Philadelphia opened week 9 with a convincing win over Tampa Bay. The Stars continue to keep their playoff and east division hopes alive, but the later it gets into the season, the more likely it is that Philly fans get their hearts broken this year.

Then on Sunday, Michigan kept winning, this time in impressive fashion over the east division leaders Boston. Birmingham, Chicago, and Denver all won close games, too. Denver’s win put them into a three way tie with Oakland and Los Angeles for the division lead.

Speaking of Oakland, after an inconsistent start, the Invaders appear to have found their stride and are the team to watching over the next few weeks in the west division. Thanks to all the fans for their support over the first half of the season and can’t wait to see what happens next.

USFL stat leaders after week 9

Week 9

Saturday

Philadelphia Stars 27, Tampa Bay Bandits 13

Sunday

Birmingham Stallions 16, Washington Federals 13

Chicago Blitz 17, Los Angeles Express 6

Michigan Panthers 24, Boston Breakers 14

New Jersey Generals 9, Denver Gold 10

Monday

Arizona Wranglers 14, Oakland Invaders 17

Week 9 Standings

Note: The extended standings got lost in the same ether as the team stats on the leaders page. Apologies.

Players of the Week

Offense: Jim Smith, WR, Birmingham Stallions. Jim caught 7 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns in Birmingham’s win over the Federals. The win put the Stallions over .500 for the first time this year and thinking about a possible playoff spot.

Defense: Doug Greene, S, Washington Federals. Greene did all he could to keep the Federals in the game with 5 tackles and two interceptions. Unfortunately, they ended up on the wrong end of result this time.

Special Teams: Anthony Carter, WR/KR, Michigan Panthers. In addition to catching 9 passes for 73 yards, Carter returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown and helped the Panthers secure a 9-0 record to start the season.

Saturday brought two games this week. The Denver Gold defeated the Arizona Wranglers behind defensive player of the week David Dumars. Then Michigan just kept winning, running their undefeated streak to 8 by beating the LA Express. LA remained in first in spite of the loss.

Sunday saw three close contests with the most significant being the Breakers 3 point win over Philadelphia to keep sole possession of the east division lead. Chicago closed out the week with a huge win over the New Jersey Generals. Come back next week to see where things stand at the halfway point of the season.

USFL Stat Leaders After Week 8

Week 8

Saturday

Denver Gold 39, Arizona Wranglers 10

Los Angeles Express 14, Michigan Panthers 31

Sunday

Boston Breakers 24, Philadelphia Stars 21

Oakland Invaders 13, Birmingham Stallions 16

Tampa Bay Bandits 19, Washington Federals 23

Monday

New Jersey Generals 7, Chicago Blitz 38

Week 8 Standings

Players of the Week

Offense: Billy Taylor, RB, Washington Federals. Taylor gained over 150 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns to help Washington defeat the Tampa Bay Bandits.

Defense: David Dumars, S, Denver Gold. Dumars nabbed two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown and tallied 6 tackles in Denver’s thrashing of the Wranglers.

Special Teams: Frank Corral, K, Chicago Blitz. Corral went 8-9 on field goals including a long of 47 to propel Chicago over Generals on Monday night and stay in the playoff hunt.

Philadelphia kicker David Trout put on a show on Saturday, scoring 19 points as the Stars defeated the Invaders to open up Week 7. Sunday brought 4 close contests, including a battle for the Central lead, won by the Michigan Panthers. They now have a 2 game advantage over the Blitz.

The Tampa Bay Bandits closed out the week with a win over the West leading Los Angeles Express. LA now only leads Oakland by one for the division. The playoff race is tightening as we head into Week 8 in the USFL. Several important contests on the schedule for next week, including the game of the week between Philadelphia and Boston.

USFL Stat Leaders After Week 7

Week 7 Scores

Saturday

Philadelphia Stars 25, Oakland Invaders 7

Sunday

Boston Breakers 16, Arizona Wranglers 21

Chicago Blitz 9, Michigan Panthers 10

Denver Gold 11, Birmingham Stallions 23

Washington Federals 7, New Jersey Generals 20

Monday

Los Angeles Express 7, Tampa Bay Bandits 24

Week 7 Standings

Players of the Week

Offense: Bobby Lane, Quarterback, Birmingham Stallions. Lane led the Stallions to a huge win over the Denver gold. He went 15-21 passing with two touchdowns and also added one on the ground for Birmingham. The win kept the Stallions’ playoff hopes alive.

Defense: John Corker, LB, Michigan Panthers. Corker led the way in a defensive battle of the top two teams in the Central and, maybe, even the whole USFL. He recorded 10 tackles and 3 sacks in the Panthers win to pull 2 games ahead of their division rival Chicago Blitz.

Special Teams: David Trout, K, Philadelphia Stars. Trout went 6-6 on field goals and added an extra point, to score a single game record of 19 points and proved to be the difference in the Stars win over the Invaders.

Denver won the only Saturday game this week, defeating Tampa Bay by a touchdown. On a busy Sunday with 4 games, Birmingham started the day by shocking the previously unbeaten Blitz. Michigan, Boston, and Los Angeles all stayed in first place in their respective divisions with wins.

Washington and Arizona ended the week’s slate with an exciting game that was close until the closing minutes. The league closes out the first third of their season in a convincing fashion and have showed fans some great football over these six weeks. Keep joining us every week as we look to end this first season strong.

