The second weekend of the United Football League’s 2025 season has a pair of Sunday games that *should* provide some good quality football – and allow the league to have the spotlight on a Sunday where there’s not a lot happening in the sports world.
The Final Four takes a break today after two fantastic semifinals on Saturday, where Florida beat SEC rival Auburn to set one half of the national title game matchup, and then Houston came roaring back from a nine-point deficit with about a minute and a half left to beat Duke to make the championship game complete.
Florida and Houston don’t play until Monday night, The Masters is next weekend, and there aren’t any monumental matchups in the NBA today.
Tune in to some spring football and let the UFL entertain you for a day. It’s a fun product.
There are two games on tap on Sunday. The first: the somewhat surprising Arlington Renegades, coached by former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops (yep), are at home at Choctaw Stadium against the Houston Roughnecks, a noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central kickoff on ESPN.
The Renegades opened the season a week ago with a win at home over San Antonio. Things didn’t go as well for Houston, who took a home loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Those Battlehawks are in tonight’s game, a 6:30 Eastern / 5:30 Central kickoff from St. Louis, who led the league in attendance last year. They’ll be facing San Antonio – the last time the Brahmas took the field in St. Louis was for the first-ever UFL Championship Game last June, although that was a loss to the Birmingham Stallions.
See tonight’s game on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
Some quick numbers going into those two games:
- St. Louis’ Jarveon Howard had 115 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week in the win at Houston.
- Arlington’s Kalen Ballage had 110 yards and a touchdown in the win over San Antonio, and set the league’s new record for the longest touchdown run (77 yards).
- Jordan Ta’amu of the D.C. Defenders went 17-of-37 for 211 yards, a touchdown and an interception in an upset of defending UFL champ Birmingham.
- Memphis receiver Jonathan Adams had six catches for 93 yards and a score in a season-opening loss at home to the Michigan Panthers.
- Michigan defensive back Kai Nacua (yes, he is related to Puka Nacua of the L.A. Rams) had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the win over the Memphis Showboats.
- Michigan’s Frank Ginda and Birmingham’s Tae Crowder each had 11 tackles in their respective season openers; they lead the league in tackles after week one.
- St. Louis’ Pita Taumoepenu and D.C.’s Anthony Hines III and Derick Roberson each have two sacks to also lead the UFL after the first week.
On Friday, week two opened with the Stallions getting their first win of the season, knocking off Michigan, 21-12, at Ford Field in Detroit. And on Saturday, at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., the Defenders beat Memphis, 17-12.
D.C. is 2-0 on the season; Michigan and Birmingham are each 1-1. Memphis is 0-2, and we’ll have to see how things play out in the two games today.
Birmingham 21, Michigan 11: The Stallions went up 18-0 before Michigan scored 12 points, all in the fourth quarter.
The scare wasn’t a win, though, and Birmingham went home with one.
Matt Corral threw for 198 yards, a touchdown (to Deon Cain) and two interceptions. Ricky Person Jr. had 53 yards rushing and a score on 17 carries.
For Michigan in the loss, Bryce Perkins threw for 132 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Nate McCrary also rushed for 53 yards, and Siaosi Mariner had three catches for 44 yards.
Birmingham’s defense had three sacks in the game.
D.C. 17, Memphis 12: When Memphis quarterback E.J. Perry scored in the fourth quarter to give the Showboats a 12-9 lead, it looked at least like his team might be headed to overtime tied at 12, or maybe even get out with a 12-9 win, the way the Memphis defense was playing.
But Jordan Ta’amu and Ben Bresnahan, the former Vanderbilt standout, connected for a 3-yard touchdown with 8:25 left to play, and C. Powell caught a two-point conversion to give the Defenders a five-point lead they would not relinquish – the Defenders are 2-0, guys.
Perry finished with 194 yards passing and an interception in the loss; Deneric Prince led the Showboats with 44 yards rushing, and Jonathan Adams had another big day: nine catches for 128 yards. The Showboats, though, are 0-2.
Ta’amu had 152 passing yards and the game-winning TD pass; Abram Smith led the Defenders with 55 rushing yards; and Chris Rowland had three catches for 66 yards.
Kicker Matt McCrane hit field goals of 22, 30, and 46 yards, all in the first three quarters.
Next week, in week three, it’s Arlington at Birmingham on Friday, as the Stallions finally get a home game; that’s an 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 Central kickoff on FOX. Houston visits Memphis on Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Saturday, a 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 1:30 Central kickoff on ESPN. San Antonio plays its third straight road game to open the season, as the Brahmas go to Ford Field to face Michigan on Sunday in the noon ET / 11 Central kickoff, on ABC. And the Sunday afternoon game on FS1 has the D.C. Defenders in their first road game of the year at St. Louis, a 3 p.m. Eastern / 2 CT kick.
