Six weeks in and the USFL is as hard to predict as ever. Are we finally ready to believe in the Breakers, Machine, or Stars? Are we ready to give up on Texas, Pittsburgh, and Birmingham? And will Portland ever win a game? Still 10 weeks left to play, but the storyline so far in the USFL this spring is expect the unexpected.
For the second time in 3 week s the New Jersey Generals went on the road and played a favored opponent tough until the last second, and for the 5th game in a row they have lost. If any team seems to be snakebitten this year it is Coach Schottenheimer’s Generals. In this one it all came down to one play, and that one play did not go their way. Tampa Bay had held a 10-point lead until the final 3:15 of the game, but the Generals scored twice in that span, helped significantly by their defense, but the offense could not do their part to send the game to overtime and once again the Generals tasted defeat.
New Jersey played well, particularly along the defensive line, in a game where Phil Hansen recorded two sacks, and achieved the rare trifecta, a sack-fumble-scoop & score. Rookie Sean Ellis had a key play in the 4th, tackling Travis Prentice in the endzone for a safety that helped get New Jersey back in the game, and combined the Generals’ front 7 held Errict Rhett to only 41 yards rushing, but in the end it was not enough.
Troy Aikman would have only 1 TD pass on the day, and would complete only 9 of 17 passes as the Bandits tried to keep New Jersey off balance by running the ball with Rhett and Prentice, a combined 35 carries for the two. Rhett would score twice, both on short plunges, and Aikman would hit Randy Moss for a 3rd TD, which, when combined with 3 Vanderjagt field goals had the homestanding Bandits up 30-20 with only 3:15 left.
But then things got a bit shakey for the home team. On a 2nd and 12 from their own 2 yard line, the Bandits tried to run off guard with Prentice but the rookie Ellis shook off his block and crushed Prentice still 2 steps inside the endzone. The safety not only pulled New Jersey to within one score, down 8, but also forced Tampa Bay to kick the ball back to the Generals. New Jersey, led by QB Jeff Lewis, who has played well despite the team’s losing streak, moved the ball well, and when Lewis hit wideout Terry Glenn with a 5 yard fade with only seconds left, many in Tampa Stadium felt the game was certainly headed to overtime. But a 2-point PAT is by no means an automatic score in the USFL. In fact the scoring rate is just about 50/50, and New Jersey would need to call the perfect play to get the two points they needed to take the game to extra time.
Coach Schottenheimer, often criticized for excessive conservatism in his calls, did it again. With Curtis Enis nursing a knee injury, he had Olandis Gary in the game. Gary had scored a TD earlier in the game on a counter tre call, and rather than add any extra flourishes like a presnap motion, Marty called the same play again. Tampa clearly recognized the playcall and when Gary got the ball 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage Keith McCants was already bearing down on him. Gary did not even make it back to the 2-yard line where the play had originated. New Jersey missed their chance to equalize and once again came up short, falling to defeat for the 5th straight week. For Tampa the close call pulled them to 3-3, and while certainly not a confidence builder, it does mark a 2nd straight close win after starting the year 1-3.
PHI 26 BIR 24
Another big game in the Atlantic v. Southern clashes this week saw Philadelphia edge Birmingham to move to 4-2. The upstart Stars, who many predicted to finish last in their division this year, took advantage of a revenge game by HB Stephen Davis, the former Stallion. Davis would run the ball 25 times for 102 yards to help Philly take the W. Add in 2 scores from Bobby Hebert and a defense that held Brett Favre to only 44% completions and you have a rough loss for the Stallions at home.
OHI 24 ATL 10
Ohio also moved to 4-2 as their offense again showed up big, with Joey Galloway accounting for 123 yards in the air and a key touchdown. Qadry Ismail contributed 2 more and Ohio moved past an Atlanta club that still struggles to put points on the board, despite a 106-yard day from Tiki Barber. Aaron Brooks gave way to Marc Bulger in the 3rd quarter and Atlanta responded with their 10 points, but It was not enough to catch up in this one.
PIT 34 JAX 31
We finally saw the Maulers that most expected this year as the visitors upset the Bulls thanks to three 1st quarter TDs from Andre Rison. The 21-0 hole that Jacksonville found themselves in was too much to come back from as Chris Chandler’s 4 picks doomed the Bulls to defeat. Pittsburgh fed the ball to Terrell Davis in the second half, finishing the gam with 110 yards on the ground, and Andre Rison racked up 111 yards to go with his three early scores as the Maulers end their losing streak and move to 2-4.
