IFL 2025 Week 10: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- May 28
- 9 min read
Week 10 is in the books and we are officially in the back half of the season! Bittersweet moment, but cherish every week and every game we get the rest of the way.
Week 11 starts early this week on Thursday night, but before we dive into those matchups...
What did we learn this past weekend?
Tulsa Oilers @ Iowa Barnstormers
Result: 56-51 Tulsa
What We Learned: This was either an all-time comeback by Tulsa or an all-time collapse by Iowa -- idk which one
What a wild, incredible game this was. From awkward mid-game delays allegedly due to roster number mismatches to multiple ejections due to unsportsmanlike penalties to an unbelievable 18-point comeback in the final 2:30 of the game, this was an all-timer. (Side note: I had a TikTok go semi-viral breaking it down, you check it out here.)
Starting with Oilers, this was a very un-Tulsa like game from them for the first 57 minutes of this game. They stalled out on offense multiple times, had tons of penalties on offense that set them back and really struggled to get the ground game going with QB/RB Hasan Rogers -- who apparently knows where the bodies are hidden based on how touches he has been getting in recent weeks (20 in this game alone!)
There were multiple ejections for the Oilers that left them a little shorthanded towards the end of the game, but had players plugging and playing in multiple positions. Tulsa was down by 18 points with two and change left, then TJ Edwards scored a TD, got a 2-pt conversion, recovered the onside kick, Edwards threw a TD bomb to Cole Blackman, played tough defense and got an interception, then drove down the field and threw another TD to DB/LB Tre Harvey with ONE SECOND left in the game. Unbelievable ending.
That's not even including the SportsCenter Top 10 number one play of the day from Jerminic Smith! This game was an absolute banger and one of the games of the year.
QB TJ Edwards had a statline that was greatly assisted by the final two and a half minutes of the game -- 195 passing yards, 5 TDs, 75 rushing yards & 2 TDs on the ground. The Oilers will have a big game against the Quad City Steamwheelers this week in a battle for 1st place in the Eastern Conference.
For Iowa, this was the most painfully on-brand Iowa meltdown we've seen. They played a FANTASTIC first 55 minutes of this game. Their offense was producing big play after big play through the air, with QB James Cahoon throwing for 247 yards & 6 TDs and letting his guys at WR (Keshaun Tayler, Quian Williams & Jalen Bracey) go to work.
This looked like a slump-busting performance on all sides and would have given Iowa a fighting chance to get back in this playoff race and have an opportunity to really make some noise in the East.
...but then that last 5 minutes happened.
Everything that could have gone wrong for Iowa in those final minutes did indeed go wrong for them:
Defensive ejections in the post-TJ Edwards ruckus
Caught sleeping on the onside kick
Getting moss'd on a deep throw immediately after
An EMBARRASSING coach flop trying to draw a penalty on the Oilers
Bad INT to give the ball back to the Oilers
Let Tulsa drive down the field and score with 1 second left
A meltdown of epic proportions and one that is going to be a TOUGH one to swallow. They had this game in the bag. If they literally George Costanza the last 3 minutes and do the opposite of everything they chose to do, they probably win this game.
Iowa drops to 1-7 on the year and will need to go back to the drawing board yet again.
Jacksonville Sharks @ Fishers Freight
Result: 46-40 Jacksonville
What We Learned: Jacksonville found a way to win with a newly signed QB & Fishers is just continuing to fall apart
When this game kicked off, Jacksonville's backup QB Blaine Espinosa took the field as it appeared starting QB Kaleb Barker was not active for the day (presumably to injury but again the IFL and its teams are awful at disclosing injuries). Espinosa played just okay and was eventually replaced by the newly signed QB Tyler Huff and he had QUITE a game in the 2nd half of this one.
Second play of his IFL career and he busted a 28-yard TD run and the Sharks offense was reignited and cooking from there. Huff didn't blow anyone away through the air, but was getting 6.0 yards per carry on the ground and scored 3 TDs in the second half. Huff presented a different look than Espinosa and was a much more active ground threat.
It worked for the Sharks as they outscored Fishers 32-12 in the 3rd & 4th quarter. The Jacksonville defense got run over in the first half, but they locked and had a shutout going in 2nd half until the final couple minutes of the game. Another really impressive game from the Sharks, arguably even more so than the prior to this one due to the QB situation.
For Fishers, they started off very well in this one, jumping out to a 28-14 lead at halftime but just couldn't build on it from there. In the 2nd half, Fishers drives resulted in:
Turnover on Downs
Lost Fumble
Turnover on Downs
Touchdown
Touchdown
By the time they going in the 4th quarter, it was just too late. QB play was one against average at best, with both Jiya Wright & Keegan Shoemaker going a combined 6/11 for 73 yards & 2 TDs. This Freight team absolutely needs to get the passing game going to unlock Jordan Kress, Isiah Cox & JT Stokes and what they can do if they are given the opportunity to cook.
With the top of the Eastern Conference stating to pull away from the bottom, the Freight have to get going ASAP. They are sitting at 2-6 and are currently 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
Bay Area Panthers @ San Antonio Gunslingers
Result: 55-26 Bay Area
What We Learned: Bay Area is a runaway freight train & San Antonio regressed back to the mean this week
Despite the final score of this one, the game was pretty close in the first half. San Antonio was trading blows with Bay Area and were looking like they had a chance to go the distance with them.. but the Panthers absolutely pounced on their second half misfortunes and pulled away in a HURRY.
