The Philadelphia Stars take on the New Orleans Breakers in their opening game of the 2022 USFL relaunch. The Breakers enter the game as slight favorites, but who will come out on top on opening weekend? Let’s look at the odds for the Stars vs. Breakers Week 1 matchup and make a pick and prediction.
Philadelphia Stars vs. New Orleans Breakers pick and prediction | Week 1 USFL
- Spread: Breakers -2
- Moneyline: Breakers -125, Stars +105
- Over/under: 43
The Stars
The Stars are led by head coach Bart Andrus, who has one of the most interesting and unique résumés I’ve seen. Andrus has coached high school, D1, D2, the FCS, NFL, NFL Europe, CFL, USFL, and other start-up/development leagues (including the TSL). Largely an offensive coordinator, Andrus gets an opportunity here with Philadelphia, who could be a fun team to watch.
The quarterback room features Case Cookus, who has perhaps the best name in the USFL. Cookus played his college football at Northern Arizona before spending short stints with NFL practice squads.
The Stars’ first-round selection, Bryan Scott, was a gold medalist with the USA U-19 Football Team. In 2014, during the U19 World Cup in Kuwait, Scott led the USA to gold as the team’s quarterback and was also named MVP. Scott played his college football at Occidental College in California. He was drafted third overall by the Stars in the 2022 USFL Draft.
Safety Ahmad Dixon featured in the XFL, registering 44 tackles in five games. He could be one to watch in the Stars’ secondary. Tight end Bug Howard is another recognizable name, having played four strong seasons at UNC. He caught 146 passes for over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns during his time with the Tar Heels.
The Breakers
Larry Fedora is the head coach for the Breakers. Fedora has previously been head coach at Southern Miss University and North Carolina.
In the first round of the USFL Draft, the Breakers selected Kyle Sloter to be their QB. Sloter had been around the NFL since 2017, when he signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. While Sloter did play that preseason, he never did play in a regular-season NFL game. In addition to the Broncos, Sloter also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and Las Vegas Raiders.
New Orleans’ second QB, Zach Smith, played college football at Baylor before transferring to Tulsa.
Ohio State fans will remember wide receiver Johnnie Dixon, who caught 16 touchdowns for the Buckeyes across the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Meanwhile, defensive end Shareef Miller, who played at Penn State, recorded 14.5 sacks during his college career. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pick and Prediction
I like Fedora and the Breakers in this one. I’m not sure what to expect from Scott playing QB or the roster for the Stars. That may be because he’s the lesser-known starter, and he could surprise me. I’ll take the Breakers against the -2 spread.
Score Prediction: Breakers 23, Stars 17