BAL 23 ORL 16
A good, tough game between two quality teams as Baltimore edged Orlando thanks primarily to a defense that held Orlando below .500 on third down attempts, and an offense led by QB Trent Green, back from injury. Green went 17 of 29 for 278 yards and his late TD toss to TE Cam Cleeland broke open a 16-all tie to give the Blitz the win and move them to 5-1 on the year.
MEM 23 WSH 19
Memphis moved their record back up to .500 and knocked Washington down to 3-3 with a hard-fought win at the Liberty Bowl. A key defensive score from FS Tebucky Jones sparked the Showboats to victory, though it would take a late TD toss from Shuler to Lawyer Tillman to give Memphis the win.
CHI 7 NOR 33
The Breakers won “Cinderella Bowl 2000” in convincing fashion over the Chicago Machine to move to 5-1. Ricky Williams was the star with 108 yards rushing and 2 scoring plays. TE Austin Wheatley was the surprise of the game, catching 5 balls for 95 yards and a score for the Breakers as they took over sole possession of first place in the Central.
HOU 20 TEX 23
Jim Miller was knocked out of the game and Chuck Hartlieb could not get anything going for the Gamblers, who saw their two defensive ends have great games (4 combined sacks), but the offense simply was not there as Texas won their second in a row. Reggie Cobb had a monster day, rushing for 160 yards on 20 carries to lead the Outlaws to their 2nd win of the season. For Houston the question now is whether they return to Matt Hasselbeck at QB or bring in Hartlieb once again.
MGN 14 STL 10
A good game for fans of defensive football as the Panthers came back from a 10-0 hole to upend the Knights in St. Louis. Neither offense was particularly effective as the defenses dominated, but a late Flutie to Muhsin Muhammad TD was enough to give the visitors the win and move them up to .500 on the season.
ARZ 14 LA 24
The Express reached .500 with their win in Tempe, led by a run game that saw Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman combine for 193 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Jake Plummer was held in check (rushing for -11 yards) and the Wranglers simply had no other run game to fall back on, making their offense one-dimensional.
DEN 31 POR 10
Rick Mirer did not survive his first start in the USFL, knocked out of the game after only 9 pass attempts, and Akili Smith was ill-prepared to come in against a tough Denver defense. Rashaan Salaam added 108 yards rushing and Mark Brunell threw for 3 scores as the Gold won this one going away.
OAK 7 SEA 24
Another poor offensive performance from the Invaders, another locker room blowup from Ryan Leaf after the game. It appears to be getting ugly by the Bay. Corey Dillon led the Dragons with 110 yards on 23 carries and the defense held Oakland to only 3 of 11 on third down as Seattle moved to 5-1 and dropped Oakland to 1-5 on the year. The game, and the tirade by Leaf, may be a reason why Oakland set up a trade for a potential challenger to the 3rd year QB (see below).
A lot of potentially impactful injuries this week, though fortunately most are short term concerns. The most serious injury was to Tampa Bay defensive tackle Pat Riley, who was placed on IR after suffering a neck injury in this week’s game. Fortunately Riley did not suffer any paralysis, but the injury is severe enough that it could impact his ability to return to football in 2001. In Arizona, the concern was for LB Winfred Tubbs, who is now expected to miss 6-8 weeks with his own neck injury. Again, no paralysis, which is always good to hear, but compression of two discs will require some traction for the short term and rehab after that. We think a return for the playoffs is even in doubt should Arizona qualify.
On the short term injury list, we find Rick Mirer, who did not last 2 quarters into his first start with the Portland Thunder. The diminutive QB suffered a wrist injury to his throwing hand, which has led to some swelling and tenderness but no significant ligament or tendon damage. Team physicians say he could be back as soon as Week 8. A similar recovery timeframe for Jacksonville HB Sedrick Irvin, who suffered a groin injury in this week’s game. He pulled up midway through a sweep play and hobbled to the sideline. It is believed to be a strain, not a tear, which means 1-2 weeks is likely, though he certainly will not want to rush it as a strain can lead to later damage if he comes back too soon.
Houston got more bad news in an already bad season as CB Ashley Ambrose fractured his jaw during a head-to-head collision on Saturday. Ambrose is expected to wear a special compression mask on his face when he returns to action, which is timed out for 2 weeks from now. In LA guard Manuia Saveea will be out for 1-2 weeks with a displaced patella in his left knee, while in Atlanta LB Johnny Holland is doubtful for this week with a hamstring pull.
We mentioned that Matt Hasselbeck was removed from the game this week due to injury. It is a nerve pinch in his hip, which means he is Questionable for next week, but with Jim Miller being named the starter, expect Hasselbeck to get time to recover. Finally, Orlando TE Dante Whittaker will miss at least one week after dislocating his shoulder on an awkward landing this week.
TRANSACTIONS
SEA: Trades QB J. Kitna to Oakland for WR/KR Troy Walters and a 5th round pick.
OAK: Cuts QB Dave Brown and signs WR Roell Preston
SEA: Signs QB John Walsh & Moves SS Alec Walters to Practice Squad
KITNA TRADED TO OAKLAND
Well, that did not take long. We reported last week that Jon Kitna was unhappy in Seattle after being dropped to 3rd on the depth chart behind starter Brian Griese and rookie Giovanni Carmazzi. Kitna made it clear that if his services were no longer needed in Seattle, he would like the chance to compete to start elsewhere. Seattle clearly listened, and almost certainly heard from several clubs who were concerned about their QB situations, but they surprised many by taking an early bid from a division rival.
Jon Kitna was sent to Oakland, a club with a clear starter in the fiery Ryan Leaf, but a team that needs to push Leaf and potentially have a backup plan if the young QB continues to publicly criticize the team and its coach. Coach Dom Capers is not one to take lip from a player, and Leaf has been offering a lot of it. Oakland gave up their primary kick and punt returner, Troy Walters, along with a 5th round pick to bring in the athletic but erratic Kitna. It is certainly not an ideal placement for the veteran, who would almost certainly have preferred a transfer to Houston, Atlanta, or Portland, but in Oakland he will serve two functions. He will put pressure on Leaf to perform and he will serve as a potential Plan B if Leaf continues to attract too much attention through his post-game rants and off-color commentary to the media.
FIRST YEAR COACHES
We start our Week 6 recap of the league’s top stories with a very early grade report on the league’s 5 new head coaches. Some have certainly exceeded expectations while others are learning just how bad the situation they stepped into is. We never expect a coach to be out after just 1 year, but the situation is not looking good 6 weeks in for a couple of our first-year head coaches.
Mike Nolan (NOR): No coach has had more instant and surprising success than Mike Nolan in New Orleans. Coach Nolan has taken the pieces left him by Mike Ditka and has turned them into the #1 overall scoring defense and the #2 scoring offense. That is impressive considering how poorly this same roster performed a year ago. Trent Dilfer has been a huge boost for the Breakers, something we simply did not see coming. Ricky Williams is on pace for 1,300 yards, and the Breakers are just murder on opposing offenses, #1 against the pass (183 yards per game) and #2 against the run (61 yards per game). If Mike Nolan can keep the pressure on he is a shoe in for Coach of the Year. Grade: A+
Jim Mora Jr. (PHI): If anyone is going to catch Nolan for Coach of the Year, Philadelphia’s Jim Mora Jr. may be the one. The numbers for the Stars are not as gaudy (17th in points per game allowed, 13th in points scored), but Mora has the Stars winning. 4-2 so far this year and winners of 4 in a row. Philly is doing it with a balanced offense, led by veteran Bobby Hebert at QB and former Stallion Stephen Davis in the backfield. The defense is not overpowering, but they play smart and rarely get hit with a big play. That Philly is this successful while currently sitting at -3 in turnover margin is astounding. The question is whether it is a fluke or not. Could this team fade down the stretch? GRADE: A- because we want to revisit this in 4-6 weeks.
Bobby Petrino (ATL): Atlanta was a tough spot to come into and expect success quickly. 2-4 may be about as good as Petrino should expect at this point. The fact that the two wins were against Birmingham and Memphis speaks to the ability of this club to play good football when they are focused. The offense is the issue here, ranked 24th of 24 clubs in both points and yardage. The defense is improved, 8th in the league, but they cannot do it all alone. The signing of Bruce Smith is likely a short-term solution, but it is a definite positive so far this year. Now, if they could just get better play from their QB position, maybe they could win 6 or 7 games this year and then build for 2001. GRADE: B, we are giving Atlanta a B because we are seeing growth, just not a lot of wins yet.
