Alt-Football Digest’s UFL Week Four Power Rankings
Week four of the UFL season is over, and the Alt-Football Digest staff once again brings you the cumulative power rankings of some of the most world-renowned spring football authors. Contributing to the rankings this week:
-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!
Michigan Panthers (27 points - highest rank: 1 - lowest rank: 4)
“Panthers quarterback Bryce Perkins looks increasingly like the UFL MVP after another solid outing throwing and running the ball. The defense stifled the Showboats' offense to just nine points in their win at Ford Field on Friday. They've beaten up on Memphis twice and beat a one-win Brahams team, so Michigan still has to prove it can play well against the top teams in the UFL.” (AM)
“The Panthers look like the class of the USFL Conference right now. Granted, playing Memphis might not have been the toughest task of the season, but the body of work so far in all three phases is impressive.” (JL)
“The Panthers are hitting their stride as the UFL season progresses, with Bryce Perkins finally in complete control. Michigan, like Birmingham, the ultimate thorn in their side, has a solid all-around team. The Panthers' offensive line, in particular, has stood out as arguably one of the league's best units. Coupled with a strong defense, Mike Nolan's squad has a real shot to win it all this season.” (MM)
“If there’s one thing you can count on with Michigan, it’s consistency, and we’re seeing that in the early going this year. The schedule will get tougher for them, and if Bryce Perkins gets hurt like he did last year (he’s still trying to leap over defenders, which is not a smart call given he got hurt doing it in 2024), the Panthers’ offense will look a lot less formidable.” (GP)
Birmingham Stallions (26 points - highest rank: 1 - lowest rank: 4)
“When there is a four-way tie for top teams in the UFL, always go with the team with the proven record at number one. Before his injury, Matt Corral was ready to put himself in the UFL MVP conversation and might still be able to do so. This Stallions' defense ranks as one of the top units in the league. Even though their win Saturday was against a 1-3 Roughnecks team, Birmingham still looks like a UFL title contender.” (AM)
“The Stallions didn’t make it look easy against the Houston Roughnecks, but got the job done. Birmingham might cruise to the playoff as they have (as of now) only one team with a winning record on the rest of the schedule.” (JL)
“The back-to-back-to-back champs keep finding ways to win and will likely have to do so with option C at quarterback. While other UFL teams struggle to find a solution in the QB1 spot, it's an embarrassment of riches that the Stallions' third option is proven starter Case Cookus. If not for a serious injury, the former Philadelphia Star could likely have beaten Birmingham and denied their first of three titles in 2022. Regardless of who is at quarterback for the Stallions, the ongoing constant for Skip Holtz's team is that they've been the most balanced team in the spring. That trend has continued.” (MM)
“Through week four, Birmingham continues to make mistakes uncharachteristic of Skip Holtz-coached Stallions teams of the past. Eventually, against good teams, that will catch up with them. For now, they start third-stringer Case Cookus. UFL fans last saw Cookus getting murdered behind a sieve of an offensive line in Memphis last season. We’ll learn just how much of that was on Cookus and how much of that was on the o-line in the coming weeks.” (GP)
Arlington Renegades (25 points - highest rank: 2 - lowest rank: 4)
“I feel like a broken record, but not enough attention is given to the Renegades' defense. This unit is allowing an average of 10.7 points per game, and they are coming off two defensive touchdowns in their win against the St. Louis Battlehawks on Saturday. Arlington's offense looked better but struggled to produce many points when they crossed midfield. Quarterback Luis Perez will be able to work through the issues and get this offense going as Arlington looks like a solid team.” (AM)
“Now THIS Is what Renegades fans longed for during a tough 2024 season. The Spring King is still wearing his crown, and that defense might be the most improved in the entire league.” (JL)
“The Renegades rode a perfect storm at home against St. Louis, who lost starting QB Manny Wilkins to injury. No matter how they got it, the victory was exactly what Arlington needed after a demoralizing loss to Birmingham. With the Battlehawks reeling, Bob Stoops's crew has a shot to take claim of its conference if they can best a no-longer-perfect D.C. team at home.” (MM)
“Arlington’s 30 points looked like a veritable offensive explosion, but take away the two defensive touchdowns and you’re left with another middling performance. Luis Perez has one of the lowest yards-per-attempt of any QB among the top teams in the UFL, and that inability to go downfield consistently may end up catching up with Arlington. On the other hand, this defense has improved tremendously from last season, a feather in the cap of head coach Bob Stoops and general manager Rick Mueller.” (GP)
D.C. Defenders (24 points - highest rank: 1 - lowest rank: 5)
“The Defenders got one of the best performances of Jordan Ta'amu's career on Sunday, but the lack of a pass rush defensively hurt D.C. in their first loss of the year. It doesn't help that they lost to a team that hasn't won all season, but this Defenders team is solid.” (AM)
“The Defenders shot themselves in the foot over and over again with penalties against a surging San Antonio squad. D.C.’s remaining schedule (aside from one game against Houston) is going to test their resilience.” (JL)
“We will determine how good the Defenders are in the next few weeks, with two pivotal games upcoming against Arlington and Michigan. D.C. had a chance to create distance in the XFL Conference by burying the Brahmas and taking a step further away from St. Louis, but now faces its first significant fork in the road after a home loss to San Antonio. On the bright side, the Defenders' offense finally woke up in Week 4; they will need to keep that pace moving forward.” (MM)
“Every team in the league has its warts and there’s no clear-cut number one, in my opinion. D.C. is as good a choice as any, which sounds insane considering they just lost to a previously winless team. Yet, D.C. was able to move the ball through the air and Jordan Ta’amu had his most efficient game of the season. The defense didn’t play up to its standards, but I’m not too worried about that yet.” (GP)
San Antonio Brahmas (16 points - highest rank: 3 - lowest rank: 6)
“Payton Pardee was just what this team needed to gain an extra boost. After scoring 18 points in the first two games, the Brahmas have gone back-to-back weeks with 20+-point games offensively. Quarterback Kellen Mond had his best game of the season in their upset win over the Defenders. There are still major problems with this defense, but this team has improved over the last two weeks.” (AM)
“Despite the turmoil of the first third of the season, the Brahmas improved week after week, and it finally paid off. San Antonio and Payton Pardee are on the rise.” (JL)
“The Brahmas finally stopped the bleeding with an inspired effort at D.C. As a result, Payton Pardee's San Antonio squad has new life and is back in the mix heading into the midseason point. Pardee, who has stepped in admirably for coaching legend Wade Phillips, is showing that the apple didn't fall far from his family tree. The 28-year-old coaching savant is one of the league's most intriguing figures. The grandson of Hall of Famer Jack Pardee still has his work cut out for him, but he's shown that he was built for this job.” (MM)
“It truly felt like only a matter of time before San Antonio would break through, and they did just that against D.C. Kellen Mond looked like a top-tier spring league quarterback and Anthony McFarland was as close to a bell-cow as he’s been with the team, which helped them matriculate the ball down the field. The offense had D.C.’s defense on its heels all day. The lack of a pass rush is going to be a problem moving forward, a surprising negative given how strong they were in this department last year.” (GP)
St. Louis Battlehawks (14 points - highest rank: 5 - lowest rank: 6)
“Injuries are starting to catch up with the Battlehawks after quarterback Manny Wilkins went down with an Achilles injury in the loss to the Renegades. Max Duggan struggled in Wilkins' place despite the team being a couple of yards from tying the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Not all hope is lost as the defense performed well, but Week 5 will be a strong indicator if the UFL championship game host city can climb out of a big hole.” (AM)
“The dreams of playing in a UFL championship game at home might have been sunk for a second straight year. We’ll see if quarterback Max Duggan is needed in a larger role and if so, can he improve on what we saw from his first extended playing time?” (JL)
“The worm has turned on the Hawks. Two straight in-conference losses, and more importantly, the loss of quarterback Manny Wilkins, have put St. Louis in a precarious spot approaching the midway point of the UFL season. The Battlehawks, with Max Duggan now, have to find a way to unlock a pedestrian passing attack that has sorely missed Hakeem Butler.” (MM)
“My how the mighty have fallen. After the first week, St. Louis looked like world-beaters. Then the UFL championship was announced as taking place in St. Louis and it’s been all downhill from there: an 0-2 record and a season-ending injury to the starting quarterback. Hopefully, a week’s worth of first-team reps will help Max Duggan improve on his substitute performance last week. Something else that will help: the return of WR Hakeem Butler, expected this weekend.” (GP)
Houston Roughnecks (8 points)
All four voters had Houston in seventh place.
“This Roughnecks team continues to show improvement each week. However, whenever Nolan Henderson is healthy again, they will be faced with a quarterback controversy with him and Jalan McClendon. Houston will not be a playoff team this year, but this is a better overall team from last year.” (AM)
“The Roughnecks had their chances at Birmingham and Jalan McClendon sparked the offense, but the only consistency we are seeing from Houston are questionable calls from the coaching staff.” (JL)
“To their credit, Houston has shown a lot of spunk the last two weeks, beating Memphis and then battling hard with Birmingham. The story coming out of week four was the emergence of quarterback Jalan McClendon. A spring league regular since 2020, McClendon has waited patiently in the wings for another shot after a brief cameo as Vegas's signal-caller in 2023. He made it count with one of the better individual efforts of the season against the Stallions. C.J. Johnson's crew has its work cut out for them in a top-heavy USFL conference, but at least they have shown they can be competitive.” (MM)
“A loss is a loss is a loss and though Houston can take solace in the fact that it took Birmingham to the limit, it counts the same as a 59-0 blowout would in the standings. QB Jalan McClendon was a find, awakening a dormant downfield passing attack. Houston has some quality receivers in Justin Hall and Marcus Simms who could be better featured with McClendon at quarterback.” (GP)
Memphis Showboats (4 points)
All four voters had Memphis in eighth place.
“This offense continues to struggle badly without a consistent running game and quarterbacks who struggle. Friday's loss to the Michigan Panthers was the first time this season that the defense couldn't hold its own and struggled. Memphis has been dealt a bad hand with Ken Whisenhunt, not leading this franchise. It might be time to consider whether the Showboats can even win a game this season.” (AM)
“I had high hopes for the Showboats, but I think the ship has sunk.” (JL)
“The Showboats have predictably been unable to overcome the turbulence attached to their coaching staff, with Ken Whisenhunt stepping down twice. The team under Jim Turner has no identity and an underwhelming roster struggling to stay afloat.” (MM)
“Memphis is shaking things up - again - heading into week five, announcing that Dresser Winn (yes, that IS his real name) will be starting at QB this weekend. I’m really not sure what that will mean for the offense, but if he doesn’t turn the ball over, he’ll give the team a chance. The Showboats were gifted a hot start with a badly botched snap against Michigan, taking an early lead. They simply weren’t good enough to sustain it.” (GP)