No team has officially clinched a playoff spot yet, but we have a pretty good idea which 12 teams are likely to make it, with a couple of exceptions. Honolulu will clinch the Pacific with a win over San Jose tonight, but even with a loss, it's a longshot for San Jose to take the division. Portland and Denver should both make it, one as West champs, one as a wildcard. Ditto for the Southwest where Memphis and Houston look like locks to qualify. The only question in the American Conference really is who wins the Midwest. Michigan and Cleveland are tied at 6-5 but Michigan got the sweep/tiebreaker edge. There is a chance that Denver and/or Houston stumble badly down the stretch, but they are 3 games clear of everyone else with 5 to play.
In the National Conference, the 2 current wildcard teams (Washington and New Jersey) have a 2 game edge on the next in line. The BYES would go to both Stars teams right now, but Washington is just 2 games back of Baltimore while New Jersey is 1 game behind New York. Tampa Bay has a 3 game lead in the Southeast over Jacksonville. It's likely the South division only gets one spot and New Orleans currently has a 1 game lead over Shreveport. This conference isn't as cut and dry as the American, but the teams on the outside looking in still have their work cut out for them.
Storm 20 Gunslingers 3
Portland "only" had 8 sacks today, 6 by Mark McKeon to push the all time season record to 59 and counting. The Storm once again held an opponent under 100 yards as San Antonio finished with 76. WR Fred Wink caught 7 for 117 and a TD to lead the Portland offense.
Showboats 37 Steamer 10
Memphis QB David Allen didn't play well, again, but the Showboats turned up the ground game to defeat Shreveport. Despite Allen's bad game (12/25, 2 INT, 218 yards and a TD), WR Willie Howland had a big game, catching 4 for 140 and a TD. Memphis had a pair of 100 yard rushers, Mark Lambert had 131 yards while Mark Glenn had 116 and 2 TDs.
Stars 11 Panthers 5
A battle of division leaders resulted in a touchdownless game as the defenses came to play. Like the NFL, the USFL is a copycat league, and Baltimore WLB Jefferey Venable tried his best Mark McKeon impression. Venable "only" had 5 of Baltimore's 7 sacks, and one of the other sacks resulted in a safety when Barristan Selmy sacked Adam Scales in the end zone. Michigan scored a safety of their own, tackling Mark Numbers in the end zone on a swing pass, but the Panthers lost the FG contest 3-2.
Hawaiians 39 Breakers 3
Honolulu RB Scott Stillings ran 29 times for 220 yards and 2 TD as the Hawaiians defeated Boston. Defensively they held the Breakers to 66 total yards as QB Edward Swafford had a horrendous day (10/32, 66 yards, INT).
Gold 38 Bandits 17
This battle of probable playoff teams was the opposite of Baltimore/Michigan as the offenses shined. Tampa Bay QB Melvin Driggers seems over his interception problems as he has thrown just 7 so far in 1989. Driggers was 34/51 for 264 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT and as a team, the Bandits had 327 yards. Denver has been a top 2 offense all season, and today they racked up 525 yards. QB Andrew Brewer had 395 passing yards and 4 TD with Jake Peralta catching 8 for 172 and a TD, but no rushing yards. Jose Buford only caught 4, but they went for 114 and a TD. Add in his 61 rushing yards and he outgained Peralta by 4.
Gamblers 42 Outlaws 7
Oklahoma ran for 119 yards, but they struggled through the air (64 yards) and on defense (555 yards) against the defending champs. Tony Dean tossed 4 TDs, 3 to Gabriel Ahrens covering 139 yards. Jett Black chipped in with 2 TDs, one rushing, one receiving as part of his 192 yard day (89 rushing, 103 receiving). Lloyd Ellis also had over 100 combined yards, 41 rushing with a TD and 76 receiving.
SaberCats 38 (NY) Stars 28
New York QB Willie Bust threw 4 TD passes overall, but the last one actually hurt, because it was a Pick Six by Champ Bailey. The first half was wild, as the teams began by trading TDs, before the Stars pulled away for a 28-17 halftime lead. New York barely had the ball in the second half however, as their 5 drives ended with a fumble, INT, punt, punt, and turnover on downs. San Jose scored 21 third quarter points, for a 38-28 lead after 3, and that was it for the scoring.
For New York, Tomas Abbott and Kenny Heasley had 5 catches each and a TD, with 110 yards for Abbott and 100 for Heasley. RB Cam Dalton had a rushing TD with a combined 102 yards. San Jose was led by RB Graham Peterson who ran for 2 TDs and 81 yards, adding 53 receiving, and Champ Bailey's 89 yard INT return was a serious momentum turner.
Wranglers 25 Thunderbolts 22
Arizona RB Desmond Kirkland ran for 121 yards, including a 51 yard TD as the Wranglers rode 4 Robert Allison FGs to victory. Cleveland missed an opportunity to take the Midwest division lead as 2 turnovers killed drives. The box score only shows 1 turnover, an INT, and it shows Cleveland's fumble, but not that it was lost. That fumble was recovered by a Wrangler defender, who then got hit late by the fumbling Thunderbolt, drawing a 15 yard flag. It may not have shown in the box score, but Arizona was awarded the ball.