Dom Capers (OAK): The Invaders provide more drama than an episode of ER. Whether it is the tantrums of QB Ryan Leaf, the defensive meltdowns, or the back-and-forth debate between halfbacks Troy Davis and Siran Stacy, there is just a lot of chaos in Oakland. We like that the defense is currently #6 against the pass, but worry that it is only that highly ranked because they are so bad against the run (24th). The offense has been able to run the ball effectively, whether with Davis or Stacy, but they lack consistency and commit far too many drive-killing penalties. Believe it or not, the 1-5 Invaders are actually +9 in turnovers, thanks to a ballhawking secondary, but that is not enough to put W’s on the scoreboard. GRADE: C, there is a lot to sort out, but Coach Capers is getting some good performances out of key players.
Ray Rhodes (POR): What can we say about the 0-6 Thunder? They are 21st in scoring, 23rd in points allowed, and the only major category where they are in the top 12 in the league is in rushing, thanks to Napoleon Kaufmann’s 399 yards so far this year. They have lost close games (19-13 to Chicago, 22-20 to St. Louis) but they have also been obliterated at times (47-28 vs. Oakland, 24-8 vs. Seattle). We don’t see a coherent offensive plan, as Coach Rhodes tried to put in Rick Mirer only to see him get injured this week. Akili Smith is floundering, the receivers are not getting open, and the defense is still just so very bad. We think Coach Rhodes will get at least 1 more year to show growth, but fans in Portland are already impatient after dropping from 13-2-1 in 1997 to 10-6 in ’98, 6-10 last year and now an 0-6 start this year. GRADE: D, we won’t fail Coach Rhodes so quickly, but something has to improve and soon for the Thunder.
DID WE DO THAT?
Clearly our little weekly review of the USFL has some readers, at least in Houston. After a story last week questioning whether Houston’s lack of offensive production and iffy run defense was essentially wasting the talents of Michael Sinclair and Kavika Pittman as pass rushers, the two came out fuming. The two combined for 4 sacks this week, along with 8 hurries and at least 2 forced throws that led to issues for Kelly Stouffer. And while the offensive woes continued, leading to yet another Houston loss, we are not going to question the motors or the motivation of Pittman and Sinclair. Pittman now has 8 sacks on the year, placing him in 2nd, while Sinclair is still in the top 8 in the league. We suspect that if Houston could just get some semblance of an offense going this deadly combo would be set loose in an even more devastating way.
QB Question in Baltimore
Baltimore has a problem, the kind of problem a lot of other clubs wished they had. They have an established starting QB in Trent Green, a pocket passer who has the respect of the locker room and who helped lead them to a division title in 1999. They also have a backup in Jeff Garcia, a scrambler and gunslinger, who has seen considerable action this year. With Green injured, Garcia stepped in and outperformed all expectations, leading Baltimore to 3 consecutive wins and currently standing 4th in the league QB Ratings at 110.0. Garcia has yet to throw a pick and is completing 71.4% of his passes.
So, what do you do when Trent Green comes back from injury? Do you take out the hot hand of Garcia and go with the Week 1 starter? Lindy Infante is a pretty traditional guy, which means we expect that Green has his job back (he did start this week), but what happens if he struggles? How short is the leash if you know you have a quality player behind him? Do you even provide some series for the more athletic and mobile Garcia? Maybe some sets in the red zone to take advantage of his legs? Infante is old school, but he is also an offensive-minded coach leading a defensive-minded team. The chance to use Garcia to confuse the opposition or even to force them to prep for both QB’s is a tempting proposition. It’s a problem to have two QB’s that play very different styles, but with both winning games, it is a problem some folks in Portland, Houston, Texas, and New Jersey would love to have.
