J’Mar Smith finding his groove headlines top UFL storylines from Week 9

With his team on their fourth starting quarterback, Birmingham Stallions head coach Skip Holtz may have lucked into his most productive option at the position in J’Mar Smith.

The Louisiana Tech product is heating up when the Stallions need him most — at the end of the regular season and heading into the playoffs. Smith went 22-for-31 for a season-high 307 yards and two touchdowns in Birmingham’s 26-22 victory over the visiting Michigan Panthers on Saturday in what was a preview of the USFL Conference title game.

Smith connected with 10 different pass catchers. He also helped Birmingham finish an impressive 11-of-13 on third down, which included converting six plays on the money down of third-and-7 or longer. 

"You try and stay out of third and long situations because you get behind the chains, and they can do anything they want defensively," Smith said. "But a couple of guys made some great plays. You get the ball into their hands, and they made the first down or went and scored touchdowns, and that’s what happened.

"It’s all credit to those skill guys — the O-line and the running backs — to go out there to make it happen, and Coach Holtz giving us the job to go out and execute."

The Stallions averaged 20.6 points a game through the first seven games of the year, but they've averaged 27 points a contest in the past two games that Smith has started at QB.

With the win, the Stallions improved to 6-3 on the season with one game left, while the Panthers dropped to 6-3. 

In the XFL Conference, the St. Louis Battlehawks (7-2) continued their winning ways, topping the San Antonio Brahmas (1-8) by double digits, 39-13, for the team’s league-leading fifth win in a row. The 39 points was a season-high for St. Louis. 

The Arlington