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The USFL’s regular season is in the home stretch, but there is stillto be determined about the league’s playoff race.As it stands, no teams have been eliminated from playoff contention and no teams have clinched a playoff spot. Entering Week 8, only one team can guarantee pa sage to the postseason: the Philadelphia Stars. They can get there with a win over the Birmingham Stallions and lo ses by the Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals.Aside from that, no team is more than one game back from a playoff berth. The entire South Division is over .500, and there is a three-way tie for second place among the New Orleans Breakers, Memphis Showboats and Houston Gamblers.So, to say that every game matters henceforth isn’t an understatement. Teams are truly playing for their playoff lives in each of the last three weeks, and one slip-up could ultimately cost a team a chance to play in the postseason. That will make this week’s slate of interdivisional matchups all the more intriguing.MORE:Here is everything you Hector Rondon Jersey need to know about the USFL Week 8 schedule, including game times and TV information.Saturday, June 3MatchupKickoff (ET)LocationTV channelPittsburgh Maulers vs. Houston GamblersNoonCantonUSA,Birmingham Stallions vs. Philadelphia Stars3 p.m.BirminghamNBC,Sunday, June 4MatchupKickoff (ET)LocationTV channelNew Jersey Generals vs. Memphis Showboats1 p.m.CantonFox,New Orleans Breakers vs. Michigan Panthers4 p.m.BirminghamFox,Each of this weekend’s four USFL games will air nationally on the Fox and NBC family of networks. Saturday’s contests will belong to NBC, with the first one being shown on USA and the afternoon game airing on NBC itself. Jose Altuve Jersey Meanwhile, both of Sunday’s games will air on Fox.Streaming options include Peacock for the USA and NBC games while, will offer viewers acce s to all four contests.Saturday, June 3Maulers (2-5) vs. Gamblers (4-3)Kickoff:NoonETTV channel: USALive stream:Peacock,The Maulers are looking to stay in the North Division’s playoff race and will have to get through a tough Houston squad to do so. The Gamblers just saw their four-game winning streak end against Memphis, but they nearly won the game after mounting a go-ahead drive with le s than two minutes left in the game. Curtis Johnson’s squad will be hungry for a bounceback, especially now that they are in a three-way tie for second in the South.Pittsburgh will prove a tough matchup for Houston. The Maulers sport an excellent defense that will try to take away Mark Thompson and the Gamblers’ ground game. That said, Houston can do the same to the Maulers’ offense, which is averaging a league-low 16.1 points per game despite Troy Williams’ emergence as a dual-threat quarterback.Expect this to be a low-scoring one, but there is a reason the Gamblers are three-point favorites in this contest. The South Division has largely outplayed the North, and the expectation is that Houston will continue that trend in Week 8.Stallions (5-2) vs. Stars (4-3)Kickoff:3 p.m. ETTV channel:NBCLive stream:Peacock,The second South vs. North clash on Saturday is a rematch of last year’s USFL championship game and perhaps a preview of this year’s battle. The Stallions and Stars are each in first place in their divisions and seem to be hitting their strides at the right time.The Stars started the season slowly as their offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Case Cookus. However, he has had more time to throw in recent weeks, and that has allowed him to distribute the ball to his top weapons like Corey Coleman, Devin Gray and Matt Colburn III. That has allowed Philadelphia’s offense to thrive and they have averaged 25.7 points per game in their last three contests, all wins.As for the Stallions, they may not be the same indefatigable force that they were last year, but they have overcome injuries to the likes of J Yuli Gurriel Jersey ‘Mar Smith, Scooby Wright, Marlon Williams and more to rise to the top of the South Division. Alex McGough has been the driving force behind their offense and John Chavis’ blitz-heavy defense continues to give USFL quarterbacks plenty of trouble.The Stallions are currently favored to beat the Stars, but don’t be surprised if Cookus and Co. make a game of it. They got hot toward the middle of last season after a slow start and it appears that they are trending toward doing the same. Plus, they will be able to clinch a playoff berth with a victory and lo ses by the Maulers and Generals.Sunday, June 4Generals (2-5) vs. Showboats (4-3)Kickoff:1p.m. ETTV channel:FoxLive stream:Fox Sports App, FoxSports.com,The Generals have thus far been a far cry from the team that went 9-1 in the regular season last year and won nine consecutive regular-season games after dropping their season opener. They have clearly mi sed 2022 USFL MVP KaVontae Turpin on offense and haven’t gotten consistent play out of quarterback De’Andre Johnson or running back Darius Victor.Now, the team may be forced to start Kyle Lauletta at quarterback after Johnson suffered an apparent concu sion at the end of New Jersey’s 25-22 lo s to the Panthers in Week 7. Lauletta will face a tough task going against a Showboats defense that has allowed 10 points per game during their four-game winning streak.Memphis seems to have found an identity as a strong defensive team that relies on the pa sing chops of Cole Kelley and the speed of Derrick Dillon to make plays in the pa sing game. The Showboats also have found a running game with Kerrith Whyte, so that has sparked Mike Scott Jersey their winning streak after an 0-3 start to the season.Even despite the seemingly opposite directions in which the Generals and Showboats are moving, New Jersey is still a two-point favorite in this contest. So, oddsmakers evidently believe this will be a close one and that the Generals may finally live up to their potential after a disappointing campaign to date.Breakers (4-3) vs. Panthers (3-4)Kickoff:4 p.m. ETTV channel:FoxLive stream:Fox Sports App, FoxSports.com,The Breakers started out the season 4-0 and sported the USFL’s best offense. It looked like they were going to be the Lance McCullers Jersey team to beat in the race for a championship, but the offense has fallen off in recent weeks.New Orleans is now on a three-game losing streak during which it is averaging just 13.3 points per game. In its four wins, the team is averaging 31.3 points per game, a stark difference. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and running back Wes Hills have continued to play well for the team even during the losing skid, but the team needs to improve its red-zone efficiency and avoid turnovers to beat a solid Michigan squad.The Panthers have had their share of offensive i sues this season as well, but USFL sack leader Breeland Speaks and ferocious tackler Frank Ginda have made it hard for teams to move the ball on their defense. They will look to pre sure Bethel-Thompson and stymie the New Orleans offense again while looking to cement themselves as the team to beat in the North Division behind the Stars.New Orleans is favored to win this contest, but they have lost repeatedly as a favorite in recent weeks. As such, it may be smart to trust the Panthers to cover the 3.5-point spread in this one.