Over the past couple of years we have discussed several elements of USFL financing, from stadium deals to TV revenue, but we have never really discussed the big picture. So, this week we offer a basic rundown of how things stand across the league. While certainly trailing the NFL in annual revenue, the USFL is on a par with several of the other major sports leagues, including the NBA, and just slightly below Major League Baseball. Total reported revenue for the league and its 24 franchises in 1999 was a healthy $2.7B, just under the total for MLB but still well behind the $4.1B brought in by the NFL. The USFL’s main sources of revenue were television contracts (roughly 57% of all revenue), sponsorship deals (23%) and stadium sales (tickets, concessions, merchandise) which was roughly 13% of revenue. The league had a shared revenue pool of roughly $900 milliion dollars, roughly $39 million per club, which covered the majority of the $50M salary cap number for each club.
On the salary front, while many players are paid at comparable rates to the NFL, the overall salary structure is a bit more modest, with the USFL having a $50M cap per team, compared to the NFL’s $62.1M in 2000. But, this can be a bit deceiving because of the USFL’s unique “Territorial Rights” allowance, which treats any player from each team’s 5 university pool of “territorial schools” as valuing only 50% towards the salary cap. This allows a top tier player like LA’s Cade McNown (UCLA) or Birmingham’s Shaun Alexander (Alabama) to earn an NFL-sized salary while counting only 50% against the cap. Shrewd USFL clubs have long spent more freely on territorial talent at key positions to maximize value on the salary cap. It is one of the reasons we may not see as many trades compared with the NFL because a player like Rodney Thomas costs Birmingham far more than he had cost the Texas Outlaws due to the Outlaw’s territorial waiver for Texas A&M players.
The other big piece of the shared revenue in the league is from the gate receipts. Each club retains gate receipts from the first 25,000 ticket sales at their stadia for each game. The actual formula is not quite that simple as season ticket holders and suite sales are treated differently from single game tickets, but essentially the ticket sales generated for the first 25,000 patrons in regular stadium seating is retained by each club while any ticket revenue generated when a team surpasses 25,000 is part of the shared revenue pool. If the number seems low to you, it is. The 25k number was set up when only about half of the league’s teams reached or surpassed that number, but now, with leaguewide attendance typically well above 40k it seems high time to raise that floor. But the truth is that this system, with the low floor, helps keep some clubs afloat. Whether it is Portland, with their smaller 34k capacity stadium or clubs which are struggling with attendance, such as LA (always a battle), Chicago, or Arizona. Even clubs with good fanbases see numbers drop when they have rough seasons or poor weather, so the incentive is not really there to tie too much revenue to any individual team’s ticket sales. We expect the league will eventually push their floor up to 30k but don’t expect it to go much beyond that, at least not until we see attendance hit 50,000 leaguewide (hard to do with Portland still in the mix.)
Ticket prices remain a key point of differentiation with the NFL, and one fans certainly appreciate. While we are certainly no longer in the stage where ticket giveaways are common (there are still occasional mass ticket giveaways to boost attendance in some situations, but these are far rarer than in the 80’s), but ticket prices remain low compared to the NFL and even some big time college programs. In 1999 the average NFL ticket price was around $65 (with wide variation between clubs) and the average USFL ticket price was in the range of $25-$40, with New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago and LA at the top of the spectrum and Jacksonville, Atlanta, Denver, and Memphis near the bottom. Season ticket rates show a parallel disparity between the two leagues, though one big distinction is that the USFL has been very hesitant to move into the territory of Personal Seat Licenses when moving to a new stadium. This often sets up the USFL as a secondary tenant, as the NFL’s use of PSL’s often gives them priority within new stadiums, but it keeps the cost of season tickets far more affordable for local fans.
Variation among teams depends basically on three factors. The first is the agreement between the club and the stadium. This can greatly impact the amount of revenue a club brings in from concessions, parking, and the cost of staffing the stadium for gamedays. Some clubs, like Birmingham, Memphis, Michigan, and Ohio have strong deals because they are either the primary tenant of the stadium or the main revenue generator, so they get a higher cut of all stadium revenue than clubs such as St. Louis, Oakland, Pittsburgh, or Chicago, which are either viewed as secondary tenants or because they simply don’t have a good position of strength to negotiate with the city or stadium ownership. This is obviously a concern for the league, as we have already seen.