VooDoo 28 Stallions 10
New Orleans QB Bruno Wilson had 0 INT for the first time all season as the VooDoo broke open a tight game with 2 fourth quarter TDs for the victory. The VooDoo had a balanced attack led by Magic Johnson's 93 combined yards (12 rushing, 81 receiving) and Billy Brink's 80 combined (77 rushing, 3 receiving). The VooDoo defense kept Birmingham out of the red zone, allowing 251 yards.
Federals 32 Maulers 10
Washington did not play their best offensive game, but the Federals defense forced 5 turnovers, 4 of them interceptions as they defeated Pittsburgh. The Maulers had the offensive star of the game, WR Robert Wheeler, but his 8 catches for 110 yards was not enough to overcome Will Allison's mistakes. Federals QB Scott Bieber wasn't much better. He only threw 2 INTs, but one was returned for a TD by Fred Leeper and he only threw for 166 yards. Washington benefitted from several short fields as their longest drive was just 46 yards, enabling K John Bazile to boot 6 FGs. In contrast, Pittsburgh had three drives longer than that, but only scored 3 points from them.
Generals 34 Renegades 13
Orlando hung with New Jersey almost yard for yard, but the Generals won the turnover battle 3-0 and the Renegades also missed a FG to enable the Generals to win handily. Jose Rush had a TD and a combined 112 yards for Orlando while the Generals were led by "Dr." Sam Beckett's 2 rushing TDs and 103 combined yards.New Jersey RB Greg Ayala contributed a TD and 86 combined yards. The Generals have 14 rushing TDs on the year, 4th best, but half of those have come in the last 2 games.
Bell 15 Bulls 14
Jacksonville got 2 Joseph Serio TD passes to Edward Maloney in the first half as the Bulls built a 14-6 halftime lead. Jacksonville kept Philadelphia out of the end zone all game, but the Bell defense stiffened in the second half, allowing just 35 yards and no points. Philadelphia K Robert Albertson made all 5 FG tries to account for all of the Bell points. Philadelphia RB Richard Brown had 91 rushing yards and 101 receiving to continually put the Bell in range for Albertson.
Invaders 24 Wheels 17
Detroit QB Gregory Skidmore threw 2 first half interceptions to help Oakland score touchdowns and build a 24-3 lead. After halftime, Detroit's defense stiffened, shutting out the Invaders while the Wheels offense eliminated the turnovers and scored a couple TDs of their own. It was too little, too late though, as Oakland's first half surge stood up for the Invaders win. Oakland RB Oliver Thomas is getting healthier by the week, though he still has multiple injuries to deal with (ankle 70%, leg 75%, foot 69%). His stats are also looking healthier with 89 combined yards and a TD.
Blitz 26 Hornets 14
Charlotte has been alternating wins and losses the last 6 weeks and this was a loss week. The Hornets barely had the ball with just 16:25 of possession and they committed 3 turnovers. Chicago ran for 143 yards but it took them 49 carries to get that (2.92 ypc). Leon Rupe kicked 4 FGs for the Blitz and RB Ronald Miller had a combined 126 yards. The little time Charlotte had the ball was the Henry and Henry show. Henry Young had 39 rushing yards to go with 51 receiving and a TD while Harry Henry caught 3 for 102 and a TD.
Sun 33 Express 26
There is a lot to sort out looking at this box score. 35 combined drives, 5 turnovers, 12 scoring plays, including a kickoff return for a TD. Southern California got the scoring underway with a TD on their opening drive. Los Angeles tried to tie it with a TD of their own, but the XP was no good, leaving the score 7-6 Sun. That's when Billy Brown took the kickoff 105 yards to the house for a 14-6 Sun lead. Southern California would maintain that lead all game as Los Angeles could get no closer than 5 points. Gene Ingram led Southern California with 115 rushing yards and a TD while the Express were led by Erin Zimmer's 134 combined yards (118 receiving).
Force 24 Blazers 13
Florida had 419 offensive yards, including 351 passing from Sidney Maggard, but his 1:3 TD:INT ratio helped Georgia win. One of those interceptions was returned for a TD by Daren Rasberry and Georgia had 341 offensive yards of their own. Florida was led by ex Gold, ex General, and ex Force WR Corey True's 5-118-1 receiving line plus16 rushing yards. True spent his first 8 1/2 seasons with the Denver Gold before being traded to the Georgia Force. It's easy to forget True's time in Georgia, as the Force made no effort to extend his contract after that one half season, letting him sign with New Jersey for two seasons before signing with Florida this past offseason. It's safe to say True didn't forget his Georgia time, as he lit them up in his best game of the season. Georgia was led by WR Ruben Brannon's 6 catches for 127 yards.
