This weekend is the penultimate week in the XFL, we begin our preview with the South Division semi-final game.

This is the XFL South Division Championship

The Arlington Renegades play the Houston Roughnecks, which is a rematch of the final regular season game.

Houston defeated Arlington 25-9, but the playoff matchup seems to be heading toward a competitive matchup. The winner of this game will play the DC Defenders or Seattle Sea Dragons in San Antonio for the XFL Championship.

This semi-final game comes down two factors, which are Quarterback play and protecting the ball. Houston split snaps between Brandon Silvers and Cole McDonald, which has been successful at times this season. McDonald has shown to be a playmaker as a runner and passer in the XFL. Silvers has had inconsistent play, which created problems for Houston throughout the season.

Arlington is on their third starting QB, Drew Plitt and Kyle Sloter both starts for the Renegades, until the Arlington traded for Luis Perez. Perez started the season with the Las Vegas Vipers as their starting QB, but he and the coaching staff never seemed to be on the same page. Arlington traded for Luis Perez, who has added a spark to the Renegades’ passing game.

Each team will lean on the running game, but ultimately will need efficient Quarterback play.

The one thing neither of these teams want is to have turnovers. The Roughnecks lost three games in a row this season, mainly due to turnovers and bad QB play.

The Renegades are 2-1 with Luis Perez as their starter. Perez has given Arlington much needed stability, in place of Drew Plitt and Kyle Sloter. He has played in the NFL, AAF, XFL 2.0, USFL, and XFL 3.0

This matchup features two veteran coaches, one from the NFL, and the other from College Football. Wade Phillips is a Super Bowl Champion Defensive Coordinator and Bob Stoops is a National Champion Head Coach. These two veteran coaches are sure to have a few tricks up their sleeves for this semi-final game.

The Roughnecks were the better team in the regular season and defeated the Renegades twice, in the regular season. This includes a 25-9 Houston victory over Arlington in the final week of the regular season. The Renegades will need to have a short memory, if they went to overcome the Roughnecks.

This would typically have given Bob Stoops a chance to make corrections with his offense but the problem is that Wade Philips is an equally experienced coach. This game will be a chess match between two veteran coaches. Stoops is a legendary offensive mind, while Wade Philips holds the same status on defense.

On paper, the Roughnecks should cruise to victory, but this is the third time both teams have played each other.

Prediction:

The Renegades pull off an upset over the Roughnecks after some in-decision and turnovers at the QB position.

Arlington over Houston: 19-16