Caleb Wilfinger
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Hungry for more football? Well, you’re in luck because Week 1 of the XFL season kicks off on Saturday with an exciting double-header. Spring football is back in a big way, and with that comes a number of ways to bet on the action. I have combed through the board and found a few edges that I believe can create a parlay with an excellent payout of over 7/1 odds!
Let’s take a look at my 3-team mega parlay for Week 1, but make sure you also check out our XFL picks for the weekend’s biