From a competition standpoint, the United States Football League is entering its 15th week of competition. However, the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers are already making a habit of clashing in big games.
In the new USFL’s debut last year, the two teams were undefeated heading into their Week Three showdown at Protective Stadium.
The Stallions won that one, 22-13, leaving them as the lone unbeaten team left in the USFL.
The eventual champions completed a regular season sweep of the Breakers with a 10-9 victory in Week Eight, but the South Division rivals met once more in the first round of the playoffs in Canton, Ohio.
Skip Holtz’s charges made it three-for-three thanks to a 31-17 victory, one that gave them the chance to play – and beat – the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL title game.
This Saturday’s skirmish at Protective Stadium also features a pair of 2-0 teams, and the fourth overall meeting marks a renewal of what is, so far, the league’s most frequent rivalry.
Holtz thought last year’s Breakers team was good, but suggests this one is different – and maybe even better.
“Offensively, all you have to do is look at (head coach) John DeFilippo, where he’s been and what he’s done, with all the quarterbacks he’s been around and all the places he’s been in the NFL,” Holtz said. “They’re a two or three base tight end set, so they give you a lot of different sets with those guys. They just give you a lot of different looks and they’re very flexible, meaning they’re very hard to get a bead on. They run a lot of different plays out of a lot of different formations. It makes it hard to cover everybody with what they do. They do a great job.
“They’ve got really good players, their quarterback is playing really good for them right now, and I think they’ve got a really good football team. There’s a reason we’re both 2-0.”
The QB matchup features two league leaders. Stallions signal caller Alex McGough tops the USFL in touchdown passes with five (he’s also rushed for one) as well as points produced (36), while Breakers QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson is the air yardage leader with 554.
The Stallions pace the eight-team circuit with 386.5 yards per game as well as 257 passing yards each time out.
New Orleans holds down the top spot in individual receiving yards (Sage Surratt, 206) and kicking points (Matt Coghlin, 24).
“I’ve only played two plays against them due to my injuries, but they do a lot of the same schemes as far as defense,” McGough said. “They have some new players on the D-line, but they’re great players. They have a lot of speed. athleticism, and the linebackers are really, really good sideline to sideline guys.
“So, we’re just trying to go out there and execute our plays against their coverage and run really good routes. I have to make sure I’m very accurate with the football and just execute.”
McGough is coming off a magnificent showing in last Saturday’s 42-2 beatdown of Memphis, hitting 21 of 28 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. He played wire-to-wire due to the loss of J’Mar Smith, one of several Stallions taken off the board due to injuries.
“I couldn’t do it alone,” McGough said. “But I think as far as me playing, I thought I played very well. I thought my reads were great. But 10 other guys were doing their jobs and that made it all happen.
“We all fight for each other. Like, I know I’m not playing for myself.”
Wideout Austin Watkins, who caught three balls for 42 yards against the Showboats, agrees.
“We just play together as a team,” he said. “There’s unselfishness with all these guys. We know we need to be just having fun.”
CJ Marable rushed for 68 yards on 16 carries for Birmingham last week but it was ZaQuandre White who made the biggest splash in his first appearance as a Stallion, racking up 72 yards on eight totes and scoring twice. The 6-1, 215-pound University of South Carolina product was on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad in 2022.
“He’s an incredibly talented individual,” Holtz said. “’Sizzle’ is a word that comes to mind. You know when you watch him run it’s like, ‘Wow, he’s different.’ You don’t have to be a football coach to figure out he’s pretty good. He’s just got to get more comfortable in the offense and be more consistent with what he does.
“So, I’m excited to watch his growth after watching him rush for 1,000 yards in the SEC. You saw what we saw the other night, and last week was the first time he was activated.”
While Birmingham has shown it can score points, its defense has proven it can prevent them. Under defensive coordinator John Chavis, the unit allowed just 10 points in a 27-10 season opening win over New Jersey and kept the Memphis offense off the scoreboard in a 42-2 blowout – losing the shutout on a safety.
Holtz knows Saturday’s opponent also has a formidable resistance.
“(New Orleans) has always had one of the best defenses in this league,” Holtz said. “When you look at the job (defensive coordinator) Jon Tenuta does, it makes you operate under pressure. He tries to dictate the tempo of the game and I’d say these two defenses are very similar. These are two of the better defenses in the league, but they’re also two very pressure-oriented defenses.”
Saturday’s kick-off is set for 11:30 a.m. and the game will be televised on the USA Network.
“The whole battle cry and the challenge we had last week was to try to win a football game with a lot of new faces – with seven starters out after week one,” Holtz said. “That’s a lot. Replacing a large percentage of your football team after week one, that’s tough. But I also think it speaks volumes to the depth that’s been required in the offseason and the great job (general manager) Zach Potter has done and continues to do.
“I’ve made this comment earlier … I think our team is deeper than we were last year as far as talent.”
