IFL Week 20 Picks
- Trey
- Jul 24
- 5 min read
Folks, after a grueling 4+ month slate of IFL picks, we have made it to the final week of the regular season. Cue the song.
We put in the blood, sweat and tears through our the season to produce the best season of picks to date, but we have a little more of the mountain to climb. Let's not get complacent just yet.
Let's dive into last week's picks and see how things went:
IFL Week 19 Review
Iowa +21.5 - Loser
Jacksonville wins in a route, 43-7
QC-TUL Over 84.5 - Winner
Combined for 85 points phew
San Diego -20.5 - Winner
San Diego wins big, 70-30
AZ-SA Over 76.5 - Winner
Combined for 106 points wowzers
NAZ-TUC Over 84.5 - Winner
Combined for 112 points
4-1! I tried to fade my brain with the Iowa spread and end up working myself into a shoot (brother). Tough opener but the rest of the slate was delightful.
Lots of points scored and some very entertaining action throughout the slate, but alas... the final regular season week of the 2026 IFL season is upon us.
One more slate with very no real playoff implications until Sunday, but there are winners to be had.. we just gotta dig deep.
LET'S FIND SOME WINNERS!
2026 IFL Record: 68-38
San Antonio Gunslingers @ Iowa Barnstormers (Friday 7/24 @ 8PM ET)
The Play: Iowa +10.5
I'm doing it again. I've earned enough equity through my picks this year to try to will this one into existence one last time, and damn it let's give one more shot.
I hate this line, but Iowa is 4-3 ATS at home this year (I believe, might need a stat check on that), and took Tulsa to the limit not too long ago at the Casey's Center.
Let's go Barnstormers, one last time in 2026.
Prediction: 39-35 San Antonio
Tucson Sugar Skulls @ San Diego Strike Force (Friday 7/24 @ 10PM ET)
The Play: Under 87.5
This is the second consecutive season that the San Diego Strike Force are hosting their future first round playoff opponents in the regular season finale in Oceanside. Last year, San Diego defeated Arizona 46-26 in a lower scoring affair and it was definitely a game where the foot wasn't fully on the gas pedal for both teams -- and I anticipate something similar here.
I doubt we see very much of Nate Davis tonight and we'll probably get a heaping helping of Kiael Kelly & Tyrell Greene, so I would expect a lot of running the ball and looking for ways to get out of the regular season as unscathed as possible.
Under, under, under.
Prediction: 40-33 San Diego
Tulsa Oilers @ Quad City Steamwheelers (Saturday 7/25 @ 6PM ET)
The Play: Tulsa -5.5
The Tulsa Oilers are riding a 8-game winning streak and have the potential to snag the number two seed in the East with a win and a Sharks loss against Green Bay, so I would expect a full throttle performance from the Oilers in this one.
Quad City got off to a rough start last week in Tulsa and fought and clawed their way back to make it a thrilling finish, but it seems like this team is just ready for the season to end.
That being said, it is $1 beer night in Moline. So that directly contradicts my pick logic and will ultimately be what I blame if -5.5 doesn't cash. But we're going with it.
Oil 'em up!
Prediction: 50-39 Tulsa
NAZ Wranglers @ Vegas Knight Hawks (Saturday 7/25 @ 9PM ET)
The Play: Over 92.5
This is an interesting one! We've got a Vegas team that is locked into the two seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will host the Arizona Rattlers next weekend, but this is still an important game for them.
The Vegas offense hasn't fully been clicking like we saw early in the year and this is a good opportunity to get some reps in before the playoffs and get back on track. I would anticipate seeing Jayden De Laura for at least half the game for that reason, but the last time these teams played we had an ALL TIMER in Prescott Valley that finished with a 71-70 final score.
I don't think we'll come close to that, but the NAZ offense has been good the past month or so, but who trots at QB will be the ultimate decider in how much of a sweat this one is.
Let's root for the points, baby.
Prediction: 52-42 Vegas
Orlando Pirates @ Fishers Freight (Sunday 7/26 @ 4PM ET)
The Play: Fishers -4.5
The playoffs are starting a week early! Win this game and you are IN. Fishers locks in the 4 seed with a win, Orlando can be anything from 2 to 4 depending on how the Tulsa & Jacksonville games play out.
But ultimately, I think the scales are tipped in favor of the home team in this game. I've touched on it a bunch, but Orlando away from the Kia Center has just been a different team this year vs when they are at home. They typically get off to a slower start and I think Fishers presents a unique matchup for this Orlando squad.
I think we get a healthy dose of the running game early in this one with some Harper play action sprinkled in to lead Fishers to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
We'll be #BootsOnTheGround for this one, so stay tuned to socials!
Prediction: 48-42 Fishers
Green Bay Blizzard @ Jacksonville Sharks (Sunday 7/26 @ 7:30PM ET)
The Play: Under 95.5
Last year, the Bay Area Panthers had the number one seed locked up when they wrapped the regular season in Massachusetts. Josh Jones got the start, made one throw for a deep TD, and then backup QB Liam Thompson came in the game to finish it off and get some reps.
This year, the Green Bay Blizzard have the number one seed locked up when they wrap up the regular season in Jacksonville. Now, the extent to how long Liam Thompson plays (if AT ALL) is up for debate, but I thought that was an interesting little tidbit to share.
I don't think we see Thompson in this game, and for that reason I think it will be a slower, more methodical game on the ground for the Blizzard. Jacksonville still has some kinks to work out on offense, so I would expect them to be full throttle, but 95.5 just feels a little high considering the circumstances.
Gimme the Under on the regular season finale.
Prediction: 45-43 Green Bay
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