By Zach Thompson, DraftKings Network
The UFL playoff race is heating up, and after some Week 7 upsets, it’s going to be a wild last three weeks of the regular season. Three teams start Week 8 5-2 and have a great shot of securing the top three playoff spots. The fourth and final playoff spot is up for grabs, though, with the Birmingham Stallions, Louisville Kings, and Dallas Renegades all sitting at 3-4. Let’s run down what to expect in Week 8 with the help of some of the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Bookmark this UFL betting splits page and check back throughout the season for DraftKings Network’s ongoing coverage.
The Week 8 schedule starts on Friday night with a key matchup between the Orlando Storm and the Dallas Renegades at 8:00 p.m. ET in a special matchup at Fort Hood. On Saturday afternoon, the league has a doubleheader with the DC Defenders taking on the Louisville Kings in a rematch of last week, followed by the Houston Gamblers visiting the St. Louis Battlehawks. The final game of the week is another critical game as the suddenly-surging Birmingham Stallions host the Columbus Aviators at 1:00 p.m. ET. Let’s take a closer look at each contest with the help of some odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Orlando Storm at Dallas Renegades (-1.5)
This should be a very special matchup on a neutral site, which is part of honoring service members and their families through the league-wide Hats Off To Heroes initiative at Phantom Warrior Stadium on the Fort Hood military base near Killeen, Texas.
The Storm will officially be the road team in this trip to the Lone Star State, and they’ll be looking to secure a playoff spot after stopping their two-game skid last week with a narrow one-point win over the Gamblers, even though they were out-gained significantly on offense.
On the other side of the matchup, the Renegades were unable to stop their slide and have dropped four straight games, tumbling from their spot as one of the early-season favorites to barely clinging to a playoff spot. They lost a close, overtime game to the Stallions last week after being blown out in three straight contests.
Quarterback Austin Reed looked outstanding early, but he has thrown seven interceptions in the team’s losing streak. He seemed hesitant to take deep shots last week, and needs to find his form quickly if the Renegades are going to rebound and get into the playoffs.
On the other side, Orlando QB Jack Plummer is No. 2 in the UFL in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and passer efficiency. He wasn’t at his best last week against Houston, but still did enough to get the team the win.
Plummer hit WR Elijhah Badger with two long touchdowns that secured his team the win, and the dynamic duo will be a tough test for the Renegades. It was also another solid game for Chris Rowland, who leads the UFL in all-purpose yards with 786 on the season. Rowland and Badger give Plummer plenty of options as he looks to guide the Storm to the postseason in the first season in franchise history.
The Renegades are in a truly desperate spot, and the Storm’s offense was not convincing enough overall in last week’s win. While it’s hard to be too confident in Reed, he has enough playmakers and potential that he should be able to find the holes in the Storm’s defense that cost them the last three weeks. It’s a toss-up game, but I think the Renegades will pull out the victory and cover the small spread.
Best Bet: Renegades -1.5 (-112)
DC Defenders at Louisville Kings (+6)
For the second straight week, the Defenders take on the Kings. Going into last week’s game, the matchup seemed extremely one-sided, but once the game started, it was a whole different story. The upstart Kings pulled off the upset over the Defenders, who were coming in playing well and looking to clinch the playoffs. While the Defenders are still the favorite in the futures market at +110 to win the championship, the rest of the league gained ground after the Kings dismantled them at home, 30-13.
The Kings made a bold midseason move, trading starting QB Jason Bean after he got the team their first franchise win and going with Chandler Rogers. Rogers has had his ups and downs, but he showed his high ceiling last week, finishing with 201 passing yards and two touchdowns and adding 11 yards on the ground. He connected with Tarik Black on both touchdown strikes, while James Robinson ran for 58 yards and a score.
The Louisville defense held Jordan Ta’amu and the Defenders in check, forcing four critical turnovers. Ta’amu is tied for the league lead in interceptions now, and will need to work to get Deon Jackson going on the ground and creating more balance and consistency to the Defenders offense.