Teams in non-NFL cities, such as Memphis, Portland, or Ohio, have one issue, which is that they have less leverage to negotiate new stadium construction, but teams in strong NFL cities, like New Jersey, Chicago, St. Louis, or Houston, have a different issue, which is that while a new or renovated stadium is possible, they have to battle to be treated with the same reverence and the same benefits as their NFL counterpart. A few clubs, most notably Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, have had great success partnering with the NFL club in their town and getting fair treatment. Others, such as Atlanta or Washington, have opted for use of a secondary stadium rather than compete with the NFL. In the case of Washington, this was largely not their decision as the Cooke family simply would not include them in any deal to play at their new stadium, something the Feds hope will change with new Redskins ownership.
So, looking at all issues, who are the winners and losers in the USFL’s financial model. Well, the first thing we have to say is that even the losers typically are seeing profits. This is not the early 1980’s when we saw some rough finances and shaky owners. The USFL is solid, but there are some clear disparities when it comes to revenue. Star power can boost a club, as can winning, but some simply have better revenue capacity than others. At the top of USFL profitability we find a lot of southern clubs, with Birmingham, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Orlando all in the Top 5, along with Denver. Philadelphia is the top club in the Atlantic Division, New Orleans in the Central. At the bottom of the revenue chart we find LA (high expenses, low attendance, shared stadium with the Raiders), Oakland, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Portland. Stadium issues are the main reason for concerns in places like St. Louis and Portland, on field performance has certainly not helped Atlanta, and Oakland as well, though their deal with the A’s is also no help.
So, what does the future hold? Well, the new TV deal looks like a good one for the league, with revenue from TV expected to continue to rise over the next 5 years. We are also expecting more revenue for clubs like Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Denver, Detroit, and Houston, where new stadiums are in the works and new deals to split revenue may better support the USFL tenants along with their NFL “partners”. Issues still remain for clubs like Portland, Memphis, St. Louis, and Birmingham, where stadium deals or outdates stadia limit revenue options. Washington has a question before it as well, take an almost certain smaller payout by moving play to Landover as a second tenant to the Redskins in a stadium owned by the club, or stay in an aging RFK with little hope of major renovation. Similarly, Seattle must decide whether to continue to play in Husky Stadium or move in with the Seahawks at the cost of secondary tenant status. Atlanta could also go this route as the Georgia Dome is an appealing option for fans getting tired of watching a bad team play outdoors in the heat and humidity of July in Atlanta.
The overall picture is very sunny for the USFL, but this does not mean that there are not clubs that are lagging behind, and when that is paired with cities and ownership groups hoping to bring the USFL to new locations, it can mean instability for the league. Not financial ruin as many feared back in the days when the league actually considered a move to the Fall to compete with the NFL, but potential for club movement certainly.
Week 7 could be our favorite week of the entire season, with all 24 clubs in divisional play and nearly all of them still with dreams of a playoff run (ok, maybe not all clubs but certainly more than we will see in position by the final weeks of the year.) Let’s start with the Central Division, which is fully topsy turvy from our predictions. In a huge midseason game 4-2 St. Louis is at 4-2 Chicago. The loser could well fall 2 games behind New Orleans as the Breakers head to Houston to face the offensively-challenged Gamblers. The final game of the week in the Central has 2-4 Texas at 3-3 Michigan. A win by the Outlaws and they may just be in position to make a run, a loss and it may be time to build for the future.
In the Pacific Division we have another tasty midseason treat, Denver hosts Seattle with both clubs at 5-1 and atop the division. The winner has the inside track on the division title. 3-3 LA and 3-3 Arizona both hope to win home games against weaker opponents as the Express welcome the winless Thunder to town while Arizona hosts 1-5 Oakland.
The best game in the South may be the game in Tampa between the Showboats and Bandits, both coming in at 3-3 and hoping to not fall any further behind Jacksonville . The Bulls are hosting the 2-4 Fire, but should be careful as Atlanta has already upset both Memphis and Birmingham. The Stallions are stuck at 2-4, and life won’t be easier for them as they visit the Orlando Renegades.
Finally, the Atlantic provides another solid game with the surprising Philadelphia Stars at 4-2 visiting the Baltimore Blitz (5-1). If Philly can get the road win, they take the advantage in the division, at least for now. In the other games, Washington at 3-3 is trying to stay relevant as they visit New Jersey. Pittsburgh at 2-4 needs to win the Border War with Ohio (4-2) if they want any shot at getting back into the playoff mix. A big week in all 4 divisions with midseason pressure mounting.