The USFL reached the midseason point in Week 8 and teams have begun to separate. While those in the Central Division battle for a possible wildcard spot, the Pacific continues to look like .500 is good enough for a division title. WSH 24 TBY 41—Tampa Bay reestablished themselves as a force to be reckoned with as they demolished the Washington Federals. The game started out quite differently as a Doug Greene interception of John Reeves pushed the Feds up to a 10-0 lead, but with 24 unanswered points from the Bandits, the die was cast. Reaves would finish the day with 308 yards passing and 3 TDs. He was helped by a tandem RB strategy in which Gary Anderson rushed 13 times for 53 yards and Greg Boone added 103 yards on 10 carries, including a 40 yard romp that broke the back of the Washington D on what had been a key 3rd and 1. PHI 31 BIR 28—Birmingham could not keep pace with the Bandits, as they fell by 3 to the visiting Philadelphia Stars. It was as close a battle as you could have with both teams trading haymakers throughout. Both Bob Lane for B’Ham and Chuck Fusina for Philly had good games, and both passed for 2 scores. Kelvin Bryant was a force, rushing for 171 yards on 21 carries, but the combination of Gant and Quarles was able to keep pace and keep the game close throughout. In the end, it was a final drive, “last team with the ball” scenario which ended with David Trout’s short field goal with only 17 seconds left which gave Philly the win. NJ 3 MGN 30—Contain Herschel Walker and you contain the entire Generals Team. That was the sentiment of Michigan coach Jim Stanley, and it proved to be correct. Walker was held to only 47 yards on 21 carries and Michigan was able to win comfortably. The Panthers finally found a run game of their own as HB John Williams caught the Generals napping on a 63 yard romp and finished the game with 162 yards in total. Add two TD passes from Hebert and you have a healthy win over a solid team that was just outcoached today. BOS 2 CHI 15—It is not often you see a game with 2 safeties, much less one where an entire team’s scoring is a safety, but that is what fans in a windy Soldier Field saw today. Boston simply did not have anything in place to move the ball, and Chicago, who has a tendency to settle for field goals, was able to add atTrumaine Johnson TD to take a 15-2 win. The star of the day was the Chicago D, which sacked Johnny Walton 3 times, picked off 2 passes and held RB Richard Crump to only 37 yards. Not a dazzling win, but a much needed slog of a win for the Blitz. DEN 13 OAK 10—Coach Red Miller and the Denver Gold again prove that they can slog it out with the best of them, and Oakland again proved that they are not the best of them. In a sloppy game, in which Denver committed 10 penalties for 70 yards and Oakland went 3 for 12 on 3rd down, the Gold had just enough to take the win and hold off the Invaders. The Gold took a 13-3 lead at the half, and neither team did much in the second half until Oakland moved into 2 minute offense at the end of the half. They got a Besana to Banks TD with 6 seconds left, but that was too little too late and the Invaders fell to a miserable 2-6. Denver, with the win is back at .500 at 4-4 and holds a 2 game lead in the division. LA 31 ARZ 34—Clearly Arizona has LA’s number. The Wranglers, who have not managed to beat anyone in the league this year, won their second of two back-to-back games against LA to move into a 3-way tie for 2nd place in the West at 2-6. For two pretty bad teams, this was a pretty good game. The 4th quarter in particular was quite exciting as the two teams, both fearful of falling to the other, went back and forth and up and down the field. Arizona got a Jackie Flowers TD catch to even the score with LA at 24. That was countered by a LaRue Harrington 1 yard plunge to give LA the 31-24 lead. Steve Howell answered for Arizona with a 2 yard dive of his own to even the score with 2:58 left. The Wranglers got the ball back only 43 seconds later when LA missed on 3 straight pass plays and had to punt. Alan Risher was able to push the ball into LA territory and kicker Jim Asmus hit the winning field goal as time expired to give Arizona its second straight victory over LA. Now all they have to do is figure out how to bean some of the other 10 teams in the league.

