Thursday, January 18, 2018

Week 14 Playoff Race Rundown


Philip Anderson, QB, Georgia Force
The USFL/WFL's postseason begins a week from today, following Week 15 on Saturday and Week 16 on Tuesday. Eight teams have a legitimate shot at the six American Conference spots, while just one spot needs to be doled out in the National Conference.

JDB says MFN follows the NFL's tiebreaking procedures very closely. If you want to read that list over, you can do so here.

American Conference

The West Division is still anyone's to win, and a three-way tie is not out of the question. Arizona currently sits at 11-3, while Portland and Oakland are 10-4. Arizona finishes with games at Portland (10-4) and vs. the Georgia Force (11-3). Oakland finishes at Chicago (7-7) and vs. Portland (10-4). The Storm has a tough row to hoe, as they have all season, concluding vs. Arizona (11-3) and at Oakland (10-4).

Portland is sitting pretty in the tiebreaker scenarios, with a 4-0 division record and 9-1 conference record. Oakland and Arizona have both lost twice in the division.

San Antonio (10-4) leads Oklahoma (9-5) by a game in the Southwest Division. The Gunslingers will be favored in both of their final games, at Houston and vs. Memphis.

The Los Angeles Express (9-5) needs only a win or a Hawaii loss to clinch the Pacific Division. LAX is likely to get that win against Florida (5-9) or Southern California (3-11).

The Cleveland Thunderbolts (12-2) and Detroit Wheels (12-2) are going down to the wire in the Midwest Division, but both have clinched postseason berths. Those teams meet Saturday, the final day of the season.

National Conference

Five of the six spots are all but finalized, with only the East Division champion to be determined.

Tampa Bay (13-1) and Pittsburgh (11-3) long ago clinched their divisions. Orlando (9-5) will be favored in its final two games and has all but wrapped up a wild card spot, as have New Orleans (11-3) and Georgia (11-3).

In the East, the New York Stars (8-6) hold a one-game edge over New Jersey (7-7) and Boston (7-7). The Generals have a rough road to the finish, with games against Orlando (9-5) and Tampa Bay (13-1). Boston and New York square off Thursday. On Saturday, Boston is at Chicago (7-7) and New York hosts Philadelphia (0-14).

Week 14 Notebook


  • Hawaii RDE Robert Babineau had 18 hurries in a 20-3 win over the San Jose SaberCats. Babineau's teammate, RDE Stanley Thompson, set the USFL/WFL single-game record with 21 hurries in a 1975 loss to New Orleans.
  • Portland LDE Norman Paulk had 5 tackles, 9 hurries, 2 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception during a 27-10 win over the Los Angeles Express.
  • Georgia Force QB Philip Anderson threw 8 TD passes, one shy of the league record, during a 77-28 romp over the Birmingham Stallions. One of the TDs was for 95 yards on a hot read to Timothy Jackson.
  • Dale Brown's 48-yard hot read TD pass to Antonio Christy in overtime gave the Oklahoma Outlaws a 32-26 win over the Arizona Wranglers.
  • Thomas Hummel's 27-yard field goal on the last play of the game lifted the Tampa Bay Bandits to a 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Stars. That field goal was set up by CB Corey Garcia's interception at the 38 with 1:12 to play.
  • The Michigan Panthers picked up their first win of the season, edging the Houston Gamblers, 10-6. Nathan Farmer's 74-yard TD reception in the second quarter accounted for the game's only TD.








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