USFL South Division Semifinal Preview
The United States Football League semifinals get underway this weekend with four teams vying for a spot in the inaugural USFL championships.
The New Jersey Generals and the Philadelphia Stars kick off proceedings in Saturday’s early game. Then, the New Orleans Breakers and the Birmingham Stallions bring down the curtain in their prime-time showdown..
The focus of this column is on the prime-time showdown between the Breakers and Stallions. Will the Stallions deliver as the heavy favorites or will the Breakers serve up the upset?
Read on for our USFL semifinal predictions and picks as we pick apart this fascinating matchup and examine the latest football odds currently trending with BetUS Sportsbook.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports and USFL odds for Breakers vs Stallions. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.
The regular season is complete and only four teams are moving on 💪
RT if your team is heading to the inaugural playoffs in Canton 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HiRJUtL71R
— USFL (@USFL) June 20, 2022
Breakers vs Stallions
- Location: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, OH
- Date: Saturday
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Breakers vs Stallions Live Stream: NBCSports.com
The Birmingham Stallions finished the season with a stellar 9-1 record and the South Division crown. They very nearly went undefeated only for the Houston Gamblers to deliver one of the biggest upsets in USFL betting this season, beating the Stallions 17-15 in Week 9.
The Stallions bounced back in the final week with a 21-18 win over the Tampa Bay Bandits, ensuring they go into the playoffs with momentum and confidence restored.
The Stallions are the team to beat in the USFL futures market. They’re tipped as the +150 favorites to lift the title.
In keeping with this favoritism, the Stallions are installed as the favorites at the sportsbook exchange for their semifinal clash with the New Orleans Breakers, who were the second-best team in the South Division and finished with a 6-4 record.
The Breakers’ final account of the season resulted in a rather lopsided 20-3 loss to the Gamblers. It wasn’t a great performance by New Orleans, to say the least. But, perhaps, they were caught looking ahead to this game.
According to the stats, the Stallions have one of the stoutest defenses with 268.8 yards per game allowed. The Breakers aren’t too shabby, though. They’re third overall with 276.5 yards per game allowed.
Very little separates these two outfits on the offensive side of the ball. The Breakers averaged 188.1 yards in passing offense while the Stallions nipped at their heels with 187.8 passing yards per game.
The difference is found in rushing with the Stallions averaging 135.7 yards per game – the second-best in the league after the Generals. The Breakers, meanwhile, rushed for an average of 115.2 yards per game (fourth overall).
Breakers vs Stallions Predictions
After Birmingham’s 9-1 season, one would expect them to steamroll the Breakers in this semifinal. But this will be the first game that the Stallions play on neutral ground. With Birmingham hosting the entire USFL season, the Stallions had the clear home-field advantage throughout.
Losing such an advantage will level the playing field. Add to that the fact that these two sides stack up rather well on paper as per the stats, don’t be surprised if this game is closer than the the USFL odds would have it.