With every team playing intradivisional rivalry games, this was a big week for teams to stake a claim to their division, all that plus the end of winless football in Arizona. NJ 17 PHI 23—The Stars tightened their grip on the top spot in the Atlantic, holding off the Generals in a game that went to overtime. In a back and forth game the Generals went up 10-0 only to have Philly tie the game up at the half. In the third quarter, Bobby Scott hit Nathan Bruce for a 9 yard TD to give the Generals a 7 point lead, but a 1 yard Booker Russell run tied it back up for the Stars. Neither team could score again in regulation. In overtime both teams failed on their first drive, before the Stars ended the game on a Fusina pass to his favorite target, Scott Fitzkee to win the game and take a commanding 2 game lead in the division. BOS 30 WSH 24—Washington’s losing streak stretched to 5 games as Boston was able to keep pace with New Jersey with a 6 point win in front of only 15,600 at RFK. Johnny Walton once again proved to be a timeless wonder, throwing for 265 yards and 2 scores to lead the Breakers to the win. Washington was game, and Kim McQuilken did not play poorly, throwing for 275 himself. At one point it looked like a good day for the Feds, as they took a 14 point lead early in the 3rd quarter, 24-10. But, as seems to be the trend for the Feds, they could not hold on. Boston scored 20 unanswered points in the 3rd and 4th quarters, including a 72 yard TD pass to Nolan Franz on a successful flea flicker, and an errant McQuilken throw which Joe Restic took all the way back for a score. The loss puts the Federals at 2-5, while Boston is again above .500 at 4-3. TBY 21 CHI 16—The Bandits shrugged of their Week 6 loss and found a way to slog out a win at a rainy Soldier Field. Once again Chicago found itself settling for field goals (3 in the game) when they needed touchdowns. Tim Spencer had a particularly rough day, gaining only 32 yards on 18 carries, while his counterpart for the Bandits, Gary Anderson scampered for 133 on 15 carries. Pair that with 2 TD’s from wideout Eric Truvillion and Tampa was able to hang on for a win that propelled them to the top of the Central Division once again. For Chicago, the loss dropped them below .500 at 3-4 and placed them at the bottom of this tough division. MGN 24 BIR 38—The run of strong play from the Birmingham Stallions continued in Week 7 as the homestanding Stallions delighted a crowd of over 42,000 in Legion Field. On a warm Sunday afternoon, it was the Stallions’ ground game that really heated things up. Quarles led the team with 104 yards rushing, while backup Earl Gant added 54 yards of his own. Add to that 3 TD tosses from Bobby Lane, and you get a 14 point win despite strong play from the Michigan receiving duo of Carter and Holloway, who had 297 yards receiving between the two of them (with Holloway accounting for all 3 Panther TDs). The win puts Birmingham at 6-1, even with Tampa, but with a win over the Bandits in hand. Michigan falls to 4-3, 2 games back. OAK 40 DEN 17—Just when we think Oakland is in real trouble, after a loss to winless LA, they come out and dominate a solid Denver team. Both Arthur Whittington (135 yards rushing) and Fred Besana (250 yards passing) had good outings and the much-maligned Oakland D bent but did not break against the Gold. Ken Johnson was harassed all day, leading to two interceptions and two sacks. While Vic James caught both Denver TD’s he was also held to only 46 yards on 4 catches, far below his league leading average. The win is Oakland’s 2nd on the season, putting them back in the mix in the weakest of the league’s three divisions. ARZ 41 LA 35—Funny what desperation will do. After two straight wins, LA looked to have turned a corner. Meanwhile Arizona, at 0-6 was a team with nothing to lose, and it showed on Sunday. The Wranglers, led by backup Dan Manucci due to an injury to starter Alan Risher, found balance on offense. They passed for 167 yards (and 3 scores) and rushed for another 122. And while Tom Ramse threw for 331 yards, he also threw 4 interceptions into a secondary that had not been scaring anyone. LA at times looked the stronger team, but 5 total turnovers did them in against a scrappy Wrangler team. So what’s next? Well, due to a scheduling quirk these two teams will meet again next week in the LA Coliseum, perhaps a chance for LA to show its worth and seek some revenge.

