USFL WEEK 7 PREVIEW & PICKS

BY ADAM GREENE

We’ve got an interesting USFL season brewing as we dip further into the second half of the campaign.

All but one team in the USFL South has a winning record and no team in the USFL North is above .500. It makes you feel as if that should play out predictably in the playoffs, but the XFL has taught us all better than that.

Still, we have the odds, lines and totals with which to entertain ourselves more than with just football this weekend. So, let’s take a look at the league and pick some games.

USFL POWER RANKINGS

1. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (4-2)

Last week the Houston Gamblers surged to the top spot in the rankings with a huge win over the Birmingham Stallions. This week they knocked off the team that posted the second-best record during the 2022 USFL season, the New Jersey Generals, to hold onto the No. 1 spot Last week: No. 1

2. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (4-2)

Birmingham bounced back from their second loss of the season with cruise to victory over the suddenly hapless, again, Michigan Panthers. Last week: No. 3

3. PHILADELPHIA STARS (3-3)

Well, congratulations, Stars. You have taken over the USFL North and done it with a .500 record. Every other team above the old Mason-Dixon line is currently underwater with their records with just four games to go. Last week: No. 5

4. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (4-2)

It’s been two rough weeks for the Breakers on offense as they scored just 10 points again in their second loss of the season, this time to the Philadelphia Stars, who came into last Sunday’s game with a losing record. For the first month of the season, the Breakers looked like the best team in the USFL. They haven’t won a game since. Last week: No. 2

5. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (3-3)

Is that a three-game win streak for the Showboats? If Todd Haley keeps this up, NFL teams might start accepting his calls again. Or, at least, stop blocking him on Twitter and Instagram. Fun fact: While being the fifth best team in the league, they’re still the last in their particular division, the USFL South. Last week: No. 4

6. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (2-4)

The Generals scored the hat trick last weekend, losing their third game in a row, this time to the suddenly powerful Houston Gamblers. If New Jersey is going to turn it around this season, they’ve just got a month left to do it. Last week: No. 7

7. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (2-4)

A week after barely showing up in a loss to the Pittsburgh Maulers, Michigan scored 13 whole points in a loss to the Birmingham Stallions. If you’re keeping track, that’s their fourth straight defeat in a row after opening the season 2-0. Last week: No. 8

8. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (2-4)

The Maulers spent a whole week out of the basement of the Power Rankings and missed it so bad they didn’t score a single point in their loss to the Memphis Showboats. Don’t worry, guys. The futon next to the water heater remains all yours. Just dust the Doritos crumbs off first. Last week: No. 6

SATURDAY

BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS AT NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (+2, O/U: 46)

The Birmingham Stallions might have already doubled their loss total from a season ago, but they’re not going away by any means. Last week they bounced back from their Week 6 loss to the Houston Gamblers with a cruising 27-13 win over the Michigan Panthers. Alex McGough again did just enough at quarterback, going 19 of 24 for 133 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He rushed 11 times for 82 yards and a score. CJ Marable led the team with 18 carries for 100 yards. He added three receptions for 16 yards and a score. Adrian Hardy caught four passes for 37 yards. Zaquandre White had two receptions for 20 yards and a TD. Quentin Poling finished with seven tackles with one for a loss. Nate Holley, Elijah Sullivan and Christian McFarland had six tackles each with Holley adding a pass defense. Tyree Robinson had five tackles. Willie Yarbary and Dondrea Tillman both had two tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

We’d like to say “at least you tried,” Breakers, but after amassing just 10 points on offense for the second week in a row, that would be a tough order. The Breakers dropped their second contest in a row after a 4-0 start to the season, this time in a 16-10 defensive struggle with the Philadelphia Stars. McLeod Bethel-Thompson ended his day 22 of 38 for 190 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Wes Hills not only led the team rushing, he was the only one to record a rush at all, carrying the ball 18 times for 74 yards. Jonathan Adams had three receptions for 33 yards. Johnnie Dixon caught four passes for 32 yards and a TD. Jerod Fernandez had 12 tackles and two passes defended. Jarey Elder finished with seven tackles. Nevelle Clarke had six tackles, one interception and a pass defense. Justus Reed and Derrion Rakestraw finished with five tackles apiece. Reed added a tackle for a loss. Alex Thomas notched four tackles, a pick and a pass defense.

New Orleans is reeling after appearing to be the class of the USFL over its first four weeks. Now, the “Breakers” can’t seem to catch a “break” and facing last year’s champions, Birmingham, with the top spot in the USFL South on the line. It doesn’t look good. Stallions 23, Breakers 17

PHILADELPHIA STARS AT PITTSBURGH MAULERS (-1, O/U: 38.5)

It only took six games into a 10-game season, but last year’s USFL runner up finally evened out its record as the Stars knocked off the New Orleans Breakers 16-10 last Sunday. Case Cookus almost looked like a real professional quarterback, going 17 of 21 for 238 yards, but did not throw a touchdown and still managed two interceptions. He rushed nine times for 43 yards. Matt Colburn II led the Stars with 13 carries for 62 yards. Corey Coleman caught six passes for 76 yards. Diondre Overton had two grabs for 48 yards. On defense, Joey Alfieri ended his night with nine tackles and two passes defended. Gabriel Sewell, Jr. had eight tackles. Cody Brown and Channing Stribling picked up six tackles each with Brown adding a tackle for a loss and two passes defensed. Stribling had one pass defense. LaDarius Wiley picked up five tackles, an interception and a pass defense. Amani Dennis had four tackles, one pick and a pass defense. Carson Taylor racked up three tackles, one sack and a tackle for a loss. Adam Rodrigues got two tackles, one sack and a tackle for a loss.

