USFL WEEK 9 PREVIEW & PICKS

BY ADAM GREENE

We have a bottom heavy USFL as the South Division dis running away with the records , with the full knowledge that two of these franchises will be left out in the cold come playoff time.

Somebody’s got to win the North and land the Wild Card spot. We have two weeks of USFL football left and the odds, lines and totals to make it worth watching.

USFL POWER RANKINGS

1. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (6-2)

The Stallions survived their USFL Championship rematch thanks to a 17-point eruption in the fourth quarter and maybe the best performance from quarterback Alex McGough as a professional. Last week: No. 1

2. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (5-3)

It took a 14-point fourth quarter, but the Gamblers rejoined the USFL’s elite by outlasting the Pittsburgh Maulers, who actually showed up to play. In spite of being the second ranked team in the Power Rankings, they are, as of this writing, in fourth place in the USFL South Last week: No. 4

3. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (5-3)

After a rough start to the season (and a rough entirety of 2022 as the Tampa Bay Bandits), the Showboats now look like the squad I picked, wrongly, to win the whole thing in the USFL preseason a calendar year ago. Last week: No. 3

4. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (5-3)

After spiraling through three consecutive losses, the Breakers finally decided to play professional football again. New Orleans is back in the playoff race with just two games to go in the season. Last week: No. 5

5. PHILADELPHIA STARS (4-4)

The Stars had a few good weeks, mainly playing against other USFL North opponents. Dipping back into the USFL South, they took a loss again, though they did keep it close. They remain the best team in the North and the only team in that division without a losing record. Last week: No. 2

6. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (3-5)

It seems like a lifetime ago that the Panthers opened the season 2-0, but it was just six weeks. Back in school, that meant it’s report card time and considering they’re ranked sixth out of eight teams, that probably counts as a D-. Last week: No. 6

7. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (2-6)

The losing streak is now up to five in a row for the Generals and any hope of a second consecutive USFL North championship is off the table. Incredibly enough, a return to the playoffs is not as there’s every reason to think that a team with a losing record is getting in as a Wild Card. But it’ll take at least four wins to do it, most likely, and that means Jersey has to win out. Last week: No. 7

8. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (2-6)

The Maulers at least made it interesting, again, but fell short, also again. Losing by a single score is starting to hang on this team and they’ve only got two games left to fix it. Some losing team is going to make the playoffs out of the USFL North and, as shocking as it can be to write out, Pittsburgh is still in the mix. Last week: No. 8

SATURDAY

MICHIGAN PANTHERS AT PITTSBURGH MAULERS (+2, O/U: 41.5)

Michigan nearly got ran out of the stadium in the first half, but powered back through in the second to keep it close. It wasn’t enough as they fell 24-20 to the New Orleans Breakers last week. Josh Love finished his day 22 of 32 passing for 221 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Reggie Corbin rushed 11 times for 45 yards. James Walker caught five passes for 58 yards. Marcus Baugh caught to passes for 54 yards and a TD. T Quinn hauled in four passes for 41 yards and a score. Frank Ginda ended his day with 11 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one interception and one pass defended. Kai Nacua and Lavonte Taylor both had eight tackles. Sean Mahone had six tackles. Corrion Ballard and Walter Palmore both had five tackles. Garrett Marino, Jamal Milan, DaShaun White and Breeland Speaks all finished with four tackles each. Speaks added a sack and a tackle for a loss. Milan had a tackle for a loss. Marino had two tackles for a loss. Levi Bell had a tackle, a sack and a tackle for a loss.

For the second consecutive week the Maulers showed up to play and, for the second consecutive week, they fell in the final period. This time it was by a single point, 20-19 to the Houston Gamblers. Troy Williams had a productive day at quarterback, going 20 of 26 for 214 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He scrambled seven times for 36 yards and a TD. Madre London had eight rushes for 41 yards. Bailey Gaither caught six passes for 70 yards. Isiah Hennie had four grabs for 66 yards. On defense, Arnold Tarpley III finished with six tackles. Bryce Torneden had five tackles and a pass defense. Eli Walker had four tackles.

Here we are again, an outright battle for the bottom. Pittsburgh’s offense has shown up lately, but the defense hasn’t answered the call. Michigan can’t seem to stack up wins or even offensive performances. This one is a coin flip, but I’m going with the Maulers. Because, why not? Maulers 17, Panthers 14

NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS AT MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (-1.5, O/U: 42.5)

New Orleans finally stopped their three-game slide, beating the Michigan Panthers 24-20 last week. McLeod Bethel-Thompson ended his night 25 of 34 for 328yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Wes Hills rushed 23 times for 36 yards and a TD. Johnnie Dixon caught nine passes for 136 yards and two scores. Jonathan Adams hauled in eight balls for 117 yards. Jerod Fernandez and Michael Stevens had six tackles apiece. Vontae Diggs, Jarey Elder, Shaheed Salmon all ended with four tackles each, with Elder adding a pick and three passes defended. Salmon had a tackle for a loss.