A mistake-filled defeat for Tampa, two close games in the Atlantic, and two teams on the rise out west mark Week 6 play in the USFL. BOS 24 NJ 25—It was a game for the ages in front of 52,000 at the Meadowlands as the Generals erased an 8 point 4th quarter deficit to knock off the suddenly hard-luck Breakers from Boston. Both teams moved the ball well all day, with Boston’s Richard Crump rushing for 91 yards, while New Jersey’s Herschel Walker rumbled for 122. Johnny Walton had a strong day, with 301 yards passing, but two turnovers, an early interception in the first quarter and a costly fumble in the 4th led to 10 New Jersey points. For his part, Generals QB Bobby Scott contributed 219 yards passing and two scores, including the winning TD, a 9-yard pass to backup RB Rob Fuller with 2:22 left in the game. When the 2pt try failed, Boston had a chance to win the game with a field goal, but a 4th and 10 pass on their own 41 yard line got stifled for only 8 yards, turning the ball over on downs and giving New Jersey a well-earned division win. WSH 28 PHI 34—Another good game on a sunny day in Philly, as the two teams battled to a 21-21 tie at in the 3rd quarter before Philly went on a 13 point run that put the game away. Washington would score a late TD to make the game close, but Philly recovered the onside kick and salted the game away. The star of the day was Philly backup RB Booker Russell. While Kelvin Bryant got most of the carries (28 for 81 yards), Russell proved invaluable around the endzone, where he scored 2 TD’s for the Stars. For Washington, the game grew tougher when lead RB Craig James went out with an injury after only 2 carries in the 1st quarter. Backup Curtis Bledsoe rushed 14 times for 60 yards, but the shift in rushers clearly impacted the game. With the loss, Washington falls 2 games behind division leaders NJ and Philly at 2-4. For the Stars a division win is a valuable commodity as they join the Generals at the top of the Atlantic Division. CHI 17 MGN 20—Another big crowd at the Silverdome as the Panthers bounced back from their surprise loss in LA to knock down the division rival Blitz. 43,000 showed up in Pontiac to watch a close game between two evenly matched foes. The two swapped the lead all day and it was not decided until Hebert hit Anthony Carter for a 14 yard score with 1:59 left in the game. It was actually a pretty slow day for Hebert, who only threw for 187 yards. John Williams, the shifty Panther back took up a lot of the load, carrying the ball 21 times for 104 yards. On the other sideline it was Frank Corral who actually provided a lot of the offense, kicking 5 fieldgoals for a Blitz offense that never saw the endzone. Corral’s 5 kicks and a safety were all the scoring the Blitz could muster. Had they been able to turn just one of their FG drives into 7 they would have won this one, but the Michigan D, led by LB John Corker, held tough in the red zone all day, giving Michigan the win and moving their record to 4-2. BIR 33 TBY 11—This was the game of the week, at least that is what the billing said. The undefeated Bandits taking on the 4-1 Stallions. Over 47,000 showed up at Tampa Stadium to watch the fireworks, but what they got was a lot more from Bob Lane and the Stallions than from John Reaves and the Bandits. The Stalliions figured out a way to shut down the longball, the bread and butter of Bandit Ball, holding Reaves to only 163 yards passing and forcing three interceptions and 2 fumbles from the Bandit offense. Birmingham capitalized on those turnovers, scoring on an INT return by Jason Brown and snagging a safety when Gary Anderson could not get out of his own way on a poorly run counter play from the Tampa 1 yard line. Lane would add two short TD passes and Tampa just could not recover. Birmingham, with the win, moves into a tie for the lead of the Central Division at 5-1, and Tampa has to hope they can find a way to avoid such a mistake-filled game next week against Chicago. LA 40 OAK 13—Someone break up the Express. After going 0-4 LA has won two in a row and QB Tom Ramsey has grown each week. From a close loss in week 4 to a decent game in week 5, this week Ramsey exploded, throwing for 4 TD’s against a bewildered Invader secondary. The other big surprise this week was backup RB LaRue Harrington, filling in for the injured Tony Boddie, and racing for 145 yards on 20 carries. Oakland’s defensive gameplan was simply not up to snuff, and the O did not look much better. Playing much of the game from behind, the rushing attack of Whittington was largely abandoned. Fred Besana threw for 309 yards as the Invaders tried to keep pace with the Express, but going 5 for 14 on third down just kept Oakland drives from leading to scores. The win pushes LA to 2-4 and 2nd in the weak Pacific Division. Oakland will need to regroup next week as they take on division-leading Denver. DEN 26 ARZ 14—The Gold pulled to .500 with a win over the hapless and winless Arizona Wranglers. Denver scored the first 17 points of the game and never relinquished that lead as Arizona struggled to move the ball. The Wranglers would total only 213 yards of total offense for the game, compared to Denver’s 423. After a rough first half the Wranglers pulled a struggling Alan Risher, only to find that their backup, Dan Manucci, was also not up to the task. For Denver, it was a strong game from RB Harry Sydney, who raced up 105 yards on only 13 carries. Ken Johnson dinked and dunked for an impressive 311 yards as well. The loss drops the Wranglers to 0-6 and now face a revived and dangerous LA Express squad. Denver will be back home at Mile High to take on the 1-5 Oakland Invaders next week.

