Game Information
St. Louis Battlehawks (0-0) at Houston Roughnecks (0-0)
Time: 7pm CT Friday
How to watch: Fox 2 (KTVI-TV)
DraftKings Odds
Spread: Battlehawks -4.5
Total: 37.5 (over -108, under -112)
Battlehawks Kick Off Season
The St. Louis Battlehawks open their UFL season tonight on the road against the Houston Roughnecks.
The Battlehawks will be looking to build off their 7-3 season in 2024 that ended with a disappointing home loss to the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL Conference Championship game.
New QB Duo For St. Louis
With the departure of A.J. McCarron, the Battlehawks will open the season with two quarterbacks sharing the QB1 duties in Max Duggan and Manny Wilkins. They will be directing an offense that features last year’s UFL Offensive Player of the Year in wide receiver Hakeem Butler.
While the Battlehawks enjoy an incredible home field advantage and had an undefeated regular season record at the Dome in 2024, they’ll be looking to improve on their 2-3 road record from a season ago.
Rough Season For Roughnecks
It was a dismal season in 2024 for the Roughnecks, as they finished a league-worst 1-9 after a six-game losing streak to end the year.
Houston finished second-worst in the UFL in total offense and scored just 15.8 points per game.
My Lean
I’m going to sit back and watch this first game without any money on the line so I can get a feel for what the Battlehawks bring to the table this season.
But I must say, I can’t get the old saying out of my head - “If you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none.”
I hope either Duggan or Wilkins can emerge as the clear QB1, but it’s alarming to me that neither could grab a firm hold on the job in training camp. So I’m not exactly brimming with confidence that the Battlehawks will be humming offensively in Week 1.
The Battlehawks are expected to be strong defensively this season, so it’s also hard to imagine the Roughnecks putting up a bunch of points as well.
If you’re looking for some action while watching the game tonight, I’d throw a dart on the under and hope to see a low-scoring Battlehawks victory. KaKaw!
Lean: Under 37.5 at -112 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Disclaimer