The USFL’s opening weekend started off strong with over 3 million viewers tuning into the New Jersey Generals-Birmingham Stallions game on Saturday night. However, Sunday’s tripleheader was cut short when bad weather forced the league to reschedule the Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh game for Monday night.
From a betting perspective, favorites went 2-1 and two of the three games finished under the total. As is typically the case with new spring football leagues, defenses were ahead of the offenses. The first three games averaged 40.3 points but that included two defensive touchdowns.
The most impressive team on both sides of the ball was the New Orleans Breakers. The Breakers defeated the Philadelphia Stars 23-17 as 3-point favorites. New Orleans racked up 321 total yards on offense, including 171 yards rushing. On defense, the Breakers recorded six sacks and held Philadelphia to 4.5 yards per play. New Orleans faces the Tampa Bay Bandits in Week 2.
The best game in Week 2 looks to be Birmingham versus the Houston Gamblers. The Stallions scored a late touchdown to beat New Jersey and reward Birmingham bettors with a cover. Backup quarterback Ja’Mar Smith replaced injured Alex McGough for the Stallions. He finished with 156 yards passing and scored two touchdowns.
Whoever starts for Birmingham at quarterback in Week 2 will face a Houston defense that allowed just 12 points to Michigan but gave up 383 total yards and got gashed on the ground for 190 yards. The Stallions opened as a 3.5-point favorite with a total of 42.
Looking at the league’s overall impact on the betting landscape, the USFL has an uphill climb. The Week 1 lines weren’t even available for customers in New York, Indiana, and West Virginia, so that’s a big group of bettors who can’t wager on the games legally.
Another problem is the league debuted the same time as the NBA playoffs. If you were on social media this weekend, it was obvious most of the attention from bettors focused on the NBA games. There was very little discussion on USFL betting outside of the Stallions late touchdown to cover the 3-point spread.
The opening weekend of games were well played for a spring football league but at the end of the day, it’s just a watered-down version of the NFL. There was nothing innovative on the field. My biggest complaint with spring football leagues is they hire over-the-hill coaches with no imagination.
The Mike Riley-led Generals ran the football 24 straight times in the second half. Option offenses like Air Force and Army don’t run the ball 24 straight times. The Jeff Fisher-led Michigan Panthers ran the ball 46 times.
It’s hard to build a big audience when old coaches are employing outdated offenses with inferior players. It’s just not exciting football that would draw people into a new league, and if the product doesn’t encourage people to keep watching, they won’t bet.
Will the USFL survive? That remains to be seen. The league does have the backing of two major networks. Even if the USFL does make it multiple seasons, it’s doubtful the league will ever catch on with bettors. There’s simply too much competition in the spring with March Madness, NBA playoffs, and MLB for a new football league to ever make a serious dent in the betting world. Save your money for the fall.