Wildcard Weekend lived up to it's name as 3 of the 4 games were won by the underdogs. Southern California were the only favored team to earn a victory, and now they get to play the 2nd ever playoff game in franchise history. Michigan stunned 2 time defending champion Houston, guaranteeing us of a new champion. Baltimore was the lone road team to win, going to Florida and torching the Blazers. New Jersey defeated New Orleans despite losing 5 of 6 coming into this game.
Panthers 34 Gamblers 29
Michigan got the ball first and drove 75 yards in 11 plays, culminating in a Darrick Dutra 7 yard TD run. Houston responded with a 75 yard drive of their own, needing just 4 plays to get a 61 yard TD pass from Tony Dean to Bruce Edwards. Michigan's second drive also resulted in a Darrick Dutra TD, this time it was a receiving TD. That drive was a 75 yard 7 play drive, so 3 drives into the game, we have 3 75 yard TD drives. Houston made it 4 for 4 on their next possession, needing only 2 plays to cover the field, ending with this 73 yard TD pass from Tony Dean to Mark Lambert.
The first quarter ended 14-14, and Michigan scored 10 points in the 2nd quarter, including this 19 yard TD pass from Jerry Ruiz to James Hills with 1:09 left before halftime. Reigning MVP Tony Dean threw 2 INT's in the second quarter and Houston's problems continued in the second half.
The Gamblers missed a FG and saw Dean's 3rd INT their first 2 drives of the 3rd quarter. Houston's defense stiffened in the 3rd quarter and the 2nd Dean to Edwards TD pass cut the Panther's lead to 24-21.
That was our score entering the 4th quarter and Michigan extended their lead with Darrick Dutra's 3rd TD of the day, making the score 31-21. Houston fought back like the champions they are, getting a safety and another Mark Lambert TD to cut the lead to 31-29. Houston went for 2 points after Lambert's TD, but the pass failed and Michigan's lead was still intact. Houston's last 2 drives ended in Dean's 4th INT of the game, and the clock hitting 0:00.
Divisional Round: Michigan @ Memphis (-10)
Sun 23 Hawaiians 10
Southern California were playing their first ever playoff game and they got a familiar division foe in Honolulu. The Sun got the ball first and drove 66 yards in 7 plays, ending with an Alan Grossi 29 yd FG. Honolulu had a three and out their first drive and the Sun then drove 75 yards for a TD, Christopher Kimbrough to James Wise for 38 yards.
Honolulu fought back with Bruno Wilson finding Delmar Moeller for a 3 yard TD pass to cut the Sun lead to 10-7. The two teams then traded possessions, mostly punts or turnovers, and even traded FG's to give us a 13-10 game in the 3rd quarter.
Following the Hawaiians FG late in the 3rd qtr, David Grier took the kickoff 98 yards to the house, effectively sealing the victory. The Sun only completed 8 passes all day, but ran it 38 times and forced 2 turnovers.
Divisional Round: Southern California @ Arizona (-8)
Stars 45 Blazers 17
The first 5 drives of this game were INT, INT, missed FG, punt, INT. Baltimore got the ball first, and following Jon Snow's 2nd INT, Florida scored the first points of the game. Michael London found Lucas Irwin for the 23 yard TD, but it was all downhill from there as Baltimore scored their next 4 drives.
Jon Snow found Knob Creek for the tying TD, a 28 yard pass. Timothy Harmon caught a short TD pass, Fred Boyce kicked a FG, and Jon Snow hit Brian Darden for a 68 yard TD. That made the score 24-7 at the half.
Baltimore scored 14 points in the 3rd quarter on 2 more Jon Snow TD passes to put the game away. Baltimore had 557 yards of offense while holding Florida to only 196. Jon Snow tossed 6 TD passes on the day, tied for 2nd best all time in the playoffs. Nobody will likely ever tough the 11 that David Schmitt threw against New Jersey last season.
Divisional Round: Baltimore @ Washington (-3)
Generals 19 VooDoo 9
Speaking of New Jersey, this was their first playoff game since being torched by Birmingham last year, and they came in losers of 5 of 6 games. New Orleans has had an up and down history in the USFL, as Smirt is the 4th different owner to take the VooDoo to the playoffs.
New Orleans held New Jersey to a three and out on their first possession, then drove 73 yards in 7 plays for the game's first points. James Sheckler ran it in from 1 yard out but the 2 point conversion was no good, 6-0 VooDoo. The two teams then traded punts and FG's through 3 quarters.
Entering the 4th, New Orleans had a 9-6 lead. Early in the 4th, New Jersey tied the score at 9 with Lucio Grant's 3rd FG of the day, before the huge momentum swing. Bob Marley intercepted a James Perry pass at the VooDoo 29 yard line. The very next play Ric Flair hit Aaron Paul for a TD to give New Jersey their first lead of the day. From there, New Orleans had a three and out and two turnover on downs.
Divisional Round: New Jersey @ Birmingham (-10)
