The reigning USFL champions led by head coach Skip Holtz, will be bringing back some familiar faces. Quarterback J’mar Smith, along with former Dallas Cowboys draft pick Bo Scarborough, and line backer “Scoopy” Wright aka, “Sharkdawg”, to help them go back-back.
The Stallions will open at home against the New Jersey Generals. Now let’s take a look at the rest of their 2023 schedule and see if they can protect their crown.
Week 1: April 15 – vs. New Jersey Generals in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 7:30 pm ET
This game is a rematch of last year’s opening day game in which the Stallions prevailed 28-24 over Mike Riley and the Generals. Birmingham comes in as the defending USFL champs, while the Generals are looking for some revenge. Look for this to once again be a fun game to kick off another exciting season.
Week 2: April 22 – vs. Memphis Showboats in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 7 pm ET
This year, The USFL is introducing a relocated team with an original name. The Memphis Showboats come in as the former Tampa Bay Bandits who still have NFL veteran coach Todd Haley leading the charge. This is the first of two-divisional matchups between the Southern Division members.
Week 3: April 29 – vs. New Orleans Breakers in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 12:30 pm ET
This game is a rematch of the 2022 South Division semifinal playoff game between the Stallions and New Orleans Breakers. Last season, the Stallions fought off a tough push from the Breakers and advanced to the championship game with a 31-17 win. The Breakers have a new coach in longtime NFL offensive coordinator John DeFilippo who replaces outgoing coach Larry Fedora. This will be another exciting game that we will see two-times this year. Who will come out on top?
Week 4: May 7@ Pittsburgh Maulers in Canton, OH: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium 6:30 pm ET
This will be the Stallions first true road game as they will travel to the other league hub of Canton, OH to face a new look team in the Pittsburgh Maulers. Last season, the Stallions only beat the Maulers (26-16) and they were 1-9 on the season. This would have been a road game last year, but all the contests were played at Protective Stadium where the Stallions play all their home games. The Maulers introduce a new head coach in former NFL assistant Ray Horton who is coming back to his hometown to have his first shot as a pro-head coach.
Week 5: May 13 – vs. Houston Gamblers in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 4pm ET
The Stallions will then come home to take on an up and coming team in the Houston Gamblers in a late Saturday afternoon affair. The Gamblers are now in year-two under head coach Kevin Sumlin whose team upset the reigning champs 17-15 on July 11 last season. Both of these contests look like easy wins, but both coaches will be telling their guys the true cliché, “always respect your opponents.”
Week 6: May 20 @ Michigan Panthers in Detroit, Ford Field 4 pm ET
It’s back on the road again and the Stallions just can’t wait. This week, they will face a Michigan Panthers team who has a new head coach in Mike Nolan. Nolan replaces the legendary Jeff Fisher who recently stepped down. Will Michigan pull off the upset in only the true second road game of the Stallion franchise? Or will Coach Holtz and the team put all that load of plucky behind them?
Week 7: May 27 @ New Orleans Breakers in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 4pm ET
Now we travel back home again to Protective Stadium for match two against the New Orleans Breakers. The Stallions should have no problem taking care of business at home as they are unstoppable with Smith and Scarborough leading the way. The Breakers will try to fight the good fight, but the battle may have already been won during that time.
Week 8: June 3 – vs. Philadelphia Stars in Birmingham, AL: Protective Stadium 3pm ET
This is the game Stallion fans have drawn circles on their calendars for as the Philadelphia Stars come into town to face the Stallions in a rematch of the 2022 USFL championship game. “Scooby” Wright sealed the game with an interception off of a Case Cookus’ throw and a late touchdown by the Stars gave the Stallions a hard fought 33-30 win. This game will be remembered for running back Scarborough’s opening touchdown run to put Birmingham up 7-0 early. The Stars are looking for revenge, but will have to play a near perfect game to pull off the gigantic road upset victory.
Week 9: June 11 @ Houston Gamblers in Memphis, Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium 2pm ET
Here they go back on the road once more. The Stallions will ride their way into Memphis, Tennessee for a 2nd game with the Houston Gamblers. Look for the Stallions to try to shut down running back Dalyn Dawkins and former Philadelphia Eagles reserve quarterback Clayton Thorson.
Week 10: June 17 @ Memphis Showboats in Memphis, Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium 4pm ET
The final regular season game of 2023 will be on the road on a late Saturday afternoon in the middle of June. The Showboats will be displaying Alex Collins at running back who enjoyed a successful college career at Arkansas. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth-round of the 2016 NFL draft. He spent a couple seasons playing for the Baltimore Ravens before re-signing with the Hawks in 2020.
Look for the Stallions defense to coral Collins at the line of scrimmage and bring him down like a gator in Florida. Also check out monstrous tackle Jarron Jones who is a native of Rochester, New York. After a nice career with the Notre Dame fighting Irish, Jones bounced around in the NFL and never took advantage of the opportunities that were available to him. Still, look for him to take out his frustrations now that he’s playing in the USFL.
The Stallions are a favorite to win the Title again this year. They ended their season 9-1 and first in the Southern Division. Even though they were the only squad that experienced a real “home-field” advantage last season, this season the team will have to show if they can repeat for the title by playing in different locations.
To Buy Tickets/Full USFL Schedule
https://www.theusfl.com/schedule
For another interesting USFL story, please check out:
https://gridironheroics.com/the-usfl-michigan-panthers-roar-2023-schedule/
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