Week 8 of the USFL’s season is here and will see the Pittsburgh Maulers (1-6) will face the New Jersey Generals (6-1) in just about 24 hours. For the first time this season, the USFL will be coming to us from the historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama as Protective Stadium gets ready for Garth Brooks Concert.
With only a five-day turnaround between the Mauler’s most formidable opponents this season when they lost to the undefeated Birmingham Stallions this past Sunday, Kirby Wilson and the Maulers look to save face with the team win and loss record and try to close out the season on a winning streak. This will be a challenging task given that the Maulers will face the red hot first place on the north division’s Generals, with the New Jersey Generals in the first place and locked in their playoff spot.
The real question coming out of last week and the on-field drama for the Maulers is who is starting quarterback tomorrow night. Will it be Vad Lee? Or newcomer Roland Rivers, who closed out the game last week after some disagreements between Lee and Coach Wilson, which we saw play out on live television this past Sunday.
Weather
Friday’s forecast in Birmingham, Alabama, at Legion Field, is set for 79 degrees clear skies with the temperature lowering as the night goes on in Birmingham. The high is 85 degrees with a low of 65 degrees with wins up to 4 MPH.
Pittsburgh Maulers (1-6) at New Jersey Generals (6-1)
Kickoff: Friday, June 3rd at 8:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM CT/ 6:00 PM MT/ 5:00 PM PT
Where: Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama
Television: USA Network
Betting Odds Per FoxBet
Spread:
Pittsburgh Maulers: +9
New Orleans Breakers: -9
To Win/Money Line:
Pittsburgh Maulers: +280
New Orleans Breakers: -400
Players to Watch
If Coach Wilson goes with Roland Rivers to start the game, he will be a player to watch. It’ll be interesting to see if Wilson goes the route that most teams did in the USFL early on in the season and use both Vad Lee and Roland Rivers rotating in and out or if it’ll just be one of them. Roland only played in about a quarter last weekend, so that’ll be someone to watch.
The other aspect of this game is we will see the return of defensive tackle Boogie Roberts and Wide Receiver Tre Walker after their one-week suspension due to a fight in Week 6. These two could be hungry after what was said to be a very questionable decision made by USFL Head of Officiating Mike Pereira. Tre could add to either Vad Lee or Roland Rivers’s weapons to throw to.
As for the New Jersey Generals, keep an eye out for the possible return of Quarterback De’Andre Johnson, who has been dealing with an ankle injury. Will the Generals go with De’Andre Johnson or start Luis Perez tomorrow night? I feel, either way, we will get a solid performance out of either quarterback if Johnson’s ankle doesn’t become a problem again.
Also don’t sit on the General’s defense who got three interceptions in last weeks game, they could be on fire with the struggling Maulers team.
Injury Report
Pittsburgh Maulers:
Terry Beckner, DL: Out (Knee)
New Jersey Generals:
Darrius Shepherd, WR; Questionable (Hamstring)
Calvin Ashley, OL; Doubtful (Knee, Quad)
Robert Myers, OL: Out (Knee)
David Rivers, DB; Questionable (Hamstring)
Pittsburgh Maulers Vs. New Orleans Breakers Prediction
With what we have seen out of the New Jersey Generals this season and with only one loss this entire season again the undefeated Stallions on opening night, the Generals look to keep up that winning streak into the playoffs, and with this being said, and some questions about who will play Quarterback for the Maulers and the drama on the sidelines with the team and Coach Wilson, I see the Generals running all over the Maulers in this game.
Maulers: 14 – Generals: 32
Stay with USFL News Hub to the road to the playoffs.
