San Antonio Eyes Upset of Birmingham in UFL Final

Stallions (-3) Slight Favorites in 2024 UFL Finals

The inaugural UFL Championship kicks off Sunday (5 p.m. ET), with the Birmingham Stallions facing the San Antonio Brahmas at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. Ironically, the matchup pairs the teams with the shortest and longest title odds from the preseason.

San Antonio (8-3) handed Birmingham (10-1) its only loss during the regular season, defeating the Stallions 18-9 in Week 9 at the Alamodome.

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Despite that, Birmingham is a 3-point favorite and -175 on the moneyline, with San Antonio +145 to win outright. Meanwhile, the projected total is 41.5 with a slight edge to the Over at -112.

Who has the edge? Read on as we break down both teams and assess the odds in our 2024 UFL Finals preview.

Birmingham Stallions Logo - Primary Logo - United Football League (UFL) Birmingham Stallions vs San Antonio Brahmas San Antonio Brahmas Logo - Primary Logo - United Football League (UFL)

Day/Time:
Location: The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis
Streaming: Fox

Birmingham’s Best

Favored since the preseason, Birmingham is on the brink of completing a wire-to-wire run to the UFL title. The Stallions followed up a league-best 9-1 regular season by thumping the Michigan Panthers 31-18 in last week’s USFL Conference Championship.

The Stallions, 5-point favorites, rallied from an 18-3 first-half deficit with 30 unanswered points. It was Birmingham’s fifth double-digit win this season and the seventh by at least seven points.

Birmingham, which won USFL titles in 2022 and 2023, led the UFL in total offense (347.5 yards per game) and ranked second in total defense (259.5 yards allowed per game) during the regular season. The Stallions have been the team-to-beat since the start of the UFL schedule, with their championship odds increasing from +300 to -115 by the playoffs.

The biggest intrigue around Birmingham is who will take the majority of reps at quarterback in the 2024 UFL Finals. Adrian Martinez was named UFL MVP on Monday after being benched against Michigan for Matt Corral. Martinez, the former Nebraska and Kansas State star, threw for 164 yards and an interception on 10 of 19 passing. He also had a touchdown pass.

“Right now, Adrian will be the quarterback,” Holtz told reporters via Sports Illustrated. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the third and fourth series’, you know what I mean? But right now, Adrian will be our quarterback. But I don’t hesitate to play two, just like I did at the beginning of the season.”

Corral, a former Ole Miss standout, completed 9 of 11 passes for 120 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

From Worst to First?

The UFL’s best underdog story, San Antonio is seeking to go from +1400 preseason longshots to champions. The Brahmas was priced as low as +650 before the playoffs. Led by longtime NFL defensive coordinator/head coach Wade Phillips, who last season guided the XFL’s Roughnecks to a division championship, the Brahmas went 7-3. They upset the St. Louis Battlehawks 25-15 in the XFL Conference Championship as 3-point underdogs.

San Antonio ran for 213 yards (6.1 yards per carry), with Anthony McFarland (11 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD) and John Lovett (18 carries, 83 yards) accounting for a bulk of the production.

The league’s best defense, San Antonio held A.J. McCarron to 179 yards passing.

The Brahmas allowed a league-low 256.7 yards and 15.3 points per game during the regular season per UFL box scores. Four times they gave up 12 points or fewer.

The 76-year-old Phillips, whose football coaching career began in 1969 as a graduate assistant at Houston, has had a big hand in much of that success. He’s been long regarded as one of the sport’s best defensive minds, having won a Super Bowl as the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator in 2015.

Jordan Mosley (75 tackles), Tavante Beckett (72 tackles) and Jordan Williams (61 tackles) have been San Antonio’s primary producers on defense.

Handicapping the Game

San Antonio dealt Birmingham its lone loss, defeating the Stallions 18-9 in Week 9. The Brahmas outgained the Stallions 329-278 and sacked Martinez three times.

Presumably, the Brahmas will need a similar effort on defense to beat Birmingham a second time. They’re capable, having led all UFL teams in both total defense and opponents’ scoring. Then again, that only means so much with a championship on the line.

For Birmingham, the priority is getting Martinez back on track. Its offense is at its best when the dual-threat is under center.

At -175 on the moneyline, the Stallions are deserving favorites in the 2024 UFL Finals.

For UFL betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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