IFL Week 3 Picks
- offthewallfbpod
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
I was walking down the street this morning to get my morning coffee (10 oz black sesame espresso iced latte, delightful) and I was stopped by someone and they said, "Hey are you the guy that knows ball?"
To which I smiled and said, "why yes I am" and we proceeded to talk shop about the IFL and the hot start to the picks and the slate for the upcoming week. It was a such a fun convo.
Okay I may have made that up (not the coffee part, that was a treat) but Week 2 was a fun one! We got to see the season debuts of every team and some performed as expected and some were surprising -- but most importantly we turned in a WINNING RECORD to stay hot to start the 2025 campaign.
IFL Week 2 Review
Green Bay -5.5 - Loser
Green Bay wins 52-47, misses cover by 0.5
Quad City ML +100 - Winner
Quad City wins 37-33
Fishers ML +100 - Winner
Fishers wins 41-29
Tucson-Arizona O82.5 - Winner
Combined for 84 points
Bay Area -7.5 - Loser
Bay Area loses outright, 28-21
Vegas-San Diego O84.5 - Winner
Combined for 90 points
The Green Bay loss was a painful one to watch unfold live -- and it was one of those that you felt coming in the 3rd quarter, but it still hurt.
Imagine being up 19 with 3 minutes left and then holding on for dear life to escape with a win by 5 in your home opener -- BlizzBall baby!
But we don't dwell on the weeks past, whether good or bad -- we focus on the next week and finding the next opportunity to take down the bookmakers. Week 3 is upon us.
LET'S FIND SOME WINNERS!
2025 IFL Record: 7-2
Before we get into specific picks, this board is a little odd. Every game with a 81.5-83.5 total and every game within a 2.5 spread? This week could get BUMPY.
Tulsa Oilers vs Fishers Freight (Friday 4/4 @ 6:05PM CT)
The Play: Tulsa ML -110
First ever home game for the Fishers Freight is going to be an EXCITING atmosphere and one that I am very interested in seeing, but it's extremely difficult for me to pick against TJ Edwards in this spot. TJ Edwards has been an incredible regular season QB over the past couple of years and always finds a way to put his team in a position to be successful. He had a strong start to his Tulsa tenure a couple weeks back and connected well with his former Frisco teammates for scores in a win over San Antonio, and I expect Tulsa to be even better this week.
Offensively Fishers still has some things to work out and I don't think they will be gifted with easy defensive touchdowns in this one like they were against NAZ.
Give me TJ Edwards in a pick 'em, and I am taking TJ Edwards in a pick 'em.
Prediction: 51-38 Tulsa
Quad City Streamwheelers vs Iowa Barnstormers (Saturday 4/5 @ 7:05PM CT)
The Play: Over 81.5
This was a tough one to pick Quad City has been stout on defense so far and the offense has done just enough to get the wins in their opening games, but Iowa came out guns-a-blazin' against Green Bay and really impressed with rookie QB Joaquin Collazo III.
To borrow a nugget from our dear friend Alec from Sports Coast to Coast, going back to the 2024 season, the average score in the three-game series between Quad City & Iowa last year clocked in at 92 points, and two of those games went 100+. These games were FUN AS HELL and came down to the wire on multiple occasions -- with a combined margin of victory of FIVE points.
I am running for my life away from the spread here (on either side) and think we see another high scoring classic between these two rivals. Let's go Daquan Neal & Joaquin Collazo!
Prediction: 49-45 Quad City
Arizona Rattlers vs Green Bay Blizzard (Sunday 4/6 @ 3:05PM CT)
The Play: Over 81.5
This line feels a littttttle lazy by the bookmakers, but honestly I am here for it.
Arizona posted 56 last week and didn't get off to the best start offensively. Green Bay scored 51 last week and let their foot off the gas a little bit towards the end of the game.
This'll be a QB duel of potential MVP candidates based on how their seasons have started and I fully expect to see them go blow for blow in this one.
Fun fact: This is the first Western Conference opponent for the Blizzard since May of 2023, and they will be making a return trip to Arizona in June.
Points, points, points.
Prediction: 53-50 Arizona
Vegas Knight Hawks vs Jacksonville Sharks (Sunday 4/6 @ 5:05PM CT)
The Play: Vegas -2.5
Vegas started off last week against San Diego ROUGH but stormed back from 20 points down in the second half to win it in the final minutes of the game. You could tell they were a little rough around the edges in the beginning, but Ja'Rome Johnson got things figured out in the second half.
This Vegas team is exciting and only adding more pieces as CJ Windham will potentially make his season debut this week against the Sharks.
Jacksonville has had a week off since their first game where they took out a self-destructing Massachusetts Pirates team and looks primed to make a run of their own. The offense looked solid and will be able to score points but I just like where this Vegas team is at right now.
I think the O83.5 is a decent-to-good play here as well, but in the interest of making things a little spicer and diversifying from the other plays, let's roll with the -2.5.
Prediction: 46-40 Vegas
San Diego Strike Force vs Bay Area Panthers (Sunday 4/6 @ 7:05PM CT)
The Play: San Diego +2.5
THE CALIFORNIA CLASH IS BACK BABYYYYY!
Despite the loss, I really like how San Diego looked last week. A well-balanced attack on offense and an effective kicking game were things they were missing last year and they managed to fill that void and looked great to open the season (just don't watch that last quarter).
Bay Area looked rough against San Antonio, but was it because of San Antonio's incredible defense (never thought I'd say that after last year) or is it a larger, in-house issue with the Panthers?
The Cali Clash is always a treat and this is gonna be a fun one to finish off the weekend. I gotta roll with the more balanced team so far in this one, and it's crazy to think that one of these teams will be 0-2 when Week 3 is over. San Diegooooooo.
Prediction: 45-38 San Diego