Panthers QB Josh Jones finished this game with 128 yards & 4 passing TDs, adding another TD on the ground as well to go with 74 rushing yards. The Panthers had four different players score on the ground and we able to simply run it up on San Antonio in the second half.
This Panthers team is just so good and it makes too much sense when you look at the caliber of the coaching staff they have in place. They were able to get some revenge on their opening week loss to San Antonio and are sitting in a great spot at 6-2 at the midway point of the season.
For the San Antonio, this was one definitely a tale of two halves -- where they looked ready for battle in the 1st half and just imploded in the 2nd half with four turnovers to literally fumble away any chance of pulling off the upset.
QB Joaquin Collazo had a tough week compared to his debut the week prior, going 9/21 for 116 yards, 2 TDs & 2 second half INTs. They were able to get Keyshawn Harper going on the ground in this one, with 12 carries for 61 yards, but had to abandon it in the 2nd half in order to try to stop the bleeding.
San Antonio is in a tough spot at 2-6 in a very talented Western Conference, but are by no means out of the playoff hunt just yet. If they can get Collazo back on track and really start to get these WRs more engaged & be intentional with the running game early and often, they can steal a couple of games and get right back in it.
Arizona Rattlers @ Northern Arizona Wranglers
Result: 54-47 Arizona
What We Learned: Arizona was tested on the road in-state again & Northern Arizona is a totally different team with Ramone Atkins at QB
Over the entire weekend of games across all leagues, THIS one was argubly the most underrated of the weekend. Northern Arizona came into the game as 13.5 point underdogs, but have looked night and day better than since the arrival of QB Ramone Atkins.
Atkins looked great in this one and had this offense humming all game long in by far their best offensive output of the season against a very good Arizona Rattlers team. Atkins went 16/26 for 193 passing yards & 4 TDs, with 61 rushing yards & a TD on the ground as well. The offense just clicks so well with him at the helm. Four different receivers caught passes in this game, with four different receivers each catching a TD pass in this one as well.
I really like what RB Nolan Susel brings to the table and get the feeling he is going to be a dynamic 1-2 punch with Atkins on the ground in the second half of the season. This Wranglers team might have put themselves in too big of a hole to start the season, but they can certainly make a lot of these Western Conference games a LOT more interesting with the level of play that Ramone Atkins brings to the table.
For Arizona, this was yet another thrilling game and another one where they were really tested and pushed to the limit by another in-state rival. Their only loss of the season was to the Tucson Sugar Skulls and it looked like Northern Arizona was going to pull it off the upset for a majority of the second half until the Rattlers did what the Rattlers do to secure the win.
RB Ron Brown Jr popped off in the first half with 3 early TDs and finished the game with 73 rushing yards, while WR Isaiah Huston proved to be Mr. Clutch for the Rattlers for a 3rd straight game catching a TD pass in the final minute of the game to take the lead or seal the win. Huston finished with 8 catches for 88 yards & 2 TDs and was always near the ball when the Rattlers needed big play.
The Rattlers are such a fun team to watch and are so well coached and execute the little things so well. Their blocking is phenomenal, their selling of play action is so good -- all the little things add up in the end and there's a reason why they are sitting with the best record in the IFL at the midpoint of the season.
Vegas Knight Hawks @ San Diego Strike Force
Result: 42-39 San Diego
What We Learned: Vegas is in a VERY interesting spot at QB & San Diego might've stolen this game?
When this season is done, we're going to look back on this specific game for both of these teams and this is going to be a massive one in the end that determines playoff seeding and potentially one of these teams being on the outside looking in.
For San Diego, they started this one off pretty well and were able to jump out to a halftime lead with QB Nate Davis leading the charge -- going 8/13, 85 yards & 2 TDs in the first half. But then at the end of the 1st half and through the end of the game, backup QB/Offensive Weapon Rudy Johnson stepped at QB the rest of the way.
Not 100% sure if there was an injury concern or what the deal was, but in an instant the offensive identity changed for the Strike Force. Nate Davis is a prototypical pocket passer who doesn't have the same mobility as some of his peers, while Rudy Johnson is a dual threat guy who can turn a 2-3 yard run into a 20+ yard scrambler -- which he did in this game.
They became a run first team and it worked pretty well in the second half as they were able to control most of the pace of the second half then ultimately scoring the go-ahead TD with 3 second left... or did they? I didn't think that Johnson got in for the TD, but they ruled it a TD on the field and didn't appear to have enough evidence to overturn it.
Nonetheless, San Diego gets a big win and improves to 4-4 on the year.
For Vegas, they were in a good rhythm on offense heading into this game and Ja'Rome Johnson was getting back into good form, and the same could be said about Vegas in this one as they got things going. That is until Johnson took a big bump on a QB keeper and landed awkwardly, forcing him to miss some action and QB Jayden De Laura to be thrust back into the lineup..
...and De Laura looked pretty damn good in this game. It took a series or two for him to get the timing right on the little things, but once he got going he was looking SHARP out there -- specifically with a big time pass downfield to CJ Jefferson early in the 4th quarter.
This puts Vegas in a super interesting position moving forward that they dealt with earlier this season. Johnson struggled to start the year, then they put in De Laura who looked pretty good. De Laura gets hurt, Johnson gets another shot and takes it and runs with it.
With the situation now, do you keep rolling with Johnson, assuming the injury isn't severe? He is the 2024 IFL MVP and started to get back into his form heading into this game. I would assume that is the move until proven otherwise, but De Laura's performance in relief certainly makes the conversation a bit more interesting.
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