USFL Best Bets, Odds, Picks & Predictions: Panthers vs. Maulers (2023)
Welcome to the USFL playoffs! After 10 weeks of regular season action, the postseason starts on Saturday with the North Division Championship. The Michigan Panthers face the Pittsburgh Maulers for the third time this year. Both teams ended the regular season with a 4-6 record. By comparison, the two teams had a combined 3-17 record in 2022.
Meanwhile, the South Division Championship takes place on Sunday. The New Orleans Breakers take on the Birmingham Stallions. After splitting the two regular season matchups, the third contest between these two teams comes with a ticket to the USFL Championship Game. The Breakers ended the year with a 7-3 record, while the Stallions had the best record in the league, going 8-2.
The Panthers have the longest odds of winning the championship at +600. By comparison, the Maulers have the second-longest odds at +330. The betting market believes the winner of the South Division Championship will come away the USFL champions in 2023. New Orleans is +250 to win it all this year, while Birmingham is the favorite at +115.
Regardless of the matchup, there are always bets to make, so let's look at two you should make for the North Division Championship game.
Best USFL Bets for North Division Championship
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Michigan Panthers at Pittsburgh Maulers
Pittsburgh had a 4-6 record this year but ended the season with back-to-back victories. They defeated the Panthers 19-7 two weeks ago. More importantly, the Maulers got an impressive 26-6 victory last week over the New Jersey Generals. The win put Pittsburgh in the playoffs. The Maulers had two other wins in 2023, defeating the Philadelphia Stars 21-13 in Week 3 and the Panthers 23-7 in Week 5.
Meanwhile, the Panthers started the year with two impressive wins out of the gate. Michigan defeated the Houston Gamblers 29-13 in Week 1. Then they had a 24-10 victory over the Stars. Unfortunately, the team followed those wins with a four-game losing streak. However, the Panthers snapped the losing streak in Week 7, defeating the Generals 25-22. Michigan then had a two-game losing streak before defeating the Stars 23-20 last week. The win last week put the Panthers in the playoffs.
The North Division Championship is a matchup between two 4-6 teams. By comparison, the Houston Gamblers and Memphis Showboats had a 5-5 record this year but both teams missed the playoffs because they are in the South Division. However, one of these teams has to win on Saturday. The Maulers went 2-0 against the Panthers during the regular season, winning by an average of 14 points per game. One of those matchups was two weeks ago, with Pittsburgh pulling out a 12-point victory. Bettors should back the Maulers minus the three points.
Bet: Pittsburgh Maulers -3 (-110)
While Pittsburgh had a 4-6 record this year, the team had the top defense in the USFL. The Maulers held their opponents to only 17.8 points per game, the fewest in the league. However, the team only averaged 17.7 points per game during the regular season. More importantly, Pittsburgh held their past three opponents to only 10.7 points per game, surrendering seven or fewer in two consecutive contests.
Last year the Panthers gave up 23.6 points per game, the third-most in the league. Similarly, they struggled again on defense this season. Michigan surrendered 21.5 points per game to their opponents, the third-most in the USFL. Furthermore, the Panthers have given up 19 or more points in every game since Week 2. Unfortunately, the team's offense was even worse this year, averaging only 17.1 points per game. More importantly, they have averaged only 15 points per game over the past two weeks.
Both regular season matchups between these two teams have been low-scoring contests. The Week 5 matchup ended with a total of 30 points. Similarly, the game two weeks ago saw only 26 points scored. More importantly, the Maulers averaged 17.7 points per game, while the Panthers averaged 17.1 points per contest. Therefore, these two teams combined to average only 34.8 points per game during the regular season. Bettors should expect this matchup to be a low-scoring contest with the under hitting.
Bet: Under 38 (-110)
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.