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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 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 -- and 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.
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Week 2 USFL Power Rankings
- Birmingham Stallions
- Philadelphia Stars
- New Orleans Breakers
- New Jersey Generals
- Michigan Panthers
- Memphis Showboats
- Pittsburgh Maulers
- Houston Gamblers
Week 2 USFL MVP Ladder
- Case Cookus (QB, Philadelphia Stars)
- McLeod Bethel-Thompson (QB, New Orleans Breakers)
- Josh Love (QB, Michigan Panthers)
Week 2
Houston Gamblers at New Orleans Breakers (Saturday, April 22, 12:30 PM)
NOLA (-5.5), O/U 39.5
Best Bet: Breakers (-5.5) & Over 39.5
The Gamblers displayed a shockingly flaccid ground game and porous defense last week in a 29-13 thrashing at the hands of the Michigan Panthers, who appear to be considerably improved. The New Orleans Breakers looked the part of the team that we expected entering 2023. There was a league-leading passing day from QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson and a couple of strong receiving performances from Sage Surratt and Jonathan Adams, outpacing the solid Pittsburgh Maulers defense 22-15.
If the Gamblers were having problems with the Michigan offense and Josh Love, they're going to have serious issues with MBT and the Breakers' offense. Maybe the Gamblers can get off a bit more offense against offensive-minded NOLA, but ultimately the Gamblers fold trying to keep pace, with a final score range of 25-16 to 28-18. Plus, New Orleans vs. Houston is always fun.
Memphis Showboats at Birmingham Stallions (Saturday, April 22, 7 PM)
BHAM (-7.5), O/U 44.5
Best Bet: Stallions (-7.5) & Over 44.5
The rest of the league's power rankings have plenty of shuffling to do. It is quite clear from Week 1's results that the Birmingham Stallions remain the easy favorite to take the 2023 Freedom Cup after dominating the also top tier (until further notice) New Jersey Generals, 27-10.
While the Memphis Showboats demonstrated their offensive aptitude last week behind Brady White's passing and Alex Collins' 14 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, they also demonstrated that their defense doesn't hold up against top USFL offenses. It just so happens they're encountering a much tougher defense than that of the Philadelphia Stars in Week 2.
I think that when you pit Birmingham and New Jersey together, the Stallions tend to be better in each of the key categories, but this Showboats passing game could go for a higher score than the Generals could muster. However, the Stallions have proven that they are the top squad in the USFL. I'm still looking to Memphis to prove that they could potentially compete for a postseason berth. I'm looking at a final score range of 28-17 to 31-19. Another fun rivalry between southern cities.
New Jersey Generals at Pittsburgh Maulers (Sunday, April 23, 1 PM)
NJ (-2.5), O/U 36.5
Best Bet: Generals (-2.5) & Over 36.5
The New Jersey Generals looked like they took a step back in Week 1 from last year while the Birmingham Stallions rode their grand continuity to a leaping bound forward. The Pittsburgh Maulers, on the other hand, looked to be a rather competitive team just on their defense alone, but with an offense that yields a USFL-XFL comparison to the San Antonio Brahmas. That may sound harsh given their admirable showing, but that's how it is until their offense and QB situation show to be on the mend.
The Maulers were able to put up 15 against a New Orleans defense that I don't have much reason to believe in after one game, but the Generals look to be struggling a bit in that department with the coaching turnover they've seen. I think that the Generals are still the better team by 3-7 points. While I could see a score of 22-15 like NOLA-Pittsburgh last week, I also think this could end in the 14-10 to 17-10 range, so I'm not touching the over. We'll know a lot more next week about whether the wheels are falling off in Jersey and/or if the Maulers can be taken seriously moving forward in 2023.
Michigan Panthers at Philadelphia Stars (Sunday, April 23, 7 PM)
PHI (-3), O/U 42.5
Best Bet: Stars (-3) & Over 42.5
Memphis and Birmingham is the game to watch on Saturday, but this is the game to watch on Sunday. Based on their offensive outputs in Week 1, this is going to be a sling-fest. The QBs in this game, Case Cookus and Josh Love, both currently grace my top three MVP ladder. While the Houston Gamblers' defense looked very subpar against the Panthers in Week 1, it'd be crazy to deny that Michigan's offense looked a far deal better than expected coming into the campaign.
Philadelphia looked very good on offense against the Showboats, which was definitely expected. It's hard to tell the defensive strength of either the Stars or Showboats when they mixed for such an offensively potent matchup. I think the Showboats have an overall more dangerous passing scheme than that of the Panthers, but the Panthers look to be the better overall team so far. But not better than Philadelphia -- I think the Stars are better by at least a field goal, with potential final scores of 24-21 to 27-24, but the range of possibilities extends to 27-21 to 30-24.
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