RADIO
The 2023 USFL season is officially upon us, and we are finally getting XFL and USFL action together for our viewing pleasure this spring football season. Sportsbooks are now available on that device in your pocket all over the world, and so this is going to be a spring football season like no other. I'll be here every week providing sports betting advice for USFL action, so join me here and pay homage to the original "fun" league. Be sure to also read all our other weekly USFL fantasy football articles.
If we ever start expanding into the realms of the European League of Football, Indoor Football League, Fan Controlled Football, and/or (I can only hope) the CPBL of Taiwan come baseball season -- I'll be right here to discuss the full happenings across the board.
They might not be the #1...or #2 leagues...but damn it, we've congregated here because we love sports. So, when the powers to be in professional sports decide to supply our hungry demand for more year-round action, it would be fundamentally and morally wrong of us to not take a head-first dive into spring football education. This is so that we can continue to enter DFS contests and place anxiety-inducing bets on games that most of our friends and family probably won't even know are being played. If you're still reading this paragraph, I am fully confident that you share my sentiment on that point. Anyway, let's get to talking about the spring football league that started it all with the likes of Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Reggie White, Doug Flutie, and near-Congressman Herschel Walker.
Featured Promo: Get any full-season Props Premium Pass for 10% off using code BALLER. Win big with our two new Props Optimizer tools -- one for PrizePicks Props, and one for Sportsbook Betting Props. Find optimal prop bets and get our recommended picks daily! Go Premium, Win More!Wow. Four underdog winners in one week. I was flying high after Saturday, and in stunned silence on Sunday. We've reached the midpoint of the season and all hell has broken loose. It's wonderful, isn't it?
Week 6 USFL Power Rankings
- New Orleans Breakers
- Pittsburgh Maulers
- Houston Gamblers
- New Jersey Generals
- Birmingham Stallions
- Memphis Showboats
- Philadelphia Stars
- Michigan Panthers
Week 6 USFL MVP Ladder
- McLeod Bethel-Thompson (QB, New Orleans Breakers)
- Mark Thompson (RB, Houston Gamblers)
- Wes Hills (RB, New Orleans Breakers)
- Olive Sagapolu (DL, Pittsburgh Maulers)/Troy Williams (QB, Pittsburgh Maulers)
- Justin Hall (WR, Houston Gamblers)/Sage Surratt (TE, New Orleans Breakers)
Pittsburgh Maulers at Memphis Showboats (Saturday, May 20, 12:30 PM ET)
PIT (-2.5), O/U 41.5
Best Bet: Maulers (-2.5) & Under 41.5
After the first couple of weeks, you might've said that either of these two teams would be lucky to have a single win by this point. Now, this Week 6 matchup pits two of the USFL's best defenses and two of the hottest teams against each other. What a world. While the Maulers' two wins have come against what we now believe to be subpar competition, their overall improvement in that time has been astounding to watch.
The defense has gone from good to intimidating and Troy Williams has gone from a question mark to an MVP candidate. The Showboats enter this game having won two in a row, with their last one just happening to come against the previously undefeated New Orleans Breakers. Their offense looked passable (if not one-dimensional) and their defense was able to bring the heat to McLeod Bethel-Thompson all day.
While I love the direction that the Showboats' defense is moving and the Maulers have had their own struggles with the production of Garrett Groshek and Madre London, the Showboats' offense has so far only been able to offer what Cole Kelley can throw (or run for) out there. When push comes to very forceful shove, he is going to have more problems with this Pittsburgh defense than Troy Williams and a greater overall sum of what the Maulers have on offense will have against this Memphis defense. I think the Maulers take this one by a final score ranging from 21-10 to 24-17, so under all the way.
Birmingham Stallions at Michigan Panthers (Saturday, May 20, 4:00 PM ET)
BHAM (-6), O/U 44.5
Best Bet: Stallions (-6) & Under 44.5
The Michigan Panthers really had me going after their 2-0 start, but the last three weeks have shown their true colors, scoring a combined 30 points in three straight defeats. The beat-up Birmingham Stallions are coming off of a loss to the surging Houston Gamblers. To the surprise of many, they are currently outside of the USFL playoff picture.
When comparing quarterback play here, the Stallions have a colossal advantage. The Panthers just can't find a reliable answer between Josh Love and Carson Strong (his name is Eric Barriere) while Alex McGough seems to be responsible for the vast majority of his team's production, even on the ground. With how injury-depleted the Stallions are, one wonders the limit of how far McGough can carry them.
However, I'm quite confident that the Michigan Panthers are well within that limit with the way they have been playing. The person that should be the Panthers' most dangerous weapon, running back Reggie Corbin, has even been inconsistent from week to week as Michigan struggles to carve out its offensive identity.
The Birmingham Stallions at least have the overall makeup as a team to probably finish the 2023 USFL season at 5-5 or 6-4, but it's looking all downhill from here for the Panthers.
I don't think that their red zone and turnover issues are a case of bad luck, and I don't think it will help build momentum when you're in a big, empty building for your home games. Birmingham's defense isn't at the level of Memphis or Pittsburgh, but they take this one by a final score between 20-10 to 27-14, so hit hard on Birmingham and the under.
New Orleans Breakers at Philadelphia Stars (Sunday, May 21, 12:00 PM ET)
NOLA (-8), O/U 47.5
Best Bet: Breakers (-8) & Under 47.5
To think after five weeks of USFL play that the Philadelphia Stars have the same record as everyone else in the North Division is absolutely mind-warping. But it is the truth. To think that the New Orleans Breakers would have made it to 4-0 only to lose to the Memphis Showboats in a rib-crunching performance by the Memphis defense where McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Wes Hills couldn't find room to breathe is also mind-warping. But it is also the truth.
Despite the results of last week, I thought that the Philadelphia Stars would get hammered by the Showboats if they played this week. The Stars' offense even managed to look bad in their win over a high-quality opponent in the New Jersey Generals, as QB Case Cookus and RB Matt Colburn II still struggled to get anything to click.
The Stars' victory in Week 5 really comes down to Darius Victor fumbling an uncharacteristic three times and an absolutely unreal day from kicker Luis Aguilar, who went 8/8 with two FG of 50+. I won't knock Philadelphia for clearly having a great kicking game -- you can never underrate the value of that in spring football -- but nothing else seems to be working out except for their defenses' capitalization of fumbles.
At least the Breakers have a handful of playmakers on defense (Vontae Diggs, to name one) to pair with what has still proven to be by far the league's best offense with leaders in every major offensive category between MBT, Hills, and Sage Surratt. I feel confident that New Orleans wins by eight or more. It could come in a wide final score range anywhere between 21-10 to 41-17, so the O/U is a bit of a wash to me.
New Jersey Generals at Houston Gamblers (Sunday, May 21, 4:oo PM ET)
NJ (-5), O/U 45.5
Best Bet: Gamblers (+5), ***ML (+190)***, & Over 45.5
This line started at New Jersey by a point-and-a-half and just keeps going up. I just can't figure that out with the information that is available. Kenji Bahar is now back in action and RB Shermari Jones of Coastal Carolina (whom I loved as a college back) has been transferred to the active roster.
While I hope that the Gamblers still use Terry Wilson in a D'Eriq King/Cole McDonald-esque role, the presence of Bahar takes Houston's offensive ceiling up a few ticks. Justin Hall has the arm that he needs to accumulate big numbers alongside Mark Thompson, who has proven himself to be head-and-shoulders the best running back in the USFL since his return.
When it was just Terry Wilson at QB, the Gamblers matched up exactly with the Generals in every department -- a quarterback that will go about 10-15 with damage control and yardage through their legs, a top-tier running back -- just with New Jersey having the better overall defense and Houston having the best individual receiving option.
Kenji Bahar is back in the mix, slinging all over the field and limiting his turnovers. I have a hard time seeing how New Jersey will be able to keep pace behind an offense that has looked good on paper while ultimately struggling to put a certain number of points on the board. You're giving me the Gamblers as an underdog with this many points again? Maybe there's a Kenny Rogers line for this, but Houston gets the win by a final score of 21-20 to 27-24, so I think we lean slightly towards the over here.
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
Win More With RotoBaller
Be sure to also check out all of our other daily fantasy football articles and analysis to help you set those winning lineups, including this new RotoBaller YouTube video:More XFL Coverage