The rematch in Louisville will be fascinating to watch since the Defenders were so dominant before last week’s loss. The Kings were struggling before getting the win as well, but is it just a one-game anomaly for each team or could the champs actually be on the ropes?
Ta’amu and the offense definitely had a bad second half, while the Kings made them pay for their mistakes. However, even on the road, I still believe the Defenders will be able to bounce back and get the win. The six-point spread is a hard call, but given the upside in DC’s offense and the inconsistency on the Kings’ offense (before last week), I think they have enough to cover on the road in a rebound win.
Best Bet: Defenders -6 (-112)
Houston Gamblers at St. Louis Battlehawks (-7.5)
The Battlehawks in the Battledome against one of the two teams in the UFL with only two wins? I’ll gladly give the points and go with surging St. Louis at home in this one.
Last week, the Battlehawks made the move to the Spring King at QB, putting Luis Perez into a great spot to succeed in a matchup against the visiting Aviators. Perez ran for a score and threw for a score while completing 16-of-30 passes for 204 yards.
Perez seemed to have strong connections with Hakeem Butler and Steven McBride, and McBride got into the end zone for a second straight week. St. Louis’s defense also continued their dominant recent performances. At the end of the game, the Battlehawks had three sacks and seven tackles for loss, led by 2025 UFL Defensive Player of the Year Pita Taumoepenu, who had three tackles for loss. Safety Jordan Mosley also contributed seven tackles, an interception, and half a sack.
On the other side, the Gamblers played a tough, hard-fought game against the Storm last week, only to come up just short. They could have won, but a 63-yard, four-point field goal in the final minute came up short. Hunter Dekkers was back under center for Houston and led some strong drives and had a rushing score, even though he finished without a passing score and with one interception.
Towards the end of the game, coach Kevin Sumlin went to John Rhys Plumlee under center, who was the fourth QB for Houston this season. He led a go-ahead touchdown drive before Dekkers re-entered late in the game. The QB uncertainty for Houston doesn’t bode well with the Battlehawks defense at the Battledome on the schedule this week.
St. Louis is looking to clinch a playoff spot and make a big postseason run, while Houston is still just searching for answers. On the road in St. Louis, I don’t think they’ll find them this week.
Best Bet: Battlehawks -7.5 (-105)
Columbus Aviators at Birmingham Stallions (-3.5)
While the Gamblers and Aviators aren’t eliminated from the playoffs yet, they have been the two worst teams in the league with just a pair of wins. The Stallions struggled early in the year, but the three-time UFL champions have turned things around and looked very strong in the last two weeks under new QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
DTR led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Renegades last week and then ran for a two-point conversion and threw the game-sealing two-point conversion in his team’s walk-off win. He hit receiver Jaydon Mickens for the game-tying touchdowns in the fourth quarter and went back to him for the walk-off reception as well.
DTR finished 12-for-26 with 159 passing yards and two scores while running for four yards on his only carry until the two-point conversion in overtime. The young QB stepped up when his team needed him, though, and has looked good in each of the last three weeks, helping Birmingham climb into that three-way tie at 3-4.
They’ve been very strong at home, while the Aviators have been turnover-prone and have scuffled this season. They did knock off the Renegades and Gamblers at home, but they are 0-4 on the road after losing by 11 in the Battledome last week.
The Aviators are ironically at their best when they rely on their ground game, but Jalan McClendon did step up with a pair of touchdown passes and 28 rushing yards last week. He also threw an interception, though, and the team only went 4-for-12 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down.
The Stallions offense with DTR at the helm playing at home should be enough for them to get the win over the struggling Aviators at home. Birmingham will face the Aviators again next week and then close out the year at home against the Gamblers, so they actually have a great shot at the postseason if they continue their current momentum.
Best Bet: Stallions -3.5 (-110)
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