The curse is real... sorry El Paso and Tennessee! 8-7 is the record now. Gotta trust in the system to deliver us to the promised land though. Might have a losing week here and there but never a losing season.

San Antonio at Detroit (-3) - San Antonio got out to an early lead and managed to hang on against KCY last week. The last play of the game will be burned into the memories of Storm fans for a while but suffice it to say... SAO looks like a solid contender well ahead of schedule. The young QB Logan has yet to reach his full potential but he's got good poise, pocket presence, and doesn't dwell on his mistakes. The youth and talent on this roster cannot be ignored.

On the other side is a young Vampires team that is also on the rise. One could say that they have yet to be tested though the stout defensive play should translate. FS Cox is hitting a new level The emergence of RB Burton has been a godsend for an otherwise anemic offense as QB DiCosomo continues to struggle. A new acquisition in OG Nylander could help with the pass protection but any changes to an offensive line will need time.

Both rosters have plenty of growing to do but the DET defense has quite a few talented players in their prime. The unit has been together for a long time and put up great numbers in recent history. At this point the Vampires should be a better team and will capitalize on QB Logan's mistakes. I'll lay the points with the home team: DET wins 24-17.

Durham at Brooklyn (-2) - Durham's loss to Hartford was a bit unexpected but injuries to the Bulldogs came thick and fast after just a few plays. Three(!) offensive linemen got hurt and even RB Ellingsen sprained his thumb after a downfield block. They made a good effort to try and get back into the game but the HAR pass rush took advantage of the missing pieces and shut it down. It seems that QB Ortiz will look to WR Hindman when under pressure, even if WR Spradling or TE Weikel are open.

Brooklyn's consistency and dominance on defense is truly remarkable. This offense definitely needs work though. The TOP churning rushing attack of years past isn't here for the Brawlers and that's forcing QB Woodford to air it out. This year in particular has seen the Brawlers play more young players and I would guess that the inexperienced offensive line is to blame for the slow start to the scoring. Still, this defense can keep them in games where there offense falls short, and GM Dean Gulberry is one of the very best, and I wouldn't be worried for their postseason hopes.

This matchup has generally been good for BKN in the QB Ortiz era despite DUR winning in the 2061 playoffs. With the injuries to key Bulldogs, I like the Brawlers even more. This won't be the prettiest game, but BKN's aggressive defense should frustrate the Bulldogs and hopefully they'll win and cover. The Brawlers win and cover at home, 21-17.

Texas at Oregon (-2) - This'll be the last time we look at betting on a team with 0 wins. I promise! TEX and ORE are two absolutely dreadful teams having themselves a season to forget but one of them has to win this week. Well, I guess it could be a tie but that's good for us because I'm taking the points with the visitors.

I've written about the Bandits in the past, so I'll really only touch on the Inferno today. Obviously, QB Womble's departure isn't great but after several years of mediocrity something had to change. Enter QB Bart Marsh... the fourth overall pick out of a historically good Vols team has been tossed to the wolves. He's not making his reads, not getting rid of the ball, and not getting any help from his offensive line or receivers. The poor guy is running for his life every Sunday! But there is hope for this week at least as the Bandits are an even bigger dumpster fire.

TEX's RBs Boddy and Parker should be able to run all over the Bandits. Statistically ORE has been good against the run but outside of SHR those metrics don't really mean anything. I don't really know how this game will play out but there's really no reason either team should be favored. Give me the points with a visiting team that is maybe a hair less bad: TEX wins 17-14.

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GL Division Champions: 2057, 2059, 2065
EFC Champions: 2057