The regular season of the USFL has come to an end, and four teams have qualified for postseason play. The Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals, New Orleans Breakers and Birmingham Stallions will battle on Saturday to see who will play in the championship game next week. The first semifinal game is the Stars vs. the Generals and will kickoff at 3 p.m. ET on Fox. The second semifinal game is the Breakers vs. the Stallions and will start at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Both games will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton Ohio.
The Stars (6-4) have one of the better defenses in the USFL as they have forced a league-best 22 turnovers during the regular season. Cornerback Channing Stribling intercepted a league-best seven passes this year and could be playing for an NFL team in the fall. Running back Matt Colburn finished the season with eight rushing touchdowns and was recently named USFL Sportsman of the Year for his work in the community.
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The Generals (9-1) lost the first game of the season, which was against the Stallions. But they haven’t lost since, and a big reason for their success is their running game. The Generals averaged 160.6 yards per game and were the only to that had three players rush for at least 300 yards this season. Wide receiver KaVontae Turpin was named USFL MVP after leading the league in receiving yards (540), yards after catch (316) and punt return average (15.3).
After losing two of their last three regular-season games, the Breakers (6-4) look to pull off a big upset and take down the Stallions. New Orleans knows it can beat the Stallions as they lost to them 10-9 earlier this month. The Breakers’ defense has been strong all season long, just allowing 148 points in 10 games. Linebacker Jerod Fernandez has led the way as he finished the regular season with 86 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
The Stallions (9-1) had the benefit of playing all their games in their home city but that doesn’t mean they won’t be dangerous when they take on the Breakers in a different city on Saturday. Birmingham is led by wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr. who led the USFL in all-purpose yards (1,209). Linebacker DeMarquis Gates also had a strong year for the Stallions, finishing the season with 62 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