Well, after experiencing the sweet taste of victory for just the third time since the franchise’s USFL 2.0 inception, the agony of defeat punched the Pittsburgh Maulers right in their gaping face holes as they were shutout completely in a 22-0 loss to the Memphis Showboats last Saturday. Two quarterbacks hit the field for the Maulers, with Troy Williams the only one who looked remotely like he knew what he was doing. Williams finished 12 of 19 for 145 yards, no touchdowns and a pick. James Morgan was 9 of 19 for 98 yards and two interceptions. As a team, Pittsburgh rushed for a paltry 56 yards with Bailey Gaither leading the squad with 16 yards on two carries and one of those carries was for 14 yards. It’s nice to know every other week the Maulers set the sport of football back a century or so. They might as well start coming out in leather helmets with no facemasks at this point. Gaither did add five receptions for 41 yards. Isiah Hennie did most of the work on offense, catching eight passes for 103 yards. Matt Seybert had three receptions for 49 yards. Kyahva Tezino finished with 16 tackles, since the defense was on the field the entire game. He added two tackles for a loss. Boogie Roberts had eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for a loss. Mark Gilbert, Dale Warren and Terry Beckner, Jr. each finished with five tackles apiece. Gilbert added a tackle for a loss and a pass defense. Nasir Player finished with two tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

At this point, it seems almost silly to pick Philadelphia to win as they’ve consistently let me down, but against Pittsburgh? Come on (I write, knowing full well the Maulers beat the Stars in Week 3). Stars 20, Maulers 16

SUNDAY

HOUSTON GAMBLERS AT MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (+3.5, O/U: 43)

The rule is that it doesn’t have to be pretty as long as you win and the Gamblers proved it again, holding off the New Jersey Generals 16-10 last Sunday. Kenji Bahar did nothing spectacular at quarterback, but protected the ball in a defensive slugfest. Bahar was 19 of 29 for 130 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Mark Thompson led the team on the ground with 22 carries for 82 yards and a TD. Justin Hall caught six passes for 59 yards. Clint Sigg, Jr. hauled in four passes for 34 yards. Khalan Tolson ended his evening with seven tackles. Dayan Lake, Donald Rutledge, Jr. and Jeremiah Johnson all recorded six tackles each. Lake added a pass defense and Johnson picked off a pass and defended another. JT Tyler had five tackles and one for a loss to go with three passes defended. Reggie Walker had four tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

For the third consecutive week, the Memphis Showboats played real, professional football and have the .500 record to prove it. It didn’t look that great, but Cole Kelley led his team to the dub, finishing 14 of 24 for 135 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He added 10 rushes for 21 yards. Juwan Washington carried the ball 20 times for 71 yards. Derrick Dillon caught three passes for 61 yards. Vinny Papale hauled in three balls as well for 40 yards and a TD. Troy Warner recorded 11tackles, one interception and a pass defense. Kyree Woods and Antonio Reed both notched seven tackles, with Woods adding a tackle for a loss, a pick and a pass defense. Quenton Meeks and Malik Lawal had five tackles each. Meeks also intercepted a pass and got a pass defense. Jordan Williams had three tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss and a pass defense. Viane Moala had two tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss.

Memphis is coming in hot, winners of two straight and with a 3-3 record, but there’s a good chance Houston is the best team in the league this season. I’m not picking against them. Gamblers 24, Showboats 17

MICHIGAN PANTHERS AT NEW JERSEY GENERALS (-7, O/U: 39.5)

Another week meant another loss for the Michigan Panthers, their fourth in a row, as they fell 27-13 to the defending USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions last Saturday. Josh Love was 20 of 34 for 222 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Stevie Scott III rushed nine times for 46 yards. Trey Quinn caught seven passes for 108 yards. Cole Hikutini had two grabs for 18 yards and a TD. Frank Ginda may have set a USFL record with 18 tackles (I have no idea how to check) to go with half a sack. Breeland Speaks had 12 tackles and half a sack himself. Corrion Ballard recorded eight tackles. Noah Dawkins, Sean Mahone and Josh Butler all had five tackles apiece with Dawkins and Mahone each nabbing a tackle for a loss.

Last season, the Generals boasted one of the most consistent offenses in the USFL. Well, after managing just 10 points in their third consecutive loss, New Jersey obviously left it back in 2022. Last Sunday, they dropped a 16-10 defensive struggle to the Houston Gamblers. Kyle Lauletta was 17 of 30 for 177 yards, one touchdown and a pick in the loss. He scrambled four times for 24 yards. Darius Victor led the team rushing with 10 carries for just 38 yards. Warren Newman and Alonzo Moore caught five passes apiece, with Newman amassing 55 yards. Moore had 44 yards and a touchdown. D’Juan Hines led the team with eight tackles. Trae Elston and Paris Ford each picked up seven tackles, with Elston adding a tackle for a loss. Kolin Hill and Jalen Choice both had five tackles, with Hill posting a tackle for a loss.

We have one team, Michigan, that has lost four straight playing another, Jersey, that’s lost three straight. Somebody’s ending a streak here and, much like Shaquille O’Neal used to say in the commercials, I’m going with the General(s). Generals 23, Panthers 13

Last week

Straight up: 3-1

Against the spread: 3-1

Season

Straight up: 9-7

Against the spread: 8-8

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

Connect with us our socials on Twitter and Instagram for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.