In a Week 8 matchup, the Houston Roughnecks will travel to Birmingham to take on the undefeated Stallions. This will be the second time the two teams have faced each other this season, with their first meeting in Week 5 going the Stallions way as they beat the Roughnecks 32-9 in Houston’s Rice Stadium.
The Birmingham Stallions are on a winning streak, with the last time they lost a game being in Week 5 of the USFL season. Ironically, they lost to the Houston Gamblers, a team that became the UFL’s Roughnecks. Essentially, these Roughnecks are looking to duplicate the success they had in 2023 against the Stallions.
When it comes to future fortunes, these two teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Birmingham Stallions have booked their ticket to the USFL Conference finals and are looking for a win to help them get home field advantage in that game. Meanwhile, the Houston Roughnecks have been knocked out of playoff contention and are playing for pride and film.
What do we know?
Houston is coming off their Week 7 game against San Antonio, where they led the Brahmas by nine points with under three minutes remaining. However, they wound up losing a squeaker 15-12 by allowing the Brahmas to get back into the game with a late-4th quarter John Lovett rushing touchdown to tie the game, and a walk-off field goal by Ryan Santoso to seal the win.
High points for the Roughnecks were the performances of kicker J.J. Molson, who booted a 62-yard field goal, the league’s second-longest field goal of the season, and wide receiver Justin Hall, who led the team with 69 receiving yards.
The Roughnecks put on a defensive show, achieving a team-high of three forced fumbles and recoveries. Cornerback Colby Richardson recorded his first interception of the season, and defensive end Chris Odom led the team with two forced fumbles.
In Week 7, the Roughnecks started quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who completed 11 passes on 18 attempts for 118 yards until his injured wrist did not allow him to continue the game. Reid Sinnett came in and completed two passes in two attempts for 17 yards. Guarantano also rushed three times for 14 yards.
This week, with Guarantano’s injuries keeping him away from playing, the Roughnecks plan to start Reid Sinnett, with Nolan Henderson as backup.
Birmingham is coming off a 30-26 home win over the St. Louis Battlehawks. Quarterback Adrian Martinez had an all-star outing, completing 21 passes on 33 attempts for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the leading rusher in the game with seven carries for 60 yards. Ricky Person carried 10 times for 42 yards, and C.J. Marable carried 7 times for 31 yards.
Over the 2024 season, Adrian Martinez holds the #1 spot among the league’s running backs with 387 yards, Ricky Person Jr. is #7 with 235 yards, and C.J. Marable is #8 with 220 yards. In terms of rushing yards, Birmingham is the only team with three players in the top 10.
Adrian Martinez is the only player in the UFL this season to throw for over 300 yards in a game, and he’s done it twice. He recorded 334 passing yards in a week-three victory against the Memphis Showboats. In week six, again versus the Showboats, he broke his own league-best record, recording 368 yards in the air, including four passing touchdowns (also a league-best).
The Stallions’ defense has been dominant this season, ranking first in rushing yards allowed with 376, and second in sacks with 23.
Eight of those sacks came against the Memphis Showboats on April 13th, marking the highest sack count in a game for any UFL team this season. Additionally, Birmingham recorded seven sacks as a unit against the Panthers in Week 2.
There’s little opportunity for success through the air against the Stallions. The defense has tallied 35 pass breakups, ranking first in the league.
Overall, the defense has only allowed 99 first downs and 115 offensive points, both ranking best in the league.
What should we expect?
Oddsmakers have heavily favored the Stallions, giving them an unprecedented edge of 16 points in this game. It may be a tall order to see Birmingham overcome the spread, but it any team can do it, it might be them.
Harkening back to their first meeting, which the Stallions won handily, some might expect Birmingham to pick up where they left off. This will likely be the outcome. The Stallions are excelling in every aspect of the game, while the Houston Roughnecks, aside from a resilient defense, are struggling. Look for Houston’s defense to put up a valiant effort, but expect the Stallions to prevail in this matchup.
