Welcome to another edition of the USFL, a football league which will carry us from the spring to the summer. Last year, Skip Holtz and the Birmingham Stallions defeated the Philadelphia Stars in the championship, but much has changed over the last nine months.
Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Kirby Wilson and Jeff Fisher are out as head coaches, the Tampa Bay Bandits are now the Memphis Showboats and the Pittsburgh Maulers have ditched their purple color scheme to fall in line with the rest of the professional Pittsburgh teams, and will now rock the black and gold. Additionally, plenty of former USFL stars will not be back this year, as they are either in the NFL or XFL.
Betting on games in a league that is unfamiliar to everyone is ridiculous to some and fun to others. Rumor has it sportsbooks always have the edge, but how could they have the edge in this kind of situation? Maybe — just maybe — they don’t.
I went 4-0 ATS in Week 1 of the XFL this year. Let’s see how I fare in the USFL. For our CBS Sports’ USFL season preview, click here, and you can view the full 2023 schedule here. On to the picks.
All odds are via Caesars Sportsbook
Philadelphia Stars (-2.5) at Memphis Showboats
Time, date: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Game location: Memphis
The Stars upset the New Jersey Generals to get into the championship game last year, as Philly caught fire late in the season. Quarterback Case Cookus broke his leg in that final game, but he is back to shine for the Stars.
The Showboats, on the other hand, went 4-6 last year when they were the Tampa Bay Bandits, despite many expecting them to be one of the best teams in the league. Memphis lost its quarterback in Jordan Ta’amu, who’s now in the XFL. It instead will start the hometown boy Brady White.
With Philly bringing back some important pieces, I’m going to lay the points.
The pick: Stars -2.5
Projected score: Stars 20-16
New Jersey Generals at Birmingham Stallions (-5)
Time, date: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (Fox)
Game location: Birmingham
The Generals were tied for the best regular-season record in the league last year at 9-1, but were upset in the playoffs. They had the Coach of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and MVP. The OPOY, running back Darius Victor, is back, while the MVP, KaVontae Turpin, is not. Running back Trey Williams is returning to the fold, too, and he helped the Generals average a league-high 160.6 yards on…
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