UFL Week 6 power rankings: Panthers on the rise, Brahmas slide

Week 7 of the UFL season features the best matchup of the regular season thus far, with the undefeated Birmingham Stallions hosting the St. Louis Battlehawks (5-1) in what could be a preview of the inaugural UFL Championship Game.

Each team features the league’s two best scoring offenses, best passing offenses and best quarterbacks.

The winner of this game will enter Week 8 as the favorite to win the championship, and that could loom large for St. Louis, which knows that the title game will take place before their home crowd of likely 40,000-plus fans.

Ahead of the action, here's my sixth edition of the 2024 UFL power rankings.

1. Birmingham Stallions (6-0)

With their sixth win of the year, the Stallions became the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season. QB Adrian Martinez became the first player to pass for 300 yards in his first start, and he became the first player to pass for 300-plus yards in multiple games this season in Week 6.

He threw for 368 yards with four touchdowns in a dominating performance in the team's 39-21 win against the Memphis Showboats, with former Notre Dame wide receiver Kevin Austin accounting for four catches for 108 yards with a score.

2. St. Louis Battlehawks (5-1)

The Battlehawks picked up their fifth consecutive win of the season with an efficient 22-9 victory against the Houston Roughnecks. QB AJ McCarron, who leads the UFL in touchdown passes with 15, threw three touchdowns and one interception in the win.

Wideout Hakeem Butler has become more of a force for St. Louis in recent weeks, and he showed his prowess with six catches for 134 yards with two touchdowns.

3. Michigan Panthers (4-2)

The Panthers came from behind to defeat the Arlington Renegades, 28-27, on Sunday behind the leg of star kicker Jake Bates. Bates made all five of his field goal attempts, including the game-winner from 42 yards out as the clock expired.

Bates also made a field goal from 60 yards out, giving him three makes from 60 yards or more, with a long of 64 yards.

The Panthers’ win plus losses by two of their USFL Conference rivals helped solidify their second place position in the standings with four games left in the regular season.

4. DC Defenders (3-3)

For the second time in three weeks, the Defenders have pressured two of the best teams in the UFL. Against Birmingham, they suffered a narrow loss on the road. But against San Antonio, they found their footing and finished with an 18-12 win.

The Defenders held the Stallions and the Brahmas to just 30 points total, or 15 a game. Against San Antonio, someone other than star QB Jordan Ta’amu stepped up. This time it was running back Darius Hagans, who picked up 63 yards on 13 carries, and wide out Kelvin Harmon, who scored the Defenders’ only touchdown along with eight catches for 101 yards.

For now, the Defenders are still one of the four best teams in the UFL, but they’re still a game behind the team they just beat for the last available playoff spot in the XFL Conference.

5. San Antonio Brahmas (4-2)

The Brahmas suffered just their second loss of the season to the Defenders on Sunday. Running back John Lovett rushed for a league-high 153 yards on 23 carries.

Though San Antonio lost the thriller, it came on the road — splitting the series between the two clubs — and needed heroics from a Defenders offense and special teams unit that never looked like finding a rhythm until late in the game.

The Brahmas have struggled to finish games and have needed late-game heroics of their own to win in recent weeks.

6. Houston Roughnecks (1-5)

The Roughnecks went on the road and held their own in what is arguably the most hostile environment in the UFL at The Dome at America’s Center. They held the Battlehawks, who began the weekend with the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the league, to just 14 points through three quarters.

Had the Roughnecks been better on third down (3 of 13) or limited their penalties (8 for 50 yards), perhaps they could’ve pulled off what would’ve been the most surprising upset of the season. Houston can feel good about showing a stout defensive effort for most of the game, though, but at 1-5 with four weeks left to play, they’ve got no margin for error if they’re aming to lock down the only playoff spot left in the USFL Conference.

7. Memphis Showboats (1-5)

For the third time in as many weeks, head coach John DeFilippo found himself needing to pull his starting quarterback against a pass rush that overwhelmed his offensive line.

The Showboats, who looked better in the final minutes of the game with Troy Williams in, have dropped five in a row. Following a spirited start by Carnell Lake’s defense, the Showboats looked lost at home. Their next two games are on the road, and they are running out of chances to right the ship after giving up the second-most points by any team in the UFL this year.

Their loss in Week 6 was their fourth consecutive game of allowing 30 points or more.

8. Arlington Renegades (0-6)

The Renegades remain the UFL’s only winless team and are one loss from matching their loss total from last year in the legacy XFL. The heartbreaking loss on the road, 28-27 to the Panthers, is Bob Stoops’ 13th since 2023.

Arlington’s last win came in the XFL Championship Game last May. The Renegades are not yet eliminated from making a 2023-like comeback — they made the XFL playoffs with a 4-7 record — but they’ll have to get help from the three teams in front of them.

The good news is the Renegades have games left against those two in front — the Battlehawks, Defenders and Brahmas — and will have a chance to begin a win-streak with a game against the Showboats in Week 7.

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 at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube.