Houston Gamblers vs Michigan Panthers Prediction, 4/17/2022 USFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Houston Gamblers vs Michigan Panthers

Kevin Sumlin's Houston Gamblers will face the Jeff Fisher's Michigan Panthers in a game that will feature a face off between two former Big Ten quarterbacks at Protective Field in Birmingham, AL. The USFL number 1 overall pick, Shea Patterson and Houston's Clayton Thorson who played his college ball for the Northwestern Wildcats, will go head to head in week 1 of the inaugural USFL season.

Patterson will be looking to connect with his number 1 receiver in Jeff Badet. Badet played for the Kentucky Wildcats from 2013 through 2017 and played his final year for Oklahoma. In his four year stint in college ball, Badet racked up 1,785 yards receiving and caught 7 touchdowns. He didn't quite have his best year on the Baker Mayfield led Sooners, but still was a presence in the locker in addition to running a 4.27 in the 40-yard dash at Oklahoma's pro day. Badet had short runs with multiple NFL teams including the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team, Atlanta Falcons and the Las Vegas Raiders. He and Shea Patterson will look to be one of the better duos in the league this season.

Paxton Lynch is also in the quarterback room for the Panthers which makes them very deep at QB. The talent on this Michigan Panthers team, as well as a coach that has played in a Super Bowl, could mean a great run this season.

Kevin Sumlin, who was the coach of Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, will be looking to use Clayton Thorson a great deal and he'll know how to do it. Clayton will be looking to connect with a talented group including Teo Redding, who played college football for Bowling Green.

Redding's best year came in 2017 in his final season for Bowling Green. He pulled in 8 touchdowns with 624 yards receiving. Redding played in the NFL under many teams including the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers. From there he spent a short amount of time in the XFL for the New York Guardians and then played for the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.

The Gamblers will also have former JUCO All-American running back Mark Thompson. Thompson went from the JUCO ranks to the University of Florida where he ran for 596 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2 seasons for the Gators. On film, this guy can run and the clock is running out on him.

Get all of our USFL Betting Picks

After this game, the Panthers schedule lines up like this:

4/22 - at New Jersey Generals
4/30 - Pittsburgh Maulers
5/8 - Philadelphia Stars
5/15 - at Tampa Bay Bandits
5/22 - at Birmingham Stallions
5/29 - New Orleans Breakers
6/5 - at Philadelphia Stars
6/12 - New Jersey Generals
6/19 - at Pittsburgh Maulers

The Houston Gamblers schedule will look like this:

4/23 - Birmingham Stallions
4/30 - Tampa Bay Bandits
5/8 - at New Orleans Breakers
5/15 - Pittsburgh Maulers
5/22 - at New Jersey Generals
5/29 - Philadelphia Stars
6/5 - at Tampa Bay Bandits
6/12 - at Birmingham Stallions
6/19 - New Orleans Breakers

Tony's Pick: We like the Michigan Panthers to start off 1-0 after this weekend.

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here