Week Five featured the Atlantic Division going head to head while all 4 Central teams faced off against Pacific Division teams, with one of the biggest surprise results of the year to date. PHI 14 BOS 29— At Friday’s presser Breakers coach Dick Coury said that he felt the key to the game was which team could run the ball effectively. The Breakers clearly focused on both their rush attack and shutting down the Stars’ running game, to great effect. Breakers RB Richard Crump had 101 yards on only 15 carries, including a 64 yard rumbler that put the Breakers up by 6 in the 2nd quarter. Meanwhile, Philly’s Kevlin Bryant was held to only 38 yards on 12 carries as the Breakers focused their defensive energy on the run game. Chuck Fusina was able to marshal the Stars through the air, to the tune of 222 yards and 2 TD’s, but it proved too little as Crump’s big day also allowed QB Johnny Walton to use play action effectively and lead the Breakers to a 15 point win on a sunny day in Boston. NJ 23 WSH 17—The other Atlantic battle saw New Jersey head down I-95 to DC to face the Federals. It was a well-matched game throughout, with the Generals breaking out to a 16-0 lead only to watch Craig James and the Federals score 10 to bring themselves within one score. The killing blow for NJ came when Generals QB Bobby Scott hit wideout Mike Friede on a somewhat innocuous 11 yard slant, but when the CB and the Safety for the Feds both hit Friede simultaneously, the effect was that the two defenders fell to the ground and Friede remained standing, and running, for what would become an 83 yard TD to build New Jersey’s lead to 13. Craig James would get another TD late in the 4th, but it was too little for the Feds, who fell to 2-3 with the division loss. OAK 17 CHI 24—It was another heartbreakingly close game for the Invaders as they fell to Chicago by 7. The Blitz were playing with backup QB Tim Koegel for a second week, and he showed some skills this week, passing for 259 yards and two TD’s, hitting both Wamon Buggs and Trumaine Johnson for scores. Oakland’s Fred Besana could only muster 191 yards passing, but was helped by a strong output from the tandem backs of Whittington and Smart, who combined for 146 yards. Oakland, after trailing the whole game, pulled within 7 at 12:47, but simply could not do anything right for the remainder of the 4th quarter, never mounting a serious scoring drive to challenge the Blitz in the 4th quarter. Oakland falls to 1-4 in the Sad Sack Pacific Division, while Chicago’s 3-2 record still keeps them in last place in the very tough Central. DEN 10 TBY 36—It was another strong outing from John Reaves and the Tampa Bay Bandits as they left Denver in their dust with a 26 point victory. Denver had been the only team at .500 in the Pacific, but will have to settle for 2-3 and first in the division after this loss. The star of the game was Tampa wideout Willie Gillespie, whose 136 yards receiving included an 86 yard bomb from Reaves. Gary Anderson, the elusive Bandit back, also contributed with 123 yards on the ground as Tampa dominated in all phases of the game. Tampa remains undefeated at 5-0 atop the Central Division. BIR 41 ARZ 20—It is safe to say that not many folks were laying down money on Arizona to defeat Birmingham. That was shrewd. While early in the third quarter the Wranglers were looking OK, scoring on their opening drive to pull within 3 at 17-14, the wheels fell off after that. 24 straight points by Birmingham over the next 15 minutes put the game away and left the 14,200 fans in attendance at Sun Devil Stadium with a let down feeling. The problem, it would seem, is the Wrangler’s absolute inability to win at the line of scrimmage. While they did get to Stallions QB 4 times for sacks, 3 of these were more about coverage than line play. Lane spent most of the day with a solid pocket, allowing him to complete 81% of his passes (18 of 22). And when the Stallions chose to run, they ran hard. Cornelius Quarles racked up 180 yards and 4 TD’s on the day. His backup averaged 6.1 yards a carry as well, on his way to 55 additional rush yards. So, a long day for the Wranglers, who are hoping that their matchup with Denver next week is a different story. MGN 14 LA 21—This one was a shocker. After switching QB’s from Mike Rae to Tom Ramsey a week ago, the LA offense looked slightly better, but no one expected the Express to upend the red hot Panthers. And it was not just offense, this was an all-phases win. LA held the Panthers run game to a meager 29 yards on the day, and while Bobby Hebert racked up 285 yards in the air, he also threw 3 interceptions. Ramsey provided solid, if not spectacular, leadership of the LA offense, including a TD toss to TE Ricky Ellis to put the Express up for good. He was complemented by 70 yards from RB LaRue Harrington, subbing for the hamstrung Tony Boddie. The win was LA’s first of the season. They will go for their second against an equally 1-4 Oakland squad.