The Showboats are the proud owners of the longest win streak in the USFL, picking up their fifth victory in a row in a 25-16 win over the New Jersey Generals last Sunday. Cole Kelley can’t claim responsibility for the win as he was just 15 of 24 passing for 176 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He added 12 scrambles for 24 yards. Kerrith Whyte led the team with 23 carries for 102 yards and a TD. Jay Jay Wilson caught three passes for 43 yards. Vinny Papale had three grabs for 26 yards. Derrick Dillon also caught three for 33 yards. Troy Warner finished with nine tackles and a tackle for a loss. Antonio Reed had five tackles, an interception and a pass defended. TJ Green, Delrick Abrams, Jr. and Anthony Butler all had four tackles. Green added a pass defense. Greg Reaves had three tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception and two passes defended.

A month ago, this would have been an easy pick. Now, not so much. Memphis is the hottest team in the league and, just by typing that, I’m sure I’m ruining it. Showboats 24, Breakers 21

SUNDAY

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS AT HOUSTON GAMBLERS (+4, O/U: 45.5)

Alex McGough unleashed his best USFL performance yet for the Stallions, going 24 for 35 for 333 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in a 27-24 win over the Philadelphia Stars. McGough added five carries for 19 yards on the ground. CJ Marable led the team in rushing with 11 carries for 56 yards and added five receptions for 46 yards. Davion Davis caught four passes for 129 yards and a TD. Jace Sternberger hauled in three passes for 62 yards and a score. Deon Cain caught six passes for 51 yards. Tyree Robinson wrapped his afternoon with seven tackles. Nate Brooks and Willie Yarbary recorded six tackles each, with Yarbary adding half a sack and Brooks picking off a pass and notching two passes defended. Rashad Smith, Nate Holley, Christian McFarland and JoJo Tillery all had four tackles apiece. Willie Henry had two tackles and half a sack.

The Gamblers’ offense apparently missed the bus last week, but apparently caught an Uber to the stadium to make it in time for the fourth quarter. Houston reeled off 14 points over the final 15 minutes to down the Pittsburgh Maulers, 20-19. Kenji Bahar, again, did not light it up at quarterback. He was 11 of 20 for 146 yards and a touchdown with no picks. Mark Thompson ended his day with 14 carries for 19 yards and two scores. Justin Hall caught three passes for 40 yards. Josh Pederson had one grab for 40 yards. Keke Chism hauled in two balls for 36 yards and a TD. Manny Bunch led the team with 10 tackles. Khalan Tolson had nine tackles. Jeremiah Johnson, Isaiah Pryor all finished with seven tackles apiece. Dayan Lake and Andrew Soroh ended their day with six tackles each, with Lake adding a tackle for a loss. Isaiah Chambers had three tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss. Guy Thomas had two tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

This game might decide who wins the USFL South and who gets left out of the playoffs entirely. Houston has so much more to play for and can’t afford to get two games back with just one game to go, but Birmingham is on a roll. I’m riding these Stallions. Stallions 27, Gamblers 24

PHILADELPHIA STARS AT NEW JERSEY GENERALS (+2.5, O/U: 44)

Case Cookus found himself in a quarterback duel with the Birmingham Stallions’ Alex McGough and both guys actually played well, to the shock of, well, pretty much all of civilization. Unfortunately for the Cook-man, his team came up short as the Stars fell 27-24. Cookus finished 20 of 32 for 265 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He added five rushes for 19 yards. Dexter Williams ended the day with 15 carries for 52 yards and added four receptions for 23 yards and a score. Cory Coleman caught four passes for 107 yards and a TD. Devin Gray caught four passes for 74 yards. Diondre Overton hauled in five balls for 40 yards. Joey Alfieri had 10 tackles and a tackle for a loss. C Brown finished with eight tackles. L Wiley ended his day with six tackles and a pass defense. Stanford Samuels III and Gabriel Sewell, Jr. had five tackles apiece, with Sewell adding a tackle for a loss. Darius Hodge had three tackles and half a sack. Adam Rodriguez had two tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

Last year, the Generals posted the second best record in the USFL. This season, with two games to go and thanks to a five game losing streak, they have the second worst record in the league. In spite of that, New Jersey still isn’t out of the playoff hunt after a 25-16 loss to the Memphis Showboats last Sunday.  Dakota Prukop took over at quarterback for an ineffective Kyle Lauletta, going 14 of 25 for 128 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the win. He led the team in rushing with six carries for 76 yards. Darius Victor finished with nine rushes for 39 yards and caught six passes for 39 yards and a score. Alonzo Moore had three receptions for 36 yards and a TD. Chris Orr led the defense with 12 tackles and two for a loss. Kolin Hill had 10 tackles with one for a loss. D’Juan Hines finished with nine tackles and one for a loss. Shalom Luani had eight tackles, with one for a loss. Tyrone Truesdell had seven tackles and a tackle for a loss. DJ Daniel had six tackles, a tackle for a loss, an interception and two passes defended. Paris Ford, Hercules Mata’afa and Toby Johnson all finished with five tackles each, with Mata’afa adding one sack and two tackles for a loss.

Lukily for Philly, they’re facing a USFL North team again with a chance to pretty much seal a division title. New Jersey must win out to have a chance at a return to the playoffs, but it’s much more likely they’ll not win another game. Stars 24, Generals 17

Last week

Straight up: 4-0

Against the spread: 3-1

Season

Straight up: 15-9

Against the spread: 13-11

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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