The playoffs are set in the reboot of the United States Football League as the Philadelphia Stars, Birmingham Stallions, New Jersey Generals, and New Orleans Breakers will battle it out in Canton, Ohio for the championship. However, we still do have one more week in the USFL regular season at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama. This week is going to be even tougher than usual as it will be hard to gauge how hard the four teams who are going to the playoffs will play, and on the flip side are the guys who are out of it even motivated? You’d hope that players in a developmental league would give it their all every down, but the Gamblers beat the undefeated Stallions last week, so you never know what we might see!
In celebration of the last week of the year, I have decided to pick all four games not only by the line but the point total also. So, for the final time this season, let’s take a look at the best bets for the USFL for Week 10.
The opening matchup this weekend will see the Philadelphia Stars taking on the New Jersey Generals, with kickoff set for 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, June 18.
Both teams have made the playoffs and they will play each other in the first round, so I figure they will both keep it close to the vest and not do anything crazy that the other team might see and cue on in that playoff matchup. However, the Generals lost the very first game of the season and haven’t lost since, and I feel like they want to end the season without losing. Their killer running attack should be able to overpower the Stars who struggle against the run. Case Cookus had a rough game for Philadelphia last week and the Generals’ defense is one of the best in football. I see the Generals winning this game by more than a field goal, but neither team lighting up the scoreboard.
I am finished with the Bandits. I thought they would be one of the better teams in the USFL when
the season started with quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and the defense looked pretty strong. However,
they have choked it away down the stretch and haven’t scored more than 13 points in the last three
weeks. The Stallions have only scored 25 points combined in the last two weeks and sure don’t look
like the team that was steamrolling this league for seven weeks. However, I still think they have enough
on both sides of the ball to beat Tampa Bay by more than a field goal, but I do not see this being a high
scoring game.
These have been two of the worst teams the entire season. Michigan has changed quarterbacks constantly this season, and the Maulers are right behind them for the most quarterback changes. While both teams have struggled on offense, their defenses haven’t been much better. The Panthers’ defense, after a strong start to the year, now allows the most points per game in the USFL with 22.3, while the Maulers are third-most but not far behind with 21.7. At the end of the day, I have more faith in Josh Love at quarterback for Michigan and Lance Lenoir catching the ball than anyone on the Maulers’ entire offense. Michigan shut out Pittsburgh 24-0 back in May and the Maulers’ quarterback situation remains in flux. I think both of these defenses are bad enough that they should smash the over, but give me Michigan and I would be happy to lay four to six points here.
The Gamblers somehow shocked the world last week and beat the 8-0 Birmingham Stallions to get one of their few wins on the season. Backup quarterback Kenji Bahar has played quite well and adds another dimension with his ability to run the ball effectively. However, I just can’t see Houston pulling another upset. New Orleans did lock up a playoff spot after beating Tampa Bay last week, but I still think they come into this game motivated to win again to go to the playoffs on a nice streak. The Gamblers’ defense is one of the worst in the league and New Orleans has some solid weapons both through the air and on the ground. I think this will be perhaps the highest scoring game of the final week and should go well over the 41.5, but I could easily see New Orleans winning this one by a touchdown.
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