Can Tampa get a 4th win? Can Chicago win with a backup QB at the helm? Who comes out ahead when the Pacific teams clash? All these questions and more are answered in an exciting 4th week of USFL action. TBY 21 NJ 20 – In their tightest match yet, the Tampa Bay Bandits found a way to win, defeating the New Jersey Generals by the slightest of margins. For much of the game it did not appear likely, as New Jersey ran out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter on the strength of two Bobby Scott TD passes. But, momentum shifted after an interception when Scott tried to push the ball downfield to Tom McConnaughey. The mood-shifting pick seemed to energize Tampa, who went on to score three times, with Reaves hitting each of his top 3 receivers (Truvillion, Buggs and Gillespie) with a scoring strike. In the end, despite 138 yards from Hershel Walker the Generals could not recover a rhythm and were unable to do more than score a field goal to bring them within one. CHI 26 PHI 31—In another nailbiter, Philadelphia held off Chicago to take a 5 point win in front of a raucous crowd of 32,300 in Veterans Stadium. The Blitz effectively held Kelvin Bryant in check, limiting him to only 44 yards rushing and one leaping TD (right), but Philly came with other weapons. Chuck Fusina hit TE Steve Folsom twice for scores, and spread the ball around to 7 different receivers. For Chicago, Tim Spencer led the charge, rushing for 117 yards and a TD. Backup QB Tim Koegel filled in admirably for the injured Greg Landry, but the Blitz fell just short to a tenacious Philly Stars team playing at home. The win moves Philly into first place in the Atlantic, and places Chicago at the basement of the Central. WSH 24 MGN 47—If you have not yet watched Michigan’s Bobby Hebert play, this was the week to catch him in action. The young Cajun Cannon threw for 475 yards and 4 TD’s to propel the Panthers to an impressive win over the Federals. Anthony Carter benefited most from the onslaught, reeling in one bomb after another to the tune of 208 yards on only 5 receptions. Derek Holloway also benefited, catching 2 TD’s and 165 yards as well. The Michigan defense also came to play, limiting Roger Craig to only 47 yards rushing, and holding the Federals’ Joey Walters to only 3 receptions on the day. It was a statement game for Michigan, who move to 3-1, while the reeling Federals will return home 2-2 after 4 weeks. BOS 27 BIR 35—In what proved to be a rough week for the Atlantic Division, Boston also took to the road, and returned home at 2-2 after a tough defeat to the Birmingham Stallions. Tough not only because Birmingham got the win, but because Boston blew a 27-14 lead after 3. The 4th quarter belonged to the Stalliions, who scored 21 in the final quarter to blow past the Breakers. Both Earl Gant and Cornelius Quarles scored on 1 yard runs, and Jim Smith added a 29 yard TD reception to break the hearts of Breaker fans and give Birmingham their 3rd win in 4 games. It now appears that the Central Division with Tampa undefeated and both Birmingham and Michigan at 3-1, is the lead division in the league. OAK 42 ARZ 27—Something had to break when the 4 Pacific Division teams faced each other, and what seemed to have broken is Arizona’s spirit. The Wranglers could not keep pace with a suddenly dynamic Oakland attack. Invaders RB Arthur Whittington had a field day in Tempe, racing for 138 yards and a TD. His running mate, Aaron Smart, got three goal line carries and converted them into 3 scores as well. For the Wranglers, Alan Risher tried to keep pace, but completed only 49% of his passes, including two errant throws that went the other way, including a 1st quarter pick-six that put the Invaders in front for good. Risher will have to play better, as will the entire Wranglers squad if they want to avoid falling even further behind in the division. For Oakland, their first victory has to be a welcome feeling, and if the offense can keep the ball rolling, this won’t be their last W. DEN 31 LA 21—Coach Campbell made the call this week. After 3 poor outings by QB Mike Rae, he gave Tom Ramsey a shot to prove his skills. Ramsey kept the Express in the game through three quarters, before a poorly thrown ball led to a Loren Hawk 31 yard interception return for a back-breaking touchdown. The Express defense did not help their cause much, allowing Gold QB Ken Johnson to complete 30 of 40 attempts and the combination of Harry Sydney and Scott Stamper to gain 144 combined rushing yards. So, after 4 games, LA and Arizona have yet to notch a win, and we begin to worry that they may just not have the players on their squads to do anything but compete with each other twice this year. That first Wranglers-Express matchup is slated for week 7, a game perhaps to miss if both are 0-6 by then.

