By: Trey Colbeck
I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but look who’s sitting atop the USFL Conference Standings now! After blowing the season opener, the Stallions are on a heater and have been victorious in three straight. Although the offence isn’t blowing out teams, the bend-don’t-break Birmingham defence has kept them in it. Sporting the second-lowest points against in the league is more than enough to keep them on pace with the Michigan Panthers for first in the Conference. A strong argument can be made for the Stallions to be the current top team in the league after beating Arlington a week earlier. For now, the donkeys are put away in the barn, and the studs are all left out on the field. I thought the score would be lower, but I hit the spread dead on in last week’s Shakedown.
Recap
The Stallions opened the game with a solid drive that lasted over six minutes. They had to settle for a field goal, but the long drive set the tone early. They would be the lone score in the opening panel, but the Stallions would add more points early in the second. Only eight seconds in the second frame, Corral found Davion Davis for a 26-yard strike. Corral would also hit Davis to earn the two-point conversion. The Roughnecks would follow that up with a ten-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a major score. White rushed into the endzone on a four-yard dash, and Lingard would run in to add the extra point.
With the Roughnecks only trailing by four, they would force a punt and add three more with 1:24 left on the clock. It seemed that it would be a one-point game heading into the half, but the Stallions had something else in mind. It took two plays, and they covered 65 yards, capping it off with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Deon Cain. After a failed extra point attempt, the Stallions now led by seven heading into halftime.
Both teams would trade possessions a few times to start the third quarter, but eventually, the Roughnecks would make the game interesting. McClendon was able to find space and run in for an 11-yard touchdown. With another failed extra point, Houston is now down by one. The only score in the fourth quarter was a pair of Harrison Mevis field goals. The first was from 35 yards out while the other was from 50 yards out to essentially ice the game.
The Stallions were on the right side of the 23-16 score and moved to 3-1, while the Roughnecks now move to 1-3.
Stud of the Game
Deon Cain continues to impress as the 2025 season rolls on. He was instrumental in the victory with his three catches for 69 yards. The biggest play of the game was his 50-yard reception that put the Stallions up by seven just before the half. He continues to be the target Corral needs in clutch situations, as he was on the receiving end of a big third-down play to start the fourth quarter. Cain leads the team with 162 receiving yards and has caught two touchdowns.
Donkey of the Game
I was deeply thinking about giving this honor to Roughneck’s quarterback Jalen McClendon, but he played a solid game. He went 22-31 and threw for 236 yards. My biggest hangup was no touchdowns through the air but he did get one with his feet. McClendon did almost everything he could to put his team in a prime chance to win. In situations like that, I then look at the defence. Birmingham went 7-14 on third downs but the conversions came at key times, including one to start the fourth quarter that eventually led to the score that made it a full seven-point game. Also, allowing a 50-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left when your offence had just made it a one-point game is far from ideal. I expected this game to be tighter defensively, but Houston let me down on that front. They were the Eeyore of defences.
Injury Update
The biggest question mark heading into week five is the status of Corral. He was a non-participant in practice on Monday and Tuesday this week. It’s listed as a left flank injury, and as this is being written, it is undetermined what his status will be. Another blow to the lineup could be Deon Cain. He missed practice on Monday and was limited on Tuesday. It seems like his status improved each day, but a setback could hurt the Stallions. There were seven other players on the Birmingham Injury Report, but most were full or limited participants. Cornerback Mario Goodrich and guard Cole Schneider were the only others who missed the first two days of practice.
Power Rankings After Week 4
- Birmingham Stallions (+1)
- Arlington Renegades (+1)
- Michigan Panthers ( +1)
- D.C. Defenders (-3)
- Louis Battlehawks (-)
- Houston Roughnecks ( -)
- San Antonio Brahmas (+1)
- Memphis Showboats (-1)
Up Next
The winless Memphis Showboats sail into town on Friday night. The Stallions will look to make it four straight wins against the second-most-scored-on team in the league. Memphis is also the second least scoring offence in the UFL, so they will need to work on both sides of the ball if they want any chance of winning. Memphis is sitting three games out of a playoff spot with six games left. Kickoff is at 8:00 p.m. EDT, and can be seen on Fox.