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USFL betting: Championship odds released for inaugural season of new spring league

pete truszkowski
·8 min read
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The USFL offers football fans another chance at a spring football league that could fill the void the NFL leaves in the sporting calendar. The Alliance of American Football attempted to do just that in 2019, but the league went belly-up after just one season. In 2020, the XFL gave it a whirl but the league went down when the pandemic impacted the sporting world. It's rumored the XFL will give it another go in 2023, but for now, we turn our attention to the USFL, which is just a few weeks away from kicking off their inaugural season.

People love betting on football, which is part of the reason we love the NFL and college football so much. The USFL might not have the talent level or history of those two, but it's football in a part of the year where we don't usually get football. Therefore, bettors will surely be interested in giving it a chance. Let's take a look at the league as we get ready for season one.

League structure and odds

The USFL begins a 10-game schedule on April 16. The regular season will last through June. The league is broken down into two divisions:

North Division

South Division

  • New Orleans Breakers (+500)

  • Tampa Bay Bandits (+550)

  • Birmingham Stallions (+700)

  • Houston Gamblers (+800)

Each team will play two games against the three other teams in their division, as well as one game each against the teams in the other division. The top two teams in each division will face each other in the first round of the playoffs. The winner of that game will advance to the championship game. In the inaugural season, all games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama, so the league doesn't have to worry about possible capacity restrictions or mandates in other cities.

The league has implemented some interesting and definitely different rules. Teams will be able to go for a 3-point conversion after a touchdown by taking a snap from the 10-yard line. In lieu of the onside kick, teams will have an opportunity to convert a fourth-and-12 from their own 33-yard line to maintain possession. If a game goes to overtime, the league will implement a shootout similar to the NHL. Teams will alternate running 2-point conversions and whatever team has the most points at the end of three rounds will be declared the winner. If the game is still tied, the teams will enter the sudden-death portion of the shootout.

Coaches and quarterbacks

There are some notable players expected to play in the USFL this season. If you're a big college football fan, you'll likely recall quite a few players trying to continue their professional careers. We saw players like PJ Walker and D'Ernest Johnson parlay their spring football showings into NFL contracts over the past few years. That will be a goal for a lot of these players. Additionally, we'll see players who played in the XFL and AAF over the past few years. There are also a few players who have appeared on NFL rosters in recent years who are looking to make their way back.

However, the two most important parts of a team are the coach and the quarterback. Let's break down what each team has at those two positions entering the inaugural season of the league.

Michigan Panthers

Head coach: The most notable head coach in the USFL is probably Jeff Fisher, who will lead Michigan. Fisher was the head coach of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans from 1994 through 2010. He then coached the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams from 2012 through 2016. Fisher was 173-165-1 as an NFL coach. Fisher and the Panthers enter the season as the betting favorites to win it all.

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 29: American Team head coach Jeff Fisher during the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on January 29, 2022, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Michigan Panthers, led by Jeff Fisher, open as the favorites in the inaugural season of the USFL. (Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Quarterback: Shea Patterson was the first overall pick of the USFL draft. Patterson was a household name for college football fans, spending two seasons at Ole Miss and two seasons with Michigan. Since then, he's gotten looks from the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL and BC and Montreal in the CFL, but failed to latch on. Backing up Patterson is another notable name in former NFL first-round pick Paxton Lynch.

New Orleans Breakers

Head coach: Larry Fedora is most known for being the head football coach at North Carolina from 2012 through 2018. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Southern Miss. After being fired at UNC, Fedora served on the staffs at Texas and Baylor. Fedora was 79-62 as a head coach in college.

Quarterback: Kyle Sloter is expected to be the starting quarterback for the Breakers. He played college football at Southern Miss and North Colorado. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Denver and has had looks with the Broncos, Vikings, Cardinals, Lions, Bears and Raiders. Sloter has never played a regular season game, but he's looked impressive in preseason action. He's thrown for 1222 yards, 11 touchdowns and just one interception in NFL preseason action.

Tampa Bay Bandits

Head coach: Todd Haley is another big name entering the coaching ranks in the USFL. He's most well known for being the offensive coordinator of the Steelers from 2012 through 2017. However, he was head coach of the Chiefs for parts of three seasons from 2009 through 2011. Additionally, he was the offensive coordinator of the Browns during Baker Mayfield's rookie season, a season where Mayfield set the rookie passing touchdown record at the time.

Quarterback: Jordan Ta'Amu was the second overall pick of the USFL draft. Ta'Amu was a standout at Ole Miss. After his college career, he got looks from the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Washington Football Team and Carolina Panthers. Ta'Amu was also the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL. Ta'Amu and the Bandits are +550 to win the title.

Philadelphia Stars

Head coach: Bart Andrus has been coaching since 1981 with various roles ranging from the NFL to high school football. Most recently, he was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Ottawa. He served as an assistant under Jeff Fisher in the NFL and was head coach of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2009.

Quarterback: Bryan Scott is an unknown name, but he has two MVPs under his belt in the Spring League, where Andrus was his coach. Scott played college football at Occidental College and has gotten some looks in the CFL as well as tryout looks from the Chiefs, Falcons and Colts. Despite the uncertainty with Scott, the Stars are +600 to win the championship.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Head coach: Kirby Wilson has served as an assistant coach in the NFL since 1997, working with eight different franchises. He has two Super Bowl rings working mainly as a running backs coach.

Quarterback: Kyle Lauletta is a former fourth-round pick of the New York Giants in 2018. He played college football at Richmond. He never amounted to much in the NFL, going 0-for-5 with an interception in his one appearance with the Giants. He has spent time on the practice squad with the Eagles, Falcons, Jaguars and Browns.

New Jersey Generals

Head coach: Mike Riley went 14-34 over three seasons as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001. He had two separate stints as head coach of Oregon State, going 93-80. He was also the head coach at Nebraska from 2015-17. He was a head coach in the AAF and offensive coordinator in the XFL.

Quarterback: Ben Holmes' college career included stops at Nassau Community College and Tarleton State. He led Tartleton State to the Lone Star Conference Championship and finished with a 23-2 record as a starter.

Birmingham Stallions

Head coach: Skip Holtz served as offensive coordinator under his father at Notre Dame in the mid-90s. He parlayed that to head coaching jobs at UConn, East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.

Quarterback: Alex McGough turned a solid four-year career at Florida International into being a seventh round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2018. He also spent time with the Jaguars and Texans organizations. Birmingham is 7-to-1 to win it all.

Houston Gamblers

Head coach: Kevin Sumlin is most well-known for his stint as head coach at Texas A&M, where he had Johnny Manziel to help lead the Aggies. He was also the head coach at Houston and Arizona. Sumlin was 95-63 as a college football head coach.

Quarterback: Clayton Thorson had a four-year career at Northwestern where he set many program records. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Eagles in 2019. He spent time in the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants organizations.