USA Today, April 6, 1983 With four weeks of play in the books and better than expected attendance and television viewership, it appears that the idea of professional football in the spring was not as far-fetched as many had claimed. The fledgling USFL has shown over the past month that there is an appetite for more football once the Super Bowl is over, and that even with only a handful of nationally known names, the games can be high quality football and fun for fans. The league has its issues, of course. Quarterbacking has been hit or miss, and some cities have embraced the experience more than others, but the overall reaction has been solid. Fans in cities such as Tampa, Denver, Birmingham and Detroit have come out strong for their teams, while some teams are struggling at the gate, either from stadium limitations—Boston plays in a 22,000 college stadium—or due to competition from other sports and good spring weather—the 0-4 LA Express are trailing all teams in attendance despite playing in one of the league’s largest stadiums, the cavernous LA Coliseum. The next challenges for the league will be balancing the revenue across all teams, not just those whose winning records keep fans in the stands, and preparing for what appears to be a growing player war with the NFL. In the USFL’s first year the plan seems to have been to seek out NFL players who were marginal on most rosters, recent retirees or free agents. The biggest names in the league are not NFL vets, but rookies fresh out of college, such as the league’s marquee player, RB Herschel Walker, who came to the USFL after only 2 years at Georgia. He is not alone, of course, as potential NFL first rounders such as WRs Anthony Carter and Eric Truvillion also jumped to the new league. The USFL is already talking expansion, with hopes of adding 2-6 new teams for 1984. This will bring added revenue through expansion fees and will also help fill in the national TV market for the league. But before they do that, they need to settle on their financial model, and a newly released revenue sharing plan aims to do just that. The USFL will split all television funds evenly across all franchises, and will go a step further, sharing a percentage of both merchandise and ticket revenue as well, essentially ensuring that a team like the LA Express who struggle at the box office are not severely hurt while another, like the New Jersey Generals rake in additional revenue with higher ticket prices. It is a daring plan, and one which might lead to greater franchise stability as the pressure to make local dollars will not be as high. Enforcing that each team will pull its weight to market and contribute to the shared pool will be the challenge going forward. Another challenge will be player acquisition. With the NFL Draft coming in just a couple of weeks, USFL officials have been making open overtures to top NFL prospects. Those not signed already from the December USFL Draft are free agents at this point in USFL eyes, and each USFL franchise is doing their best to entice NFL prospects to consider the USFL if they are not pleased by their selection in the NFL Draft. With big noise coming from anticipated #1 pick John Elway about the unwanted prospect of being chosen by the Baltimore Colts, and rumblings that other players (and their agents) plan to use the USFL to bargain with the NFL, it is possible that we will see even more top prospects jump to the USFL in 1984 rather than play this fall for the NFL. With each team now allowed 3 players who do not count against the USFL’s salary cap (a rule most are calling the “Walker Rule” in honor of Herschel Walker’s signing by New Jersey), it is possible that teams could start to sign not only top rookie prospects but a few NFL vets as well, a prospect that clearly has the NFL worried. All this and the league has only played 4 weeks. Perhaps it will all continue to come together, or perhaps there is trouble ahead for this spring phenomenon. Only time will tell. But, as first impressions go, the USFL has certainly made an resounding one.

