Stallions enter critical stretch with two games remaining before playoffs

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MAY 22, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

By Steve Irvine

The Birmingham Stallions are officially two weeks away from officially starting UFL postseason play. However, Skip Holtz and his team are on the cusp of beginning a three or four week run of playing high caliber opponents.

All four playoff participants in the UFL have been determined with two weeks left in the regular season. Birmingham (8-0) and Michigan (6-2) qualified from the USFL Division. St. Louis (6-2) and San Antonio (6-2) advanced from the XFL Division.

Birmingham won’t play another team this season that isn’t a playoff team. The Stallions travel to play the San Antonio Brahmas this weekend with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Alamodome. The Stallions then not only close the season at home against Michigan but also play the Panthers the following week in the first round of the playoffs. The winner of the first round playoff game will advance to the UFL Championship game in St. Louis on June 16 to play the St. Louis-San Antonio game in the first round. 

It sure does look a lot like the playoffs.

“We’ve got a pretty good slate in front of us,” Holtz said during his weekly Tuesday zoom call. “I think the next two weeks will be a great opportunity for us to continue to polish things up to get ready for the playoffs.”

That polishing begins on Saturday in a difficult venue for opposing teams against one of the top defensive units in the league. The Brahmas are first in the UFL in scoring defense (16.4 points per game) and sacks (26), second in pass defense (173.5 yards per game) and third in total defense (261.3 ypg) and rush defense (87.8 ypg). Wade Phillips, who was considered one of the better defensive coaches in the NFL, is San Antonio’s head coach.

San Antonio is the lone UFL team that the Stallions have yet to play. After this week’s game, though, familiarity becomes the theme. The Stallions beat the Panthers in USFL regular season games in 2022 and 2023. Earlier this season, The Stallions won a 20-13 decision on the road against Michigan.

“When I was in college, playing somebody twice was taboo,” said Holtz, who had head coaching tenures at Connecticut, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech. “You never played anybody twice. Then you get into professional football and you play everybody in your division twice. And then the last two years we had to play New Orleans three times because you played them twice during the regular season and then played them in the playoffs. This year, that’s going to be Michigan.”

This week, it’s about getting ready for one game against San Antonio. Next week, it will be about working on two different game plans against the same team. Strangely enough, the coaching staffs at St. Louis and San Antonio, which play each other in week 10, will do the same thing.

“We will sit down after this game and kind of look at how we put two game plans together next week,” Holtz said. “Not only are we going to be breaking down for our 10th game of the season, but we’re also going to be putting the game plan together going to the playoffs. It’s going to be a little bit unique and it’s going to be a little bit different.”