UFL: Birmingham Rallies from 19 down to win by 8 over Houston

May 12, 2025 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Week 7 of the United Football League's 2025 season was intriguing, but scarcely attended as a total of 28,806 fans put their body in a seat across four venues for an average of just over 7,200 per game.

The race to the bottom continues to be led by Memphis as the Showboats drew 4,215 to Liberty Stadium, while attendance at Protective Stadium was only 4,744 for the 3-time Spring Football defending champion Birmingham Stallions. The attendance leader was Arlington with 9,963 in Choctaw Stadium topping the 9,884 at the Alamodome for San Antonio.

On Mother's Day, Birmingham got off to a rocky start behind Cade Cookus at quarterback and trailed 25-6 midway through the second quarter at home against Houston. Cookus was able to rally the troops to a touchdown before halftime to cut the edge to 13, and a trio of field goals after the break pulled the Stallions within 25-21. J’Mar Smith then had to replace Cookus after he was knocked out of the game, leading the offense on a 75-yard drive that culminated in a 1-yard keeper by Smith to take the lead. To make matters worse for the Roughnecks, a fumble recovery on the following kickoff led to a touchdown run by Ricky Person Jr. to push the game out of reach for Birmingham.

The comeback from 19 down is the largest in the short history of a fledgling league that began play in 2024 after combining a total of 8 teams from the XFL and USFL. Birmingham won both USFL titles, and last year's UFL Championship behind head coach Skip Holtz who is now 37-6 in three seasons coaching the Stallions.

This year has easily presented a unique challenge for Holtz. J'Mar is the fifth quarterback to see significant action this season after injuries to Alex McGough, Matt Corral, Andrew Peasley, and Cookus. Smith, who played for Holtz at Louisiana Tech, had past stints with the Stallions. He helped lead the Stallions to the 2022 USFL Championship before being injured himself in that game and getting relieved by McGough. He started 38 games for Holtz at La. Tech and his 25-13 record included a 10-1 mark in 2019 that included a 14-0 win over the Miami Hurricanes in the Independence Bowl.

Birmingham's wild 33-25 win over Houston raised the Stallions' record to 5-2 to remain tied for the lead in the USFL Conference with Michigan.

Speaking of Michigan, the Panthers pulled out their own scintillating win at Arlington. Running back Toa Taua tied the game on a 1-yard TD run as the clock struck zero, and then ran for the 1-point PAT from the 2-yard line to deliver the victory.

After a Bryce Perkins scramble and hurdle to get to the Renegades' one-yard line, head coach Mike Nolan was able to get the timeout off before the clock ran out. Taua's heroics gave fitting end to an 11-play, 56-yard drive in the final two minutes.

Perkins completed 15-of-28 passes for 231 yards and one touchdown. Perez completed 25-of-34 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns for Arlington. Perkins was also Michigan’s leading rusher with 60 yards and one touchdown on eight attempts. Taua had just 10 carries for 31 yards, but one huge touchdown.

Arlington falls to 3-4 on the year and in danger of missing the playoffs under head coach Bob Stoops who won 191 games and the 2000 season BCS Championship with the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma has not returned to a college football national championship game since then.

The weekend of action began on Friday in the Alamodome in San Antonio where the homestanding Brahmas fell to DC, 32-24. San Antonio had a slight total yardage edge (357-352) and dominated time of possession (34:21 to 25:39). But the Defenders benefited from a Brahmas turnover on the final drive of the half that tied the score at 12-apiece when San Antonio QB Kevin Hogan collided with one of his offensive linemen to cause a fumble that resulted in a 51-yard scoop and score by LB Anthony Hines for DC.

With the victory, DC continues to be tied with St. Louis for the lead in the XFL Conference. That's because the Battlehawks kept pace with a 19-9 win at Memphis late Sunday afternoon.

UFL Standings

Legend:
SoS=Strength of Schedule
SoV=Strength of Victory
c=Clinched Conference
p=clinched playoff
e=Eliminated

XFL Conference	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	Conf	ConfPct.	Streak	SoS	SoV
DC Defenders	5	2	.714	163	157	2-1	3-1	3-1	.750	Won 1	.429	.429
St. Louis Battlehawks	5	2	.714	150	114	3-1	2-1	2-2	.500	Won 3	.429	.371
Arlington Renegades	3	4	.429	146	117	3-2	0-2	2-2	.500	Lost 3	.592	.429
e-San Antonio Brahmas	1	6	.143	95	188	0-2	1-4	1-3	.250	Lost 3	.633	.714

 

USFL Conference	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	Conf	ConfPct.	Streak	SoS	SoV
Birmingham Stallions	5	2	.714	144	107	3-1	2-1	3-1	.750	Won 2	.429	.429
Michigan Panthers	5	2	.714	181	135	3-1	2-1	2-1	.667	Won 2	.429	.314
Houston Roughnecks	3	4	.429	122	138	1-2	2-2	2-2	.500	Lost 1	.429	.143
e-Memphis Showboats	1	6	.143	103	148	0-3	1-3	1-4	.200	Lost 2	.633	.714

Week 7 Results

Home team BOLD, Attendance, venue and location in parenthesis.

Friday, May 9
DC 32, San Antonio 24 (9,884 at the Alamodome in San Antonio)

Saturday, May 10
Michigan 25, Arlington 24 (9,963 at Chochtaw Stadium in Arlington)

Sunday, May 11
Birmingham 33, Houston 25 (4,744 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham)
St. Louis 19, Memphis 9 (4,215 at Liberty Stadium in Memphis)

Week 8 Games (all times eastern)

Friday, May 16 - Memphis at San Antonio | 8:00 PM | FOX
Saturday, May 17 - Birmingham at St. Louis | 1:00 PM | FOX
Saturday, May 17 - Michigan at Houston | 1:00 PM | FOX
Sunday, May 18 - Arlington at DC | 12:00 PM | ABC

Tracking Head Coach Records

Arlington - Bob Stoops (14-20)
Birmingham - Skip Holtz (37-6)
DC - Shannon Harris, interim (5-2)
Houston - Curtis Johnson (9-19)
Memphis - Jim Turner (1-6)
Michigan - Mike Nolan (16-13)
St. Louis - Anthony Becht (19-9)
San Antonio - Payton Pardee (1-4)