Category: Alternative Football

How good have the Birmingham Stallions been?

Well, since kicking off on April 16, 2022, they’ve played 28 games, won 25 of them, and claimed both championships in the two seasons the modern United States Football League competed.

In fact, no team currently participating in spring outdoor pro football has fewer losses and, of course, none have come close to the number of victories Skip Holtz’s charged have notched.

Now, as the team enters the halfway point of its third regular season – and first in the United Football League – it continues to set the standard for on-field success.

The Stallions, at 4-0, are the lone unbeaten team in the UFL. And they sit atop the USFL Conference with a two-game lead over the second-place Michigan Panthers, a club they’ve already defeated on the road.

Birmingham has two dominant wins (27-14 over Arlington and a 33-14 beatdown of Memphis); a hard-fought, 20-13 victory over Michigan; and last Saturday’s come-from-behind, 20-18 conquest of DC in a soggy, lightning-delayed field goal fest.

Not only did the most recent game produce a new hero in kicker Ramiz Ahmed (he had four field goals including the game winner), but he’s now the starter.

Chris Blewitt suffered an injury that placed home on the IR for six to eight weeks, so Ahmed has gone from a temp to a full-time employee.

The Stallions have won in different ways but the winning continues, which is the sign of a team that knows how to maintain success.

“The biggest aspect is that we’ve come together with so many new faces, and that we’ve gelled and we’ve found a way to win four games,” Holtz said on Tuesday. “It certainly hasn’t been perfect – every game on offense and perfect every game on defense – but I do feel like we’re getting better. And for us to be able to have had the success we’ve had to this point, obviously has been one of the things that I’m really proud of.”

The two-quarterback system of Matt Corral and Adrian Martinez has worked quite well, despite the fact that the popularity of platooning QBs went out with the demise of the wishbone attack.

The signal callers have combined for 942 passing yards and four touchdowns, and Martinez, C.J. Marable and Ricky Person Jr. provide a three-headed monster on the ground.

“We’re doing it right now with two quarterbacks, and I think it works because we have two very talented quarterbacks and I think everybody on the offensive line and within the quarterback room, they’ve been very professional,” Holtz said. “They’re working together to make things happen.”

Deon Cain has been the leading receiver, but eight different players have reeled in catches. Cain, Jace Sternberger, Amari Rodgers and Marlon Williams have converted receptions into TDs.

Defensively, the line has helped the unit become one of the best – and stingiest – in the UFL.

Kyahva Tezino leads the circuit in tackles (32 total and 19 solo), while Carlos’ Davis’ five sacks tops the charts.

Despite all the numerous positives, though, Holtz says Birmingham still has plenty of work to do to be the best it can be.

“If there’s one thing we really need to keep improving on, I think it’s just the overall development and execution of what we’re trying to do as an offense and defense,” Holtz explained. “We watched the film this morning (of the win over DC) as an offense, and saw things that had nothing to do with a physical mistake, they were mental mistakes and execution mistakes on our part. There were 27 plays in that game we feel like we didn’t help ourselves. We didn’t do the things that we needed to do. And I think that’s where we’ve just got to keep getting better.

“I can’t say we have to run it better or we have to throw it better or we have to stop the run better. I mean, I think we just have to overall continue to improve on what we’re doing. Because I think it’s all the little things that are the difference in winning or losing right now. And that’s what we’ve got to continue to strive for is to get those things perfected and cleaned up.”

Next up is a road trip to face the Houston Roughnecks on Saturday, a club that is basically a rebranded version of the Houston Gamblers of the 2022-23 USFL.

The Gamblers were the only USFL team that managed to beat the Stallions twice, once in the inaugural season and again last year.

But the approach to that game will be the same as Birmingham approaches them all.

“In order to win, we just have to stay focused  … kind of rinse and repeat every Sunday,” Holtz said. “Watch the film, put it to bed, and then start going through the process of what we’ve got to do to get ready for first downs today, and third downs tomorrow, and then polish some things up on Thursday and get ready for Saturday.”

Note: Starting punter Colby Wadman was injured on Saturday and won’t be making the trip to Houston. Birmingham signed Drue Chrisman, who spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, to fill his spot.

With two United States Football League championships on their resume, the Birmingham Stallions have already collected more hardware than any pro football team in the history of the Magic City.

Now they also own the longest winning streak.

Following Saturday’s weather-delayed, 20-18 victory over the DC Defenders (2-2) at Protective Stadium, Skip Holtz’s charges notched their 11^th consecutive victory dating back to 2023. That tops the 1974 Birmingham Americans of the World Football League, a team that won its first 10 games before ultimately finishing 17-5 and claiming the WFL crown.

Birmingham was victorious in its final seven USFL contests and improves to 4-0 in the inaugural campaign of the United Football League, holding a two-game lead over Michigan in the USFL Conference.

They also showed their mettle, overcoming a sluggish first half and turnovers to remain the league’s only unbeaten team.