What is wrong out West? Patterns seem to emerge as the Atlantic and Central Divisions rack up wins while the Pacific flounders, losing all 4 matchups this week. MGN 13 TBY 21 – The Tampa Bay Bandits come out of week 3 as the only undefeated team in the league, and with another strong performance from QB John Reaves, they have taken an early line as the team, and the player to beat this year. Reaves threw for 333 yards, and while he only accounted for 1 TD against a stout Panther defense, he controlled the second half of the game, with both Bandit TD’s coming in the 4th quarter. Bobby Hebert, on the other side, also had a respectable game, throwing for 239 yards and 2 TD’s, but a missed extra point, and a lack of focus in the 4th quarter doomed their comeback attempt. ARZ 20 BOS 28—Playing in the smallest stadium in the league, the Boston Breakers had the first sellout of the USFL season for any team. The 22,000 who showed up at Nickerson Field got to watch as Breaker RB Richard Crump held court. He rushed for 148 yards on 25 carries, eating up clock and converting on 3rd down after 3rd down on the way to an 8 point victory. His 3 touchdown runs were all Boston needed to secure the win. In a losing effort Arizona’s Alan Risher played well, completing 70% of his passes, but when it counted most, on 3rd downs, the Wranglers were only 3 of 11. Boston moves to 2-1, keeping pace with the rest of the very competitive Atlantic Division. Los Angeles 24 Washington 27—It was the LA Express’s best offensive performance of the year, but was still not enough to overtake the Federals on a rainy day at RFK. The star of the day was Federals QB Kim McQuilken who dinked and dunked his way to 220 yards and 3 TD’s. Craig James also had his best USFL outing to date, rushing for 102 yards on 27 carries. LA actually looked like they would take this one, building up a 24-7 lead in the early stages of the 3rd quarter, but then Washington went on a 20-0 run, including 2 TD passes from McQuilken, including a game-winning toss with only 48 seconds left in the game. BIR 20 CHI 26—The Blitz knocked Birmingham from the ranks of the unbeated with a solid three-phase victory on a windy afternoon at Soldier Field. 28,500 were there to watch as Greg Landry led the Blitz to a 23-10 lead at half, only to watch Landry go down to injury in the 3rd quarter. Without Landry the Blitz offense struggled and Birmingham was able to scratch back to within 1 score, but the Chicago D held and a strong effort from Stallions RB Cornelious Quarles (152 yards on only 18 carries) was for naught. Landry was diagnosed with an ankle sprain and should be back in action within 2-4 weeks. NJ 37 DEN 26—The woes for the Pacific Division continued as Denver fell to 1-2 with a loss to the Generals. New Jersey’s Hershel Walker ran over the Gold defense for 118 yards and 3 TD’s in the 11 poiint victory. By the end of 3 quarters, the Generals held a commanding 24 point lead (34-10) before softening enough for Denver to score 16 points in the final quarter. The Generals were never really at risk, though the softer zone defenses it used in the 4th quarter allowed Denver QB Ken Johnson to improve a stat line that looked quite dim after 3 quarters. New Jersey now shares a 2-1 record with the three other Atlantic teams while Denver’s 1-2 record keeps them atop the sad sack Pacific division, where they are the only squad to notch a win so far this season. PHI 24 OAK 10—Oakland fell for the third straight week as their strategy to bottle up Stars RB Kelvin Bryant led to a good day for QB Chuck Fusina.Stars wideout Scott Fitzkee notched 104 yards receiving on 9 catches, while teammate Tom Donovan brought in two short TD passes from the wily Fusina.The Stars held both Fred Besana and Alfred Whittington in check all day, allowing only 256 total yards in offense to the Invaders.While Philadelphia looks like a contender in the Atlantic, Oakland is still clearly trying to find a formula that will bring them more W’s.With 3 divisional play weeks in the next 4,