USFL Stats Leaders After Week 6

Week 6 Scores

Saturday

Tampa Bay Bandits 10, Denver Gold 17

Sunday

Birmingham Stallions 24, Chicago Blitz 10

Michigan Panthers 17, New Jersey Generals 7

Oakland Invaders 9, Boston Breakers 29

Philadelphia Stars 19, Los Angeles Express 30

Monday

Arizona Wranglers 20, Washington Federals 24

Week 6 Standings

Players of the Week

Offense: Richard Crump, RB, Boston Breakers. Crump showed that he can also be a dual threat. He combined for 88 yards rushing and receiving and both ran a touchdown in and caught one.

Offense: Craig James, RB, Washington Federals. James led the Federals offense with 86 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. His contribution is a key reason for the Federals exciting win on Monday night.

Defense: Emmanuel Thompson, DB, Birmingham Stallions. Thompson was a big reason for the Stallions upset win over the Blitz. He made 6 tackles and 2 interceptions in the game.

Special Teams: Woodrow Wilson, KR, Boston Breakers. Early in the year, we predicted that Wilson would break one sooner or later. He proved us right in this game, returning 4 kicks for 159 yards and a 98 yard touchdown.

Standings

Eastern Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Boston	4	1	0	145	101
Philadelphia	3	2	0	137	91
New Jersey	2	3	0	124	125
Washington	0	5	0	108	185
Central Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Michigan	5	0	0	138	83
Chicago	5	0	0	161	59
Tampa Bay	2	3	0	92	114
Birmingham	1	4	0	59	104
Western Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Oakland	3	2	0	108	95
Los Angeles	3	2	0	107	103
Denver	1	4	0	85	119
Arizona	1	4	0	51	136

Players of the Week

Offense: Kelvin Bryant, RB, Philadelphia. Bryant rushed for 120 yards and 4 touchdowns in Philadelphia’s record setting 59 point performance against Washington this week.

Offense: Herschel Walker, RB, New Jersey. Walker gained almost 200 yards of total offense this week to help the Generals defeat the Wranglers. Proving himself a two way player, he added a touchdown each rushing and receiving.

Defense: Ed Smith, OLB, Chicago. Smith terrorized the Bandits offense, with 13 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception.

Special Teams: Eric Robinson, KR, Washington. Robinson returned two kicks for 98 yards and a touchdown as one of the bright spots in the Federals loss to the Stars.

Standings

East Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Boston	3	1	0	118	81
Philadelphia	2	2	0	78	54
New Jersey	1	3	0	90	118
Washington	0	4	0	71	124
Central Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Chicago	4	0	0	130	61
Michigan	4	0	0	115	62
Tampa Bay	2	2	0	84	83
Birmingham	1	3	0	39	77
West Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Los Angeles	3	1	0	105	83
Oakland	2	2	0	88	93
Denver	1	3	0	64	86
Arizona	1	3	0	44	102

Players of the Week

Offense: Harry Sydney, RB, Denver Gold. Sydney amassed over 200 yards of total offense, including 181 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns to help lead the Denver Gold to their first win of the season.

Defense: John Corker, OLB, Michigan Panthers. Corker recorded 13 tackles and 3 sacks in a game that saw Michigan keep their spotless record against the Washington Federals, 27-23.

Special Teams: Thomas Lott, KE, New Jersey Generals. Lott was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable game for the Generals. He returned 9 kicks for a total of 150 yards.

Standings after Week 2

East Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
New Jersey	1	1	0	50	51
Philadelphia	1	1	0	44	37
Boston	1	1	0	36	43
Washington	0	2	0	30	55
Central Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Chicago	2	0	0	61	13
Michigan	2	0	0	53	26
Tampa Bay	1	1	0	50	35
Birmingham	0	2	0	19	55
West Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Los Angeles	2	0	0	61	36
Oakland	2	0	0	58	27
Denver	0	2	0	19	33
Arizona	0	2	0	14	72

Players of the Week

Offense: Greg Landry, QB, Chicago Blitz. Landry led the charge as the Blitz blew out the Arizona Wranglers 38-0 to establish themselves as early season favorites for the title. Landry went 20-32 for 256 yards and the 4 touchdowns.

Defense: Ray Bentley, ILB, Michigan Panthers. The Panthers defeated Tampa Bay in a close one and Bentley did his part. He recorded 12 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception in the win.

Special Teams: Tim Mazetti, K, Boston Breakers. Mazetti got a week 2 high with 11 points on 3-4 field goals with a long of 43 and 2-2 on extra points. His 11 points also accounted for nearly 50% of Boston’s 23 points in their 23-13 win over the Denver Gold.

Standings after Week 1

East Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Philadelphia	1	0	0	20	6
New Jersey	0	1	0	19	27
Washington	0	1	0	13	23
Boston	0	1	1	13	30
Central Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Tampa Bay	1	0	0	30	13
Michigan	1	0	0	31	6
Chicago	1	0	0	23	13
Birmingham	0	1	0	6	31
West Division	W	L	T	PF	PA
Oakland	1	0	0	34	14
Los Angeles	1	0	0	27	19
Denver	0	1	0	6	20
Arizona	0	1	0	14	34

Players of the Week

Offense: Arthur Whittington, RB, Oakland Invaders. Whittington put the Invaders on his back, carrying them to a 34-14 victory over their division rivals Arizona Wranglers. He scored three times on the ground to set the tone for the blowout.

Offense: Herschel Walker, RB, New Jersey Generals. Walker wasted no time in proving himself as one of the most exciting and dynamic players in the league. He gained over 200 yards total offense and caught two scores.

Defense: Marcus Marek, ILB, Boston Breakers. While the Breakers lost their opening game in a big way, they can’t blame Marek. He was a one man wrecking crew, getting 18 tackles and intercepting a pass.

Special Teams: Woodrow Wilson, KR, Boston Breakers. The Breakers shined on special teams this week, too. Wilson combined for over 200 yards on punt and kick returns. Don’t be surprised if he breaks one sooner rather than later.

Early Lines for Week 2