Sunday afternoon’s game between Arlington and San Antonio will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams.
The Brahmas currently hold a 2-1 record over the Renegades. In week five of this season, the Renegades fell to the Brahmas, 25-15, at Choctaw Stadium. During the 2023 XFL regular season, Arlington defeated San Antonio 12-10 in week five at The Alamodome. The following week, the Brahmas got their revenge with a 15-9 victory over the Renegades at Choctaw Stadium.
With three regular-season games remaining on the UFL schedule, the Brahmas can earn a spot in the XFL Conference Championship Game with a win over Arlington and a loss by the D.C. Defenders to the St. Louis Battlehawks. Both St. Louis and San Antonio, tied for first place at 5-2 in the XFL Conference, have the opportunity to secure their spots in the XFL Conference Championship Game this weekend with victories.
What do we know?
In a week-seven interconference matchup, the Arlington Renegades defeated the Memphis Showboats to notch their first win in the United Football League. Both units were firing on all cylinders for Arlington, as the offense scored six total touchdowns and the defense came away with four takeaways, both of which are season-highs.
Arlington quarterback Luis Perez became the first UFL player to reach 1,000 pass yards this season in their week-five loss vs. San Antonio. Through seven games played this season, Perez has completed 67.8% of his passes for 1,626 yards (leading the UFL), 10 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, in addition to two carries for six yards. Perez had his best performance of the season in the team’s week seven win against Memphis, going 27-for-32 (84%) for 296 yards, 3 touchdowns (both season highs), and no turnovers.
The Renegades plan to start Luis Perez in their Week 8 game, with Lyndsey Scott Jr. as a backup.
The Arlington Renegade’s defensive unit flexed their muscles during the team’s week seven win over Memphis, as they came up with four total takeaways (two interceptions and two forced fumbles). They now have 10 total takeaways for the year, ranking second in the UFL. In addition to recording 16 sacks (4th in the UFL), 30 pass break-ups (2nd in the UFL), three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries, the team’s seven interceptions on the season tie for the most in the league. They currently rank seventh in the league in scoring defense, allowing 25.1 PPG. Last year, Arlington boasted the fourth-best scoring defense in the XFL, allowing just 19.4 PPG in the regular season.
In their Week 7 game, San Antonio rallied in the final minutes of a fourth quarter for the second time this season, when the Brahmas scored 12 points in the final three minutes to defeat the Houston Roughnecks and improve to 5-2.
Starting quarterback Quentin Dormady had a relatively lackluster performance, completing only 10 passes on 24 attempts for 142 yards and one interception. Kevin Hogan came on in relief and completed 5 passes on 7 attempts for 38 yards, but more importantly, he engineered a game-tying drive that led to a Brahmas win.
According to a recently released depth chart, the Brahmas are starting Dormady in their Week 8 game with Hogan as the backup. If things don’t work out well for Dormady, look for Hogan to come in, as seen in their Week 7 game.
Through the first seven games, San Antonio has one of the top receiving corps in the UFL in WRs Jontre’ Kirklin, Marquez Stevenson, Justin Smith, and TE Cody Latimer. San Antonio is one of two teams to have players in the Top 25 for total receiving yards. WR Jontre’ Kirklin leads the UFL in receptions (40), ranks fourth in total yards (373) and 10th in receiving touchdowns (2), and TE Cody Latimer is eighth in receptions (29) and 14th in receiving yards (250).
WR Justin Smith is inactive in this game due to a right calf injury.
Fourth-down conversions seem to be a strength for San Antonio in 2024. The Brahmas are 9-of-13 on fourth down, which is the best in the league, converting 69.2 percent.
The UFL tackling title looks like it will run through San Antonio after the first seven weeks of the season. On their defense, the Brahmas have three of the top five tacklers in the UFL, with the lead flip-flopping amongst teammates each week. Safety Jordan Mosley has led the UFL in tackles for much of the season, and he leads the league with 58 tackles. Inside linebacker Tavante Beckett ranks second in the league with 55 tackles. He had a season-high 14-tackle performance in the win at Arlington and matched his season-high with 14 tackles at Houston.
San Antonio leads the UFL in team sacks (24.0), adding two more sacks against Arlington, one sack at D.C., and matching a season-high six sacks in the win at Houston. The Brahmas had a season-high six-sack performance in the win over Michigan.
What should we expect?
Oddsmakers have given the Brahmas a slight edge in this game. However, this game could go either way. Wager at your own risk.
Arlington is out of the playoffs, but is playing for pride and film. Meanwhile, San Antonio is in a dogfight for the top spot in the XFL Conference. A victory is much more valuable to the Brahmas.
The Brahmas have home field advantage. San Antonio fans will be in attendance, and they’ll be vocal and raucous. It would be nice to see San Antonio fill the Alamodome, like they did when the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF played there in 2019. With the current Brahmas vying for first place in their conference, could we expect an increase in team support and a boost in attendance?
