1978 Season ending power rankings
#1: Portland Renegades (11-3) – Western Champion Once again, the Renegades were the clear favorite to win the Royal Crown, as their only loss during the 2nd half of the season was their week 9 loss to equally hot San Diego and rookie sensation HB Rodney McCray. However, unlike San Diego, Portland never had to come from behind or deal with any dramatic comebacks to make it back to the postseason, as they routed all who came in their wake in the second half of the year with an average margin of victory of over 20 points, including a 55-point blowout against Georgia to close out the season. Also, WR Marty “Spring” Green led all of pro-football (PFO, AAFC, & the 18 game USFL) with 1297 receiving yards
 
#2 San Diego Sol (11-3) – Wild-Card: During the second half of the season, one thing become crystal clear: HB Rodney McCray was worth every penny of the $4,500,000.00 that Raul Gomez paid for his services (the $1.5m to New Jersey for his draft rights, McCray’s $1m signing bonus, and his $2m salary). As McCray led San Diego to win their final 7 games of the season, including a sweep over Dallas and a win over defending champion Portland. In addition, McCray set the all-time single season rushing record, becoming the first player to ever rush for 2,000 yards in a 14-game season (Floyd Litlte of the USFL ran for 2,081 yards in an 18-game season for the 1973 Birmingham Broncos)
 
#3 Dallas Six-Shooters (10-4): “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” might as be the official motto of the Dallas Six-Shooters, as for they once again finish with the leagues 3rd best record. And once again they miss the playoffs, although that may be entirely due to the how much of a coast job New York was able to put on (Hartford, Georgia, New Jersey won a combined zero games against teams not nicknamed “Warriors” after Halloween). And Chicago completely collapsing to the point that an expansion team and Detroit almo

I like B for Detroit

First half of 1978:

Salt Lake Tribune wrote:

Utah wins first game in new unis, upsetting Dallas – September 11th, 1978
The Blue Ox start the 1978 year with their first major uniform change since 1952 when they were the Buffalo Blizzard of the International Football League. They started the 1978 season with a major upset as off-season trade acquisition QB Brett Nugget threw for a career high 358 yards & five touchdowns in a rout of the Six-Shooters. Nugget managed to keep his back off of the grass all afternoon, as the famed “Cotton Conundrum” was unable to tackle Nugget. The Blue Ox’s defense also shut-down last year’s wild-card bid to help the Blue ox get a 35-20 victory.

San Diego Union Tribune wrote:

McCray shines in historic debut, but Sol fall 21-24 to Portland – September 11th, 1978
Rodney McCray’s big payday may have been worth it. McCray crushed the single-game rookie rushing yardage record with his 227-yard, 3 td, 30 carry performance in which he got three touchdowns, even more impressive that it came against Portland. The 2x defending champion Renegades only gave up four rushing touchdowns all season. On the other side of the ball, San Diego got lucky as many deep plays in the Portland playbook were unable to connect due to the slow speed of the Portland’s active receivers. Had Spring Green been on the field yesterday, the game would have gotten more out of hand in the first half. If McCray can play like this against the Renegades, the sky is the limit for the 21-year-old & San Diego

Tampa Tribune wrote:

Fox, Tampa Bay wins battle of rookie QBs over Monroe, Kansas City – September 25th, 1978
Back in March, everyone decried the (2-1) Typhoon’s management for selecting the diminutive Teal Fox over the prototypical Miles Monroe, who was taken three picks later by the (0-3) Fire Lions In their first meeting of what is sure to be many, Fox played well; Monroe did not. Teal thre

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