This time the man of the hour (or several hours, thanks to the weather) was kicker Ramiz Ahmed, who signed earlier in the week to take the place of injured Chris Blewitt.

All he did was nail four field goals in subpar conditions – the last coming from 46 yards away and with just four ticks on the clock, securing the “W.”

“We’ve got rent-a-kicker for a week,” joked Holtz. “And he came out and what he did was unbelievable. I told him I’m gonna have to learn his name now. He was money … he was money. Just really proud of what he was able to do and the way that he handled pressure.”

Ahmed’s work was the biggest difference in a contest that saw the Stallions rack up 356 total yards but manage only one touchdown against a tough Defenders D.

Matt Corral went most of the way behind center, hitting 19 of 29 passes for 240 yards and throwing a TD pass to Amari Rodgers, who led Birmingham receivers with 82 yards on four catches.

“I know everybody thinks I’m crazy because I took a quarterback off the plate as well as (co-starter Adrian Martinez) did a week ago and played Matt,” Holtz said. “I’ve taken a lot of criticism for it, but I have confidence in both those quarterbacks that they’re good enough to play. And I have to answer in my quarterback room more than I need to answer in this room.”

Ricky Person Jr. and Corral were a solid 1-2 punch on the ground, with Person racking up 57 yards and Corral accounting for 51.

Kyahva Tezino has six solo tackles and 20 in all, while JoJo Tillery finished with six individual takedowns for the winners.

“It was a game that, defensively, I thought we played staunch,” Holtz said. “We gave up a couple of big play touchdowns that obviously I didn’t like but overall, I thought our defense competed its tail off and played against a really explosive team that’s been putting up a lot of points.”

Jordan Ta’amu was 12-22-0 for 161 yards and two touchdowns for Reggie Barlow’s team, and Kelvin Harmon had five catches for 93 yards and a TD.

Chris Rowland caught Ta’amu’s other touchdown pass.

Linebacker Anthony Hines was a monster for the DC defense, with 11 tackles (10 solo) and two tackles for loss.

Derick Roberson was in on six tackles and had two sacks.

Scoring plays: DC, Chris Rowland, 9-yard reception from Jordan Ta’amu, 3:29 first quarter, 2-point conversion failed, Defenders 6, Stallions 0; Birmingham, Amari Rodgers 50-yard reception from Matt Corral, 2:58 second quarter, 1-point conversion failed, Stallions 6, Defenders 6; Birmingham, team safety on muffed punt snap (Jace Sternberger tackles Paxton Brooks), 1:50 second quarter, Stallions 8, Defenders 6; Birmingham, Ramiz Ahmed, 48-yard field goal, :00 second quarter, Stallions 11, Defenders 6; Birmingham, Ahmed, 32-yard field goal, 9:37 third quarter, Stallions 14, Defenders 6; DC, Kelvin Harmon, 45-yard reception from Ta’amu, :53 third quarter, 2-point conversion failed, Stallions 14, Defenders 12; DC, Matthew McCrane, 23-yard field goal, 7:41 fourth quarter, Defenders 15, Stallions 14; Birmingham, Ahmed, 27-yard field goal, 3:26 fourth quarter, Stallions 17, Defenders 15; DC, McCrane, 39-yard field goal, 1:04 fourth quarter, Defenders 18, Stallions 17; Birmingham, Ahmed, 46-yard field goal, :04 fourth quarter, Stallions 20, Defenders 18.

Standout stat: Four. Number of field goals kicked by Ahmed, the last keeping Birmingham perfect on the 2024 season.

Next up: Birmingham faces the Houston Roughnecks Saturday, April 27, at Rice Stadium.

Kickoff is 6 p.m. CDT on FOX.

Football Capital of the South?: Last week in their home opener against Memphis, the Stallions had a modest crowd of 12,265 on a beautiful spring evening. Tonight, there were only 7,262 fans in the stands before lightning forced everyone to make a mandatory exit from the facility.

Hard to believe a team that has known nothing but success doesn’t draw at least 20,000 for their contests at Protective.

Throwback night: There was a throwback theme for Saturday’s game, with fans encouraged to dress in their old school gear repping the Stallions of the original United States Football League (1983-85). While the team’s modern jerseys and pants are close to the originals, the helmets are much different.

The vintage USFL logo was a full body red horse silhouette with a white outline on the side of a gold helmet that featured a thin red stripe down the middle.

The current logo is a white horse head with flowing red mane on a more creme-colored hat. The red stripe is also much thicker.

While I prefer the new logo (the current horse head is actually larger than the logo used in 2022-23), it would’ve been cool to see the team donning 1980s shells. Alas, the throwback look didn’t make it to the playing field – this time  .

Homecoming: The Defenders coach is no stranger to Birmingham, and his Alabama football roots run deep. Barlow was born in Montgomery, played high school ball at Sidney Lanier in the capital city, and was a standout receiver and kick returner while playing collegiately at Alabama State University.

During his time with the Hornets the team made a trip to Birmingham each season to participate in the annual Magic City Classic at Legion Field, facing Alabama A&M. It’s considered one of the premiere HBCU football events in the nation.

Barlow went on to have an eight-year NFL career (with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Bucs) and returned to coaching at ASU, first as a QB coach and then the head man from 2007-14.

After six years at Virginia State, he was hired by the Defenders during their XFL 3.0 season of 2023 and made his return trip to Birmingham as a pro coach on April 20.

The two-time defending USFL champion Birmingham Stallions have played like champions through their first three games in the United Football League, and on Saturday they’ll try to improve to 4-0 against a former XFL club.

The DC Defenders (2-1) come to Protective Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff, hoping to derail Birmingham’s perfect start and keep pace with St. Louis and San Antonio atop their conference. It’ll be the second consecutive week Skip Holtz’s team has played in front of a partisan crowd.

“We have a DC Defenders team coming in that had the best record in the XFL last year, and they returned a lot of starters off that team,” Holtz said. “Jordan Ta’amu, their quarterback, is a very talented individual from Ole Miss and they can score a lot of points. They have scored a lot of points, and right now they’re tied for first place in the XFL Conference, so we’ve got a real challenge coming in this weekend.”

Ta’amu has connected on 52 of 101 passes for 627 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Ty Scott paces the receiving corps with 152 yards and a score on eight receptions.

Those two played key roles in DC rallying from 11 points down with 2:08 to play to stun the Arlington Renegades, 29-28, last week.

After cutting the deficit to 28-26, Ta’amu and Scott hooked up for 19 yards on the fourth-and-12 onside conversion play, ultimately setting up Matthew McCrane’s 49-yard field goal to win it.

Michael Joseph has been far and away the team’s top defensive player, with 16 solo tackles and 19 takedowns in all.

“I think (Defenders coach and Alabama native) Reggie Barlow does a great job with that team,” Holtz said. “As I said, they were 10-2 last year and he was the Coach of the Year, and they are 2-1 this year, so it’s got all the makings for another great atmosphere, another great environment.”

The Stallions are the lone unbeaten team in the UFL, and not only set the pace in the USFL Conference but lead the circuit in myriad statistical categories.

They’re No. 1 in total offense (374 yards per game); all-purpose yards (513.3); total rushing yards (432); rushing yards per game (144.0); yards per reception (15.6); rushing touchdowns (five) scoring (26.7 points per game); total defense (226.0); fewest rushing yards allowed (126); fewest rushing yards average (42.0); and fewest rushing TDs (none).

Birmingham is coming off a 33-14 rout of the Memphis Showboats, one that saw the winners put together their most complete game of the season to date.

“Really proud of the team and what they were able to accomplish,” Holtz said. “I think the defense set the tone with two out of the first three plays in the game being sacks, and I thought our front seven – really our defense as a whole – challenged everything. I thought (defensive coaches) John Chavis, Bill Johnson, Corey Chamberlain and Deric Riley, all did a great job.”

Holtz pointed out that last year the team managed 17 sacks for the entirety of the 2023 season and hit that mark in just three games in 2024.

Aside from the strong defensive play – through 12 quarters Kyahva Tezino has been in on 22 tackles with 14 unassisted, followed by Chris Jackson (17/13), Lorenzo Burns (17/13) and Carlos Davis (10/6 and the UFL sacks leader with six) – the offense had a breakout game against Memphis.

Adrian Martinez went the distance at quarterback, and now has 448 passing yards and a team-high 161 rushing yards.

Martinez is the top rusher in the league followed by C.J. Marable, who has churned out 140 yards.

“Offensively, to see Adrian Martinez get his opportunity from wire-to-wire and to throw for 334 yards and to see him run for 44 yards was great,” Holtz said. “And I thought Ricky Person Jr. ran really hard, and our offensive line did a great job of protecting our quarterback.”

Despite Martinez’s excellent outing, Holtz says Matt Corral is still very much in the picture at quarterback. In fact, he’s listed as QB1 on Saturday’s depth chart.

“I named Matt the starter at the beginning, but knew that we were going to roll both of them early,” Holtz said. “Adrian had a great week (of preparation) last week, so we made the decision to go wire-to-wire with him.

“Both these quarterbacks are here to get film, but they’re both good enough to win with and we need to find a way to manage the room and play them both, because I do think that we’re going to need them both before it’s all said and done.”

Deon Cain leads the receiving corps (and the UFL) with 240 yards and a TD.  Person Jr., Jace Sternberger and Marlon Williams have all made an impact as well, cracking the 100-yard barrier in receptions.

One major change on Saturday will be at kicker. With Chris Blewitt nursing an injury, recent signee Ramiz Ahmed will handle field goal chores against DC.

Holtz hopes for another energetic crowd on Saturday.

“I was very appreciative of the fan base, the noise they made (last week),” Holtz said. “It was really nice to be back in Protective Stadium. You know we’ve been (in the Arlington hub) for about six, eight weeks now, and it just reminds you when you come back to Birmingham what a special place it is and how much it means to us on the field.”