Every game on the final weekend of the USFL’s 2023 regular season had an impact on the lineup for the league’s playoffs.

The North Division had a pair of games set to send the winner to the postseason. The Pittsburgh Maulers defeated the New Jersey Generals 26-6 on Saturday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, and the Michigan Panthers defeated the Philadelphia Stars 23-20 on Sunday night at Ford Field in Detroit.

In the South, the Birmingham Stallions kept hold of the division’s top seed and posted the USFL’s best record at 8-2 with a 27-20 victory over the Memphis Showboats on Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The New Orleans Breakers extinguished Houston’s playoff hopes with a 17-10 victory over the Gamblers on Sunday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

Those outcomes resulted in both teams in the South title game playing at home with the Stallions and Breakers squaring off at 6 p.m. CDT Sunday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham. The Stallions get their choice on the uniforms because they finished one game ahead of 7-3 New Orleans. FOX will televise the game.

The Maulers and Panthers are set for the North title game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. NBC will televise the game.

In the Week 10 games:

· Safety Eli Walker had the big play for Pittsburgh with a 46-yard touchdown return of a fumble recovery that put the Maulers in front 16-6 in the third quarter. Each team had three red-zone possessions: Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns and New Jersey scored no touchdowns on those series.

· Birmingham quarterback Alex McGough threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jace Sternberger with 4:49 to play to break a 20-20 tie. The Stallions offset three turnovers with 404 yards of offense. McGough completed 22-of-33 passes for 282 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Birmingham wide receiver Davion Davis had nine receptions for 114 yards.

· Linebacker Vontae Diggs made two key plays for the Breakers. After the first quarter featured six punts, New Orleans opened the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to wide receiver Johnnie Dixon with 11:14 left in the first half. Houston’s offense got going, too, on the next possession, but Diggs picked off backup QB Montell Cozart after the Gamblers reached the Breakers 8-yard line. With New Orleans leading by seven, Diggs sacked quarterback Kenji Bahar for an 11-yard loss on a second-and-8 snap from the Breakers 49 on the last play before the two-minute warning. Houston punted, and when the Gamblers regained possession, only 24 seconds remained in the game.

· Michigan rallied from a 20-6 halftime deficit to make the playoffs. Philadelphia scored on all four of its first-half possessions. But in the second half, the Stars’ series ended in punts four times (including with 1:58 left to play on Philadelphia’s final possession), a missed field-goal attempt once and downs once. Wide receiver Marcus Simms blocked one of the punts, and wide receiver A.J. Richardson returned it 15 yards for a touchdown as the Panthers cut the Stars’ lead to 20-15 with 4:54 left in the third quarter. QB E.J. Perry joined Michigan with three games left in the regular season and hadn’t thrown a pass in 2023, but the Panthers started him on Sunday night. Perry put Michigan ahead on a 6-yard TD run with 12:59 left to cap a five-play drive on which he ran twice for 31 yards and completed three passes for 29 yards.

While the teams with the best regular-season records in the USFL (and the only two with winning marks) will meet in the South playoff game, the North game features teams with losing records.

The Maulers, Panthers and Stars finished the regular season at 4-6. Philadelphia was the odd team out with a 2-4 division record. Pittsburgh was 4-2 against North competition, and Michigan went 3-3. During the regular season, the Panthers beat the Stars twice, the Maulers beat the Panthers twice and the Stars and Maulers split a pair of games.

The Gamblers and Showboats had 5-5 records, and the Generals went 3-7.

The USFL Championship Game is set for 7 p.m. July 1 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Last year, the Stallions defeated the Stars 33-30 in the league title game. Birmingham also played New Orleans in last year’s South semifinal, beating the Breakers 31-17. Philadelphia advanced to the championship game with a 19-14 victory over New Jersey in 2022.

Players from Alabama high schools and colleges in the USFL’s Week 10 games included:

Pittsburgh Maulers 26, New Jersey Generals 6

· Calvin Ashley (Auburn) started at right guard for the Generals. Ashley made a tackle after a Pittsburgh interception.

· Generals tight end Braedon Bowman (South Alabama) had a 6-yard reception.

· Generals linebacker Jalen Choice (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Jacksonville State) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Generals cornerback Blake Countess (Auburn) is on the injured list and not eligible to play.

· Maulers offensive lineman Xavier Dampeer (Auburn) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Maulers linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn High, Alabama) tied for the team lead with seven tackles.

· Generals running back Kingston Davis (Prattville, UAB/Miles) had a 5-yard run and caught three passes for 42 yards.

· Generals wide receiver Cam Echols-Luper (Auburn High) caught two passes for 17 yards and returned two kickoffs for 49 yards.

· Generals safety Trae Elston (Oxford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Maulers defensive back Sedevyn Gray (West Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Generals tight end Wes Saxton (Hueytown, South Alabama) had a 6-yard reception.

· Generals defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Generals cornerback Christian Tutt (Auburn) made four tackles and broke up a pass in the end zone.

Birmingham Stallions 27, Memphis Showboats 20

· Showboats defensive end Big Kat Bryant (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Showboats wide receiver John Franklin III (Auburn) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Showboats running back Ezra Gray (Alabama State) ran for 82 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 11 yards.

· Showboats safety T.J. Green (Sylacauga) made seven tackles.

· Stallions wide receiver Myron Mitchell (Jasper, UAB) returned a kickoff for 23 yards.

· Stallions running back Bo Scarbrough (Northridge, Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Stallions wide receiver Austin Watkins (UAB) had an 18-yard reception.

· Stallions wide receiver Marlon Williams (McGill-Toolen) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Showboats tight end Jay Jay Wilson (Auburn) had a 14-yard reception.

New Orleans Breakers 17, Houston Gamblers 10

· Breakers wide receiver Dee Anderson (Alabama A&M) had a 4-yard touchdown reception with 5:12 left in the third quarter as New Orleans took a 14-0 lead. The TD toss from McLeod Bethel-Thompson capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive.

· Gamblers tight end Brandon Barnes (Russell County, Alabama State) had a 9-yard reception.

· Gamblers defensive end Tim Bonner (Demopolis) made one tackle.

· Breakers defensive tackle Connor Christian (Jacksonville State) made three tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Breakers quarterback Aqeel Glass (Alabama A&M) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Kirk Kelley (Troy) started at left guard for the Breakers.

· Gamblers safety Bydarrius Knighten (Auburn) made one tackle and broke up one pass.

· Breakers linebacker Zakoby McClain (Auburn) made one tackle.

· Breakers guard Steven Rowzee (Troy) did not record any stats.

· Breakers linebacker Shaheed Salmon (Samford) was designated as a game-day inactive. A shoulder injury kept Salmon off the field.

· Breakers tight end Jared Scott (Jacksonville State) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Breakers wide receiver Eli Stove (Auburn) returned a kickoff 35 yards.

· Gamblers kicker Nick Vogel (UAB) made both his kicks – a 49-yard field goal and an extra point – and recorded a tackle on a kickoff.

Michigan Panthers 23, Philadelphia Stars 20

· Brodarious Hamm (Auburn) started at right offensive tackle for the Panthers.

· Panthers defensive tackle Garrett Marino (UAB) made five tackles and registered one tackle for loss.

· Stars guard Colby Ragland (UAB) did not record any stats.

· Stars defensive tackle LaBryan Ray (James Clemens, Alabama) made one tackle.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.