IFL Week 18 Picks
- Trey
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
PICKS PICKS PICKS! It's time for picks. We've got 3 weeks left of the IFL regular season and we're on track for our best ATS YTD record ever.
It's good to be a ball-knower and it's a very fun time to be a fan of #TheIndoorWar. We've got a big slate ahead of us this weekend, but let's check back on our picks from last weekend:
IFL Week 17 Review
Vegas -21.5 - Winner
Vegas wins and covers with ease, 50-16
Orlando +5.5 - Winner
Green Bay wins, Orlando covers 52-50
San Diego ML +105 - Loser
Arizona stomps San Diego 65-36
We'll take 2-1. Small slate of games that ended with San Diego just getting boatraced by a resurgent Arizona Rattlers team with reigning league MVP Max Meylor at the helm of the offense.
But we've got a full seven gamer ahead of us this weekend, including several key clashes that will have some major playoff implications. Now, if you don't mind..
LET'S FIND SOME WINNERS!
2026 IFL Record: 59-35
Orlando Pirates @ San Antonio Gunslingers (Saturday 7/11 @ 5PM ET)
The Play: Orlando -3
First up, we've got what is essentially a playoff game for both teams. A little more dramatic for San Antonio in terms of the help they would need to get in, but Orlando needs this one to keep pace in the Eastern conference race.
Orlando is the better team here, but the road woes from the season as a whole do concern me justtttt a little bit. But with the way they went toe to toe with Green Bay this past weekend, it feels like THAT version of the Pirates can travel.
A little concerning that its a flat 3 with no hook (just from a gambler juju perspective), but I think the Pirates are easily 3 points better than the Gunslingers if they play their game. Run with Pooka, put pressure on the QB, Pirates dub.
Prediction: 46-38 Orlando
Green Bay Blizzard @ Iowa Barnstormers (Saturday 7/11 @ 6PM ET)
The Play: Under 87.5
The behemoth Green Bay Blizzard come in at 12-2 with the number one seed in the East at their finger tips, and the Barnstormers come in at 1-12 looking for a spark to finish the season strong.
Earlier this year, these two teams collided and had a Bad Beat of the Year nominee hitting the Over in the dying moments of the game in early April in Des Moines. The Under was the right bet there, and it's the right bet this time dammit!
I don't think Green Bay will have any problems fulfilling their end of things, but it's Iowa that will have some trouble. While they are coming off of a big offense performance against Tulsa, that seems like the exception more than the example at this point.
The -21.5 feels like a backdoor waiting to happen (just like in April), especially if Green Bay pulls starters with the game in hand in the second half. It feels like this total should be at 81.5-82.5, so I'll take the couple points of value.
Prediction: 50-29 Green Bay
Jacksonville Sharks @ Tulsa Oilers (Saturday 7/11 @ 7PM ET)
The Play: Tulsa -1.5
In the most important game of the year for both of these teams, home field feels like the differentiator. Jacksonville comes in on a three game skid and suddenly find themselves scrapping for a home playoff game that looked to be in hand just 2 weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Tulsa is riding a six game winning streak and they have worked themselves into the mix for the two seed in the East. QB TJ Edwards has been playing great ball this season with WR Jerminic Smith on pace to be a Triple Crown winner, along with an opportunistic defense.
Sharks have some things to figure out on defense and getting TJ Edwards on a skid is not ideal. I think the Oilers get revenge on their defeat from earlier this season and leapfrog the Sharks into the two spot. It would not surprise me to see these two teams clash yet again in the playoffs.
Prediction: 50-44 Tulsa
Fishers Freight @ Quad City Steamwheelers (Saturday 7/11 @ 8PM ET)
The Play: Fishers -6.5
Fishers is coming off of a bye and is set to make a big time playoff push to finish the season, and I love this spot for them.
Quad City isn't technically dead but needs to win out and get a LOT of help to sneak into the playoffs. With the uncertainty at the QB position and Daquan Neal potentially being out again, I just can't trust this Steamwheelers offense with Roberts or Corbin at the helm.
Gimme the Freight with a full plethora of weapons on offense and a prime get-right game for the defense that has seen better days... setting up for a potentially DRAMATIC final gameday of the season between Orlando & Fishers. Hmm....
Prediction: 50-37 Fishers
Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Arizona Rattlers (Saturday 7/11 @ 9PM ET)
The Play: Tucson +13.5
I'm gonna be real with you, I hate the line for this game and this is semi "fade your brain" play. Arizona looked outstanding last week in San Diego and looks like a team ready to go on a tear in the playoffs. Max Meylor looked great, the defense looked phenomenal, special teams was clicking...
...but there's just something about Tucson. The weapons they have on offense, the playmakers they have on defense. But it all depends on what version of Ja'Rome Johnson we get on Saturday night.
If it is the 3+ INT version we've seen recently, they are cooked and this pick is dead. But if it is the version that can turn nothing into something and get the ball into his playmakers hands efficiently, this seems like a line that should be single digits.
The spread right now seems like an overcorrection based on recent outcomes, so gimme the double digit dog.
Prediction: 49-45 Arizona
New Mexico Chupacabras @ Northern Arizona Wranglers (Sunday 7/12 @ 4PM ET)
The Play: Northern Arizona -7.5
The clash of the titans! The 2-11 NAZ Wranglers hosting the 2-12 New Mexico Chupacabras in a game that will be forever remembered as the "Skirmish for Sixth Place in the West".
New Mexico is bringing in a new QB after a nightmare situation played out last week, while Northern Arizona is coming off of a game where they showed some life in the first game of the Coach Hendrix era in Prescott Valley. The Chups' only 2 wins this season have come against the Wranglers and it seems like NAZ should be able to control the flow of this game with a new QB in the fold for New Mexico. NAZ has been sneaky scrappy at home ATS lately. Gimme me some Manny Deuces and the spread.
Prediction: 44-34 Northern Arizona
San Diego Strike Force @ Vegas Knight Hawks (Sunday 7/12 @ 7:30PM ET)
The Play: San Diego +8.5
The War on I-15! The West Coast Conflict! The Mojave Melee!
(We need an official name for this rivalry, let me know your thoughts)
Much like what we saw a few weeks ago in Oceanside, it feels like this is setting up to be another one score game between these two teams. Vegas is getting back to full strength health wise and San Diego is looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Arizona last week.
I think we see a very fun aerial duel between the top two seeds in the West, and this will be a critical game that will put one of these teams in the driver's seat for the coveted one seed.
Vegas probably edges out San Diego here, but this'll come down to the wire.
Prediction: 50-47 Vegas