performance in week four to come in guns blazing in week five. His feet were a weapon against a usually disciplined Michigan defense. St. Louis isn’t going to win many games where Duggan has to throw it 30 times; they’re going to be at their best in games like this, where they limit his work in the passing game. He has to show just enough to keep defenses honest, which he did last weekend.” (GP)
4. (1) Michigan Panthers (23 points - highest rank: 3 - lowest rank: 4)
“Mike Nolan finally learned his lesson and will be rolling strictly with Bryce Perkins for the rest of the season at quarterback. The MVP candidate threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Michigan's defense struggled mightily, but if Nolan had just stuck with Perkins the whole game, the Panthers might be 4-1.” (AM)
“A bad coaching decision to take out the red-hot Bryce Perkins for Danny Etling sunk the Panthers. When Perkins is the man, the Panthers are the class of the conference.” (JL)
“The UFL's head coach of the year in 2024, Mike Nolan, is holding his team back in 2025. Nolan's stubbornness to refuse to hand the controls over to Bryce Perkins hurts the team's upside. Michigan has all the makings of a championship team, but Nolan has to get out of his team's way. With Birmingham showing signs of vulnerability, the Panthers are in a prime position to overtake the USFL conference. But that's up to how the head coach handles his QB situation, as well as the nuisance of Samson Nacua's silly antics in St. Louis.”
“I won’t pile on Mike Nolan here other than to echo the sentiments of my colleagues in regard to his handling of the QB situation. Toa Taua has really impressed and has steadily earned more playing time with his hard-charging style of running. Their receivers and tight ends have shown some of the best hands of any in the league.” (GP)
5. (2) Birmingham Stallions (17 points - highest rank: 4 - lowest rank: 5)
“Case Cookus was great in the fourth quarter but struggled through the first three. Twenty-four points might not look great, but the Stallions' defense was not as bad as the numbers show. Like Michigan's coaching decision, Skip Holtz has to regret going for the 63-yard field goal to end the first half, as otherwise, Birmingham would be 4-1.” (AM)
“Oof, what a loss at home. I know the Stallions have some injury issues but they take a tumble in my rankings this week.” (JL)
“This is the most vulnerable Birmingham has looked since a tepid 3-2 start in 2023 before rattling off seven straight victories to win a second straight USFL championship. Sitting at 3-2 in 2025, the Stallions' grip as the league's standard bearer and the cream of the USFL crop is in greater question than two years ago. In week five, the pattern of winning ugly finally wore off for the defending three-time champs. On paper, squaring off with teams with losing records in three of your last five games favors the Stallions' chances to make another championship run. But after a loss to previously winless Memphis, and near defeats the two weeks prior, all bets are off on Birmingham automatically flipping the switch.” (MM)
“This is a game last year’s Birmingham team would’ve pulled out from under Memphis after numerous in-game wobbles. The good news for the Stallions is no other team is pulling away, so they’ve got as good a shot as any at getting hot late in the season and making a post-season run. Case Cookus, like Matt Corral before him, needs to clean up his decision-making when throwing the football.” (GP)
6. (7) Houston Roughnecks (11 points - highest rank: 6 - lowest rank: 7)
“Jalan McClendon is that dude. Houston's offense has taken a 180-degree turn and is showing life in the passing game, and the defense continues to impress, especially with its secondary. There are still questions about Curtis Johnson being the head coach of this team, but credit to him for having this team win two of their last three games.” (AM)
“If the Jalan McClendon Show keeps rolling, the Roughnecks might have the biggest turnaround in the league.” (JL)
“Don't look now, but the Roughnecks are a competent team thanks to continued stellar play on defense and the steady play of quarterback Jalan McClendon. The truth is that Houston had been showing signs of competency before their stunning surprise victory in San Antonio. They rallied and lost by only two points to Arlington, before beating Memphis and losing by one score late to Birmingham. For Houston, which has already surpassed last season's win total, to truly change the face of its season, they need to keep the momentum going and beat Memphis at home.” (MM)
“Curtis Johnson, the king of unintentional hilarity caught by TV cameras and mics on the sidelines, has now won two in a row and has Houston in the conversation for a playoff spot in the USFL Conference. It’s taken a while, but we may be seeing the effects of Tom Cable’s work with the offensive line, which has all of a sudden opened up running lanes and protected the quarterback in ways we haven’t seen from the Roughnecks the last two seasons.” (GP)
7. (8) Memphis Showboats (9 points - highest rank: 6 - lowest rank: 7)
“I could have never imagined this Showboats team putting it all together and picking up a seismic upset over Birmingham, but they did. Dresser Winn proved to be worthy of keeping the starting quarterback job the rest of the season, and the defense made life miserable for Case Cookus for most of the game. While the likelihood of Memphis making the postseason is still slim, there is hope this team can win more than one game the rest of the season.” (AM)
“Dresser Winn delivered in a thriller, but this game might’ve been an anomaly. Still, the Showboats should be happy with gutting out an amazing win(n).” (JL)
“Memphis has new life in its season after an exciting upset overtime victory against Birmingham. Dresser Winn got his shot at the controls and made it count, leading Memphis to a gutsy win. Winn showed out for the Showboats. It was a much-needed victory for a Showboats squad that finally has some hope after being dead in the water for a while. Hopefully, it's not a fleeting feeling.” (MM)
“Friday’s overtime thriller over Birmingham is the kind of win that can build momentum for a moribund team. The Showboats have a chance to keep it going this weekend against Houston in another winnable match-up. Credit the Memphis offense for reacting positively to a newly installed scheme. We’ll see what happens when defenses start to account for that.” (GP)
8. (5) San Antonio Brahmas (4 points)
All four voters had San Antonio in last place.
“It's a shame that San Antonio couldn't carry that momentum from the Defenders win into their home opener against the Roughnecks. Kellen Mond got benched after the offense struggled to score points and the defense has allowed a disappointing 26 points per game. Interim head coach Payton Pardee has his work cut out for him with a road game against the defending UFL champion Stallions.” (AM)
“I thought the Brahmas were the best 0-3 team and they proved me right in an upset against D.C…only to come back down to Earth in the worst loss of the season.” (JL)
“The magic San Antonio captured after its win in DC under new leader Payton Pardee quickly vanished in Week 5. Based on the circumstances, the Brahmas had the most disappointing loss of any UFL team this past Sunday against Houston. San Antonio and its chosen son, Kellen Mond, would like to forget the Alamo after a demoralizing and lifeless loss at home. The Brahmas at 1-4 are on life support. In a ten-game regular season, it's gotten late very early for a San Antonio squad with so much promise heading into the new season. For them to even have a shot at returning to the playoffs, the Brahmas will need to run the table, but after their performance in Week 5, they don't appear capable of achieving that.”
“It’s not just that San Antonio lost to Houston, it’s how they lost. To get dog-walked like that in the team’s home opener, a homecoming for the star quarterback, and after the big win the week before, can’t sit right with interim head coach Payton Pardee or the rest of the team. We’ll see how they react this week to that stunning loss. Replacing Kellen Mond at QB seemed like a rash decision by Pardee given how many drops the receivers had.” (GP)