2026 UFL Power Rankings: Renegades, Storm Remain on Top After Week 3

Following the news that the UFL will expand to at least nine teams by 2028 with a new franchise in Oklahoma City, fans from the Sooner State gave more than a passing glance to the league over the weekend. I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where college football is the “professional” sport most folks enjoy in the fall when the Oklahoma City Thunder isn’t bulldozing through the rest of the NBA. At a local restaurant I frequent, I caught sight of a man in a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Thunder jersey watching the Dallas Renegades play the Columbus Aviators on Sunday afternoon. I asked him why he was watching the game. “I heard Oklahoma’s getting one of these [UFL] teams,” he said. So it is. Here’s a look at my third UFL power rankings list of the season: #8. Columbus Aviators (0-3) Week 3 results: Lost to Renegades, 28-23Current odds to win 2026 title: +3500 Without head coach Ted Ginn Jr. for the first time this season, the Aviators looked to acting head coach Todd Haley to lead them against an undefeated foe in the Renegades. They fell a possession short in a game where a pick-six by quarterback Jalan McClendon proved to be the difference. Still, the Aviators should take pride in knowing they scored in every quarter against the Renegades. However, knowing they allowed all 28 points to Dallas in the second half will be difficult to overcome, as Columbus is one of just two UFL teams without a win through three weeks. #7. Louisville Kings (0-3) Week 3 results: Lost to Storm, 29-27 (OT)Current odds to win 2026 title: +5500 The winless Kings dropped a second consecutive game to the Storm and have lost two of three by a combined four points. They’re one of just two teams still looking for their first win in 2026 — and the Kings are the most deserving. Ex-Kansas quarterback Jason Bean played his best game as a professional. He completed 23 of 46 passes for 352 yards with three touchdowns, including a pass to tight end Zach Davidson to send the game into overtime. Wide receiver Isaiah Winstead also had a standout game, catching seven passes for an eye-popping 114 yards. If not for a rather bizarre overtime rule, the Kings might have won their first game against one of the league’s strongest teams. However, because Louisville committed two live-ball penalties during the overtime, their opponent was awarded two points during the sudden-death period of overtime. Yes, that’s how Louisville lost the game. #6. Birmingham Stallions (1-2) Week 3 results: Lost to Battlehawks, 34-30Current odds to win 2026 title: +800 The Stallions blew a two-score lead — by UFL scoring no less, where a nine-point possession is not out of the question — against a Battlehawks team that benched its starting quarterback in the second half and could not move the football with any regularity until the third quarter. For head coach AJ McCarron, this was a disastrous homecoming. The former St. Louis starting quarterback knows his team could just as easily be 3-0 if not for poor play in the second half in back-to-back weeks. #5. Houston Gamblers (1-2) Week 3 results: Lost to Defenders, 45-7Current odds to win 2026 title: +5500 Without quarterbacks Nolan Henderson and Hunter Dekkers available for Week 3, head coach Kevin Sumlin turned to ex-Maryland signal-caller Taulia Tagovailoa. In his first start for Houston, Tagovailoa put in a forgettable performance, going 21-for-40 for 171 yards with one touchdown and a costly pick-six. When he did complete passes, they were likely to the Gamblers’ best offensive player in Justin Hall, who caught nine of 13 targets for 69 yards and that lone touchdown. Houston managed just 214 yards of total offense, and the team committed almost as many penalties (13) as successful first downs (15). #4. DC Defenders (2-1) Week 3 results: Defeated Gamblers, 45-7Current odds to win 2026 title: +225 The farther away the Defenders get from Week 1, the better they look, and that was certainly true with their demolition of the Gamblers on Friday night. Jordan Ta’amu & Co. won the game in record-breaking fashion. The Defenders’ 38-point margin of victory is the largest by any team in UFL history. DC’s defense also scored as many points as Houston did all game after former Ohio State and first-round NFL Draft pick Gareon Conley returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. [2026 UFL Title Odds: Renegades Favored; Defenders, Storm Closing Gap] #3. St. Louis Battlehawks (2-1) Week 3 results: Defeated Stallions, 34-30Current odds to win 2026 title: +600 The Battlehawks got started quickly with a pick-six to ignite their fans inside The Dome at America’s Center and spoil the homecoming for their former starting quarterback, McCarron, in his return to St. Louis as the Stallions’ head coach. It took a tremendous late comeback for the Battlehawks to earn their second victory this season in one of the most thrilling games of the year so far in the UFL. St. Louis stormed back from a 30-20 deficit in its victory behind quarterback Harrison Frost, who came off the bench in the second half to complete 9 of 15 passes for 148 yards with three touchdowns. He led three consecutive scoring drives to deliver the win. #2. Orlando Storm (3-0) Week 3 results: Defeated Kings, 29-27 (OT)Current odds to win 2026 title: +370 Pop quiz! How many teams can say they won a game because their opponent committed two live-ball defensive penalties? This one, that’s it. In a riveting game that saw the Kings fight back to force overtime — and one in which both starting quarterbacks played their best football to date — a new UFL rule handed the Storm the win on a defensive penalty. The rule is simple: If a team commits two live-ball defensive penalties during overtime, its opponent is awarded two points. Because the Kings committed their second defensive penalty during the sudden-death period, the Storm were awarded two points and the win. The rule itself makes sense. There’s a world in which a defense could keep committing live-ball penalties to prolong the game rather than allow a scoring play, but that doesn’t make for much of a spectacle for fans … and Louisville fans made their frustrations known. It was an ugly way to end the game, and the Storm likely would’ve rather won it on a scoring play, but they’ll take the win nonetheless. #1. Dallas Renegades (3-0) Week 3 results: Defeated Aviators, 28-23Current odds to win 2026 title: +210 The best team in the UFL did not purport itself like that until the second half of their win against the Aviators. After what was a ho-hum day for quarterback Austin Reed and his favorite target, Tyler Vaughns, knowing that the rest of the offense can pick up the slack ought to do nothing but buoy head coach Rick Neuheisel’s confidence that his team can sustain this fast start through the rest of the season.