USFL Week 7 Odds, Best Bets, & Predictions For Sunday
The 2022 USFL season is in the back half of its 10-week campaign. Week 7 is upon us, and it’s time to start gearing up for the playoffs. The layout of the league is unique though, and even teams with just one win can still make a run.
Week 6 had several interesting results. Of course the Birmingham Stallions remained undefeated with their 33-17 beatdown of the Michigan Panthers. They didn’t even play especially well.
So much continues to change on a weekly basis that we have to stay flexible with our picks. New Orleans and New Jersey continued to win as well but at a price. The Generals may have lost star quarterback De’Andre Johnson for a considerable time with a knee injury.
What happens down the stretch may be shocking compared to what we had though after the first month of action.
Our knowledge of these rosters, coaching staffs, and the league itself has allowed us to prosper thus far. Join us again for our continued USFL coverage. See our Week 7 preview and best bets for our favorite two games of the week.
USFL Week 7 Matchup Analysis
Let’s take a look at our Week 7 best bets and predictions for two contests on Sunday, May 22. Odds are via BetMGM.
Birmingham Stallions vs. Pittsburgh Maulers
What happens when the best team in the USFL and the only undefeated franchise faces off against arguably the least competitive team? We see a huge spread. This is the largest spread of the season yet.
Intuition always drives me to fade lines this large. Birmingham has by far the best point differential in the league and the Maulers have the worst. In fact, no team has come within 20 points of the Stallions’ total of 162. The Maulers are stuck at the bottom with 76, which is 28 less than Michigan.
The scary part of this matchup for the Maulers is their second half collapses. They drowned in a 17-3 run after the third quarter alone. New Orleans punished them with 173 rushing yards as well.
Birmingham will do much of the same. This will be a downhill assault on the middle of Pittsburgh’s defense. Their best bet to overcome the talent disparity is to put full faith in quarterback Vad Lee.
Lee was bad last week, completing half his passes for a mere 198 yards. His two interceptions were out of inaccuracy and late decision-making. With such little experience in his background, it’s not surprising he’d have bad moments.
A lot would need to happen for the Maulers to cover. We’re looking at a safe cover plus the over, as Birmingham falls into 30 or more points weekly.
USFL pick: Stallions -12.5 (-110)
USFL pick: Over 41 (-110)
Philadelphia Stars vs. Houston Gamblers
How unlikely was it that the Stars not only covered against the Tampa Bay Bandits last week but won outright? Just look at the game script. The Stars were outgained 411 yards to 263, and 197 of those came on the ground. The game flipped thanks to three Bandits turnovers and a 14-point run by the Stars in the third quarter.
It’s unlikely Philadelphia will get the same luck again but they’re facing a team that has lost in back-to-back weeks with five seconds or less on the clock. Houston has been astonishingly bad in clutch moments, and their 1-5 record is shocking. They’re not a bad team even if they have issues on offense in particular.
Last week’s one-point heart-breaking loss to New Jersey featured a solid performance from quarterback Clayton Thorson and receiver Teo Redding. Thorson finally had a standout game with 15-of-19 completions and three touchdowns. But the rest of the unit barely showed up.
This is a difficult game to project because neither team has a reliable identity. Because of that, we’ll take the points and put some faith that Houston may lose but it’ll at least be a one-score, last-second finish.
USFL pick: Gamblers +4 (-110)