1985 USFL season
| 1985 United States Football League season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | ||||
| Duration | February 23 – June 24, 1985 | |||
| Playoffs | ||||
| Start date | June 29, 1985 | |||
| Eastern Conference champions | Birmingham Stallions | |||
| Western Conference champions | Oakland Invaders | |||
| Championship | ||||
| Date | July 14, 1985 | |||
| Site | Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. | |||
| Champions | Baltimore Stars | |||
| ||||
The 1985 USFL season was the third and final season of the United States Football League (USFL).
Rule changes
Adopted instant replay for the 1985 season. Under the instant-replay rule, a team may have one appeal per half in three situations:
- A fumble or no-fumble situation.
- Whether a pass is complete, incomplete or intercepted.
- Whether the ball has penetrated the goal line.
The team asking for the replay would lose a time out if they were wrong. The replay was available only in games televised by ABC.
Franchise changes
- Pittsburgh Maulers fold.
- Chicago Blitz suspend operations.
- Michigan Panthers merge with the Oakland Invaders.
- Arizona Wranglers and the Oklahoma Outlaws merge and create the Arizona Outlaws.
- New Orleans Breakers relocate to Portland, Oregon as the Portland Breakers.
- Philadelphia Stars move games to College Park, Maryland with plans to move to Baltimore in 1986, team is renamed the Baltimore Stars.
- Washington Federals are sold and relocate to Orlando, Florida as the Orlando Renegades.
General news
Harry Usher became the new commissioner of the USFL in January 1985.
The USFL and the United States Football League Players Association (USFLPA) agreed on a four-year agreement.
Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
y = Division Champion, x = Wild Card
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1985 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % Filled | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Birmingham Stallions | 13 | 5 | 0 | .722 | 436 | 299 | Legion Field | 77,000 | 32,065 | 42% | Rollie Dotsch |
| x-New Jersey Generals | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 418 | 378 | Giants Stadium | 76,891 | 41,268 | 54% | Walt Michaels |
| x-Memphis Showboats | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 429 | 337 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 50,180 | 30,948 | 62% | Pepper Rodgers |
| x-Baltimore Stars | 10 | 7 | 1 | .583 | 368 | 260 | Byrd Stadium | 51,500 | 14,275 | 28% | Jim Mora |
| x-Tampa Bay Bandits | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 405 | 422 | Tampa Stadium | 72,812 | 45,220 | 62% | Steve Spurrier |
| Jacksonville Bulls | 9 | 9 | 0 | .500 | 407 | 402 | Gator Bowl Stadium | 80,100 | 44,325 | 55% | Lindy Infante |
| Orlando Renegades | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 308 | 481 | Orlando Stadium | 52,000 | 24,136 | 46% | Lee Corso |
| Western Conference | |||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Stadium | 1985 Capacity | Avg. Att. | Avg. % Filled | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Oakland Invaders | 13 | 4 | 1 | .750 | 473 | 359 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,615 | 17,509 | 32% | Charlie Sumner |
| x-Denver Gold | 11 | 7 | 0 | .611 | 433 | 389 | Mile High Stadium | 75,123 | 14,446 | 19% | Darrell "Mouse" Davis |
| x-Houston Gamblers | 10 | 8 | 0 | .556 | 544 | 388 | Houston Astrodome | 47,695 | 19,120 | 40% | Jack Pardee |
| Arizona Outlaws | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 376 | 405 | Sun Devil Stadium | 70,030 | 17,881 | 26% | Frank Kush |
| Portland Breakers | 6 | 12 | 0 | .333 | 275 | 422 | Civic Stadium | 32,500 | 19,919 | 61% | Dick Coury |
| San Antonio Gunslingers | 5 | 13 | 0 | .278 | 296 | 436 | Alamo Stadium | 32,000 | 11,721 | 37% | Jim Bates/Gil Steinke |
| Los Angeles Express | 3 | 15 | 0 | .167 | 266 | 456 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 94,000 | 8,415 | 9% | John Hadl |
New Jersey finished ahead of Memphis based on a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage (2-0-0).
Playoffs
Home team in CAPITALS
Quarterfinals June 29–30 and July 1
- BIRMINGHAM 22, Houston 20
- MEMPHIS 48, Denver 7
- OAKLAND 30, Tampa Bay 27
- Baltimore 20, NEW JERSEY 17
Semifinals July 6–7
- Baltimore 28, BIRMINGHAM 14
- Oakland 28, MEMPHIS 19
USFL Championship game July 14 (at East Rutherford, New Jersey)
- Baltimore 28, OAKLAND 24
Statistics
1985 regular season stat leaders
| 1985 Passing Stats (all) | ||||||||||
| Name, Team | Att | Comp | % | yards | YDs/Att | TD | TD % | INT | INT % | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Lewis, MEM | 184 | 97 | 52.7 | 1593 | 8.66 | 16 | 8.7 | 5 | 2.7 | 99.8 |
| Jim Kelly, HOU | 567 | 360 | 63.5 | 4623 | 8.15 | 39 | 6.9 | 19 | 3.4 | 97.9 |
| Fred Besana, OAK | 58 | 34 | 58.6 | 494 | 8.51 | 6 | 10.3 | 4 | 6.9 | 92.2 |
| Brian Sipe, JACK | 89 | 55 | 61.8 | 685 | 7.97 | 4 | 4.5 | 2 | 2.2 | 91.3 |
| Cliff Stoudt, BIRM | 444 | 266 | 59.9 | 3358 | 7.56 | 34 | 7.7 | 19 | 4.3 | 91.2 |
| Tim Riordan, PHIL | 36 | 21 | 58.3 | 260 | 7.22 | 1 | 2.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 90.0 |
| Bobby Hebert, OAK | 456 | 244 | 53.5 | 3811 | 8.36 | 30 | 6.6 | 19 | 4.2 | 86.1 |
| Chuck Fusina, PHIL | 496 | 303 | 61.1 | 3496 | 7.05 | 20 | 4.0 | 14 | 2.8 | 84.0 |
| Mike Kelley, MEM | 260 | 165 | 63.5 | 2186 | 8.41 | 9 | 3.5 | 14 | 5.4 | 79.1 |
| Bob Lane, BIRM | 33 | 18 | 54.5 | 255 | 7.73 | 1 | 3.0 | 1 | 3.0 | 77.2 |
| Doug Williams, ARZ | 509 | 271 | 53.2 | 3673 | 7.22 | 21 | 4.1 | 17 | 3.3 | 76.4 |
| Bob Gagliano, DENV | 358 | 205 | 57.3 | 2695 | 7.53 | 13 | 3.6 | 17 | 4.7 | 73.5 |
| John Reaves, TB | 561 | 314 | 56.0 | 4193 | 7.47 | 25 | 4.5 | 29 | 5.2 | 73.2 |
| Ed Luther, JACK | 400 | 240 | 60.0 | 2792 | 6.98 | 15 | 3.8 | 21 | 5.3 | 71.8 |
| Todd Dillon, HOU | 225 | 121 | 53.8 | 1495 | 6.65 | 9 | 4.0 | 9 | 4.0 | 71.3 |
| Rick Neuheisel, SA | 421 | 239 | 56.8 | 3068 | 7.29 | 18 | 4.3 | 25 | 5.9 | 69.3 |
| Doug Flutie, NJ | 281 | 134 | 47.7 | 2109 | 7.51 | 13 | 4.6 | 14 | 5.0 | 67.8 |
| Rick Johnson, ARZ | 43 | 21 | 48.8 | 318 | 7.40 | 3 | 7.0 | 3 | 7.0 | 67.8 |
| Reggie Collier, ORL | 427 | 229 | 53.6 | 2578 | 6.04 | 13 | 3.0 | 16 | 3.7 | 66.5 |
| Vince Evans, DENV | 325 | 157 | 48.3 | 2259 | 6.95 | 12 | 3.7 | 16 | 4.9 | 63.1 |
| Steve Young, LA | 250 | 137 | 54.8 | 1741 | 6.97 | 6 | 2.4 | 13 | 5.2 | 63.1 |
| Matt Robinson, POR | 310 | 156 | 50.3 | 2182 | 7.04 | 15 | 4.8 | 20 | 6.5 | 62.6 |
| Buck Belue, JACK | 68 | 37 | 54.4 | 299 | 4.40 | 3 | 4.4 | 3 | 4.4 | 62.1 |
| Jerry Golsteyn, ORL | 135 | 65 | 48.1 | 647 | 4.79 | 4 | 3.0 | 7 | 5.2 | 50.4 |
| Jimmy Jordan, TB | 93 | 54 | 58.1 | 601 | 6.46 | 3 | 3.2 | 11 | 11.8 | 48.6 |
| Doug Woodward, POR | 155 | 62 | 40.0 | 831 | 5.36 | 3 | 1.9 | 6 | 3.9 | 48.1 |
| Frank Seurer, LA | 242 | 120 | 49.6 | 1479 | 6.11 | 7 | 2.9 | 18 | 7.4 | 47.5 |
| Fred Mortensen, SA | 57 | 20 | 35.1 | 204 | 3.58 | 1 | 1.8 | 4 | 7.0 | 22.8 |
| 1985 Rushing leaders | |||||
| Name, Team | Att | Yds | Ave. | TDs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herschel Walker, NJ | 438 | 2411 | 5.5 | 21 | |
| Mike Rozier, JACK | 320 | 1361 | 4.3 | 12 | |
| Bill Johnson, DENV | 212 | 1261 | 5.9 | 15 | |
| Kelvin Bryant, PHIL | 238 | 1207 | 5.1 | 12 | |
| Gary Anderson, TB | 276 | 1207 | 4.4 | 16 | |
| Joe Cribbs, BIRM | 267 | 1047 | 3.9 | 7 | |
| Otis Brown, AZ | 229 | 1031 | 4.5 | 12 | |
| Albert Bentley, OAK | 191 | 1020 | 5.3 | 4 | |
| John Williams, OAK | 186 | 857 | 4.6 | 9 | |
| Buford Jordan, PORT | 165 | 817 | 5.0 | 5 | |
| Tim Spencer, MEM | 198 | 789 | 4.0 | 3 | |
| Curtis Bledsoe, ORL | 207 | 781 | 3.8 | 3 | |
| Maurice Carthon, NJ | 175 | 726 | 4.1 | 6 | |
| Reggie Collier, ORL | 92 | 606 | 6.6 | 12 | |
| Walter Lewis, MEM | 65 | 591 | 9.1 | 4 | |
| Greg Boone, TB | 111 | 559 | 5.0 | 3 | |
| Allen Harvin, PHIL | 138 | 549 | 4.0 | 4 | |
| George Works, SA | 93 | 542 | 5.8 | 1 | |
| Mel Gray, LA | 125 | 526 | 4.2 | 1 | |
| 1985 Receiving Leaders | ||||
| Name, Team | Rec | Yds | Ave. | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Johnson, HOU | 103 | 1384 | 13.4 | 14 |
| Leonard Harris, DENV | 101 | 1432 | 14.2 | 8 |
| Jim Smith, BIRM | 87 | 1322 | 15.2 | 20 |
| Clarence Verdin, HOU | 84 | 1004 | 12.0 | 9 |
| Alton Alexis, JACK | 83 | 1118 | 13.5 | 5 |
| Marc Lewis, DENV | 75 | 1207 | 16.1 | 6 |
| Scott Fitzkee, PHIL | 73 | 882 | 12.1 | 3 |
| Gary Anderson, TB | 72 | 678 | 9.4 | 4 |
| Derrick Crawford, MEM | 70 | 1057 | 15.1 | 9 |
| Anthony Carter, OAK | 70 | 1323 | 18.9 | 14 |
| Larry Brodsky, TB | 69 | 1071 | 15.5 | 7 |
| Gordon Banks, OAK | 62 | 1115 | 18.0 | 5 |
| Perry Kemp, JACK | 59 | 915 | 15.5 | 4 |
| Marvin Harvey, TB | 59 | 723 | 12.3 | 3 |
| Gerald McNeil, HOU | 58 | 1017 | 17.5 | 6 |
| Joey Walters, ORL | 58 | 784 | 13.5 | 5 |
| Greg Moser, MEM | 57 | 1145 | 20.1 | 6 |
| Vincent White, DENV | 55 | 666 | 12.1 | 5 |
| Alphonso Williams, AZ | 55 | 1020 | 18.5 | 8 |
| Mark Keel, JACK | 53 | 585 | 11.0 | 0 |
| Don Roberts, SA | 53 | 653 | 12.3 | 4 |
| Sam Harrell, HOU | 51 | 491 | 9.6 | 2 |
| Greg Anderson, AZ | 51 | 915 | 17.9 | 5 |
| Mike Rozier, JACK | 50 | 366 | 7.3 | 3 |
| JoJo Townsell, LA | 47 | 777 | 16.5 | 6 |
| Derek Holloway, OAK | 47 | 824 | 17.5 | 7 |
| Jerry Gordon, SA | 44 | 693 | 15.8 | 7 |
| Ken Dunek, PHIL | 44 | 508 | 11.5 | 0 |
| Frank Lockett, PORT/SA | 43 | 794 | 18.5 | 3 |
| J. Jones, BIRM | 43 | 751 | 17.5 | 7 |
| Jeff Smith, ORL | 42 | 521 | 12.4 | 1 |
| Dan Ross, PORT | 41 | 522 | 12.7 | 5 |
1985 USFL regular season sortable offensive team statistics
| Team | Pts. | Ave. | Rank | Total Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Rush. Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Pass. Yards |
Ave. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 544 | 30.2 | 1 | 7032 | 391 | 1 | 1192 | 66 | 14 | 5840 | 324 | 1 |
| Oakland | 473 | 26.3 | 2 | 6354 | 353 | 4 | 2362 | 131 | 5 | 3992 | 222 | 4 |
| Birmingham | 436 | 24.2 | 3 | 5852 | 325 | 8 | 2463 | 137 | 3 | 3389 | 188 | 9 |
| Denver | 433 | 24.1 | 4 | 6629 | 368 | 3 | 2079 | 116 | 7 | 4550 | 253 | 3 |
| Memphis | 429 | 23.8 | 5 | 6201 | 345 | 5 | 2775 | 154 | 2 | 3426 | 190 | 8 |
| New Jersey | 418 | 23.2 | 6 | 6149 | 342 | 6 | 3763 | 209 | 1 | 2386 | 133 | 14 |
| Jacksonville | 407 | 22.6 | 7 | 5752 | 320 | 10 | 1998 | 111 | 11 | 3754 | 209 | 6 |
| Tampa Bay | 405 | 22.5 | 8 | 6709 | 373 | 2 | 2070 | 115 | 8 | 4639 | 258 | 2 |
| Arizona | 376 | 20.9 | 9 | 5804 | 322 | 9 | 2019 | 112 | 10 | 3785 | 210 | 5 |
| Baltimore | 368 | 20.4 | 10 | 5926 | 329 | 7 | 2420 | 134 | 4 | 3506 | 195 | 7 |
| Orlando | 308 | 17.1 | 11 | 4611 | 256 | 13 | 1818 | 101 | 12 | 2793 | 155 | 12 |
| San Antonio | 296 | 16.4 | 12 | 4597 | 255 | 14 | 1777 | 99 | 13 | 2820 | 157 | 11 |
| Portland | 275 | 15.3 | 13 | 5029 | 279 | 11 | 2041 | 113 | 9 | 2988 | 166 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | 266 | 14.8 | 14 | 4707 | 262 | 12 | 2087 | 116 | 6 | 2620 | 146 | 13 |
1985 USFL regular season sortable defensive team statistics
| Team | Pts. | Ave. | Rank | Total Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Rush. Yards |
Ave. | Rank | Pass. Yards |
Ave. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 260 | 14.4 | 1 | 5291 | 294 | 2 | 2045 | 114 | 6 | 3246 | 180 | 3 |
| Birmingham | 299 | 16.6 | 2 | 4829 | 268 | 1 | 1807 | 100 | 1 | 3022 | 168 | 1 |
| Memphis | 337 | 18.7 | 3 | 5327 | 296 | 3 | 1897 | 105 | 3 | 3430 | 191 | 5 |
| Oakland | 359 | 19.9 | 4 | 5584 | 310 | 5 | 1832 | 102 | 2 | 3752 | 208 | 10 |
| New Jersey | 378 | 21.0 | 5 | 5685 | 316 | 7 | 1959 | 109 | 5 | 3726 | 207 | 9 |
| Houston | 388 | 21.6 | 6 | 6298 | 350 | 13 | 2168 | 120 | 8 | 4130 | 229 | 13 |
| Denver | 389 | 21.6 | 7 | 5924 | 329 | 8 | 2172 | 121 | 9 | 3752 | 208 | 11 |
| Jacksonville | 402 | 22.3 | 8 | 6121 | 340 | 10 | 2559 | 142 | 13 | 3562 | 198 | 7 |
| Arizona | 405 | 22.5 | 9 | 5518 | 307 | 4 | 2291 | 127 | 10 | 3227 | 179 | 2 |
| Tampa Bay | 422 | 23.4 | 10 | 5949 | 331 | 9 | 2390 | 133 | 12 | 3559 | 198 | 6 |
| Portland | 422 | 23.4 | 11 | 6177 | 343 | 11 | 2344 | 130 | 11 | 3833 | 213 | 12 |
| San Antonio | 436 | 24.2 | 12 | 5645 | 314 | 6 | 1949 | 108 | 4 | 3696 | 205 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | 456 | 25.3 | 13 | 6273 | 349 | 12 | 2132 | 118 | 7 | 4141 | 230 | 14 |
| Orlando | 481 | 26.7 | 14 | 6731 | 374 | 14 | 3319 | 184 | 14 | 3412 | 190 | 4 |
Awards
See also
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