The Stallions are galloping to the finish with the league’s best record. Houston may have a problem. The Showboats are still motor-boating. The 4 star Generals lose their stripes. Who woke up the Panthers? Follow the yellow Stars as we’re off to see the Cookus of the USFL. Let’s sort it all out in another edition of the USFL Power Rankings.

WEEK 8 POWER RANKINGS

#1. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (5-2) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Stallions are back in the driver’s seat as they got their revenge on the Breakers last week.

The Stallions have once again the best record in the league. The Stallions roster has depth as they still are playing like a well-oiled machine despite multiple injuries to some of their bigger names that helped this team win it all last season. That means others step up.

The Stallions linebacker, Quentin Poling, has a motor as his play has helped stabilize that Birmingham defense. Poling had a monster game versus the Breakers. Poling has 31 tackles for the season with two sacks and is getting better as the season prolongs into the last few weeks.

#2. MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (4-3) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Showboats are riding the waves right now to a 4 game winning streak and are in the thick of things as post-season is not far off.

The Showboats leading receiver, Vinny Papale, caught his second touchdown pass of the year in a big win versus the Gamblers. Cole Kelley rebounded quickly after throwing an interception in his first series last week. The Gamblers suddenly have one of the best kickoff returners in the game as Derrick Dillon has become Devin Hester-like on some of these amazing returns. It has been the Showboats defense who have turned their ship around this season as they continue to force turnovers. The Showboats lead the league in that category. Greg Reaves had his first interception of the year and is number two in sacks in the USFL with 4.5 of them.

#3. HOUSTON GAMBLERS (4-3) DROPPED TWO SPOTS FROM LAST WEEK

The Gamblers’ 4 game winning streak comes to an end versus the Showboats last week. The final looked like a close game, but the Gamblers did not look crisp like they were in those 4 wins. The Gamblers division may be too crowded for them to find the playoffs. The Stallions are perched in the top spot of their division. The rest of the division has 4-3 records going for one spot. The Gamblers defense is surrendering 23.1 points per game which is the second most in the league. The Gamblers defense has played better as the year has gone on. They kept the Gamblers in the game last week when the offense came out stale in the first half.

Gambler’s Manny Bunch had an interception in the first series of the game and gave the Houston offense a primo field position from which they only were able to generate three points off the turnover. The Gamblers will need to execute those gifts from their defense better if they want to be part of the post-season.

#4. PHILADELPHIA STARS (4-3) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

Suddenly the Stars have won three straight and are going on a second half tear just like last season. It was the 56 yards touchdown by Corey Coleman which helped the Stars put down the hammer on the Maulers. Coleman has 34 catches for 409 receiving yards and has established himself as one of the top wide receivers in the game this season. For the Stars, it’s good to see their quarterback, Case Cookus, finding his old form as he’s struggled most of the season after being one of the elite quarterbacks in the USFL last season. The Stars have a rematch this weekend against the Stallions. The last time these two teams met was the championship game from last year. Cookus and the Stars had the lead until he broke his leg and left the game. The Stallions would go on and win it all.

#5. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (4-3) DROPPED ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Breakers are no longer the steak and potatoes of the league as this team is in free fall and broken right now. New Orleans’ losing streak hits 3 games now after they started out of the gates going 4-0. The Breakers looked like they were the cream of the crop in the first 4 games as they gave the Stallions their first loss of the season. The Stallions got their revenge last weekend on the Breakers with a win to continue their skid. The Breakers have the top quarterback in the league with McLeod Bethel-Thompson, They have the top running back in the league in Wes Hills. The Breakers even have the best receiver in the USFL with Sage Suratt. As a team, the Breakers have the top passing offense and top offense in yards per game. Throw in that the Breakers have the third best scoring defense in the league. In the last three losses, the Breakers are averaging 13.3 points per game which is not going to rack up many victories.

#6. PITTSBURGH MAULERS (2-5) SAME SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

The Maulers put up 31 points with the defense they have and lose to the Philadelphia Stars in a game the team needed to stay in the playoff race. The Stars put up 37 points as their special teams doom the Maulers defense, putting them in a bad field position most of the game. The typical Mauler mistakes occurred as well that the Stars took advantage of, and in the end Pittsburgh needs to win out and get help from their friends if they want to snatch one of those playoff spots. The Maulers had their own special teams magic as Josh Simmons had an 88 yard touchdown return off the kickoff in the first half that put the Maulers back on top in this shootout.

Maulers blew a nice lead late in this game with missed opportunities in plays that the team wished they had back. As we know, it’s not pee wee baseball where the ole do over play came into effect.

#7. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (3-4) MOVED UP ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

It was the battle of X-Mauler quarterbacks between Josh Love of the Panthers and Kyle Lauletta of the Generals, in a game both teams needed. Love prevails after coming out of the gates very poorly going 1-5 & ends up throwing three touchdown passes and over 200 yards passing to win the Mauler bowl.

One of the best slot receivers in the USFL, Trey Quinn, has himself another good game catching three passes for 61 yards of which one reception was a touchdown. Love hit his main man Joe Walker for a 68 yard strike which was the game winner. Walker finished with 121 yards. The Panthers running game was effective with Reggie Corbin having a big day on the ground. Most importantly, the Panthers broke a 4 game losing streak – their first win since starting out of the gates 2-0.

#8. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (2-5) DROPPED ONE SPOT FROM LAST WEEK

To find the last time the New Jersey Generals hit rock bottom in the USFL, you have to shine back to the 1980’s.

When Donald Trump owned the Generals, he killed the USFL by challenging the NFL. The league folded up shop and Trump would eventually move on to become President of the United States decades later. The Generals had three of their top defenders out last week versus the Panthers. The defense is the Generals’ back bone of the team. The Panthers knocked out one of the Generals’ dueling quarterbacks, De’Andre Johnson, late in this contest. The Generals had a chance to tie the game with a three point conversion late in the game and failed. Then the 4th and 12 onside kick version also failed, as the Generals lose to, at the time, the worst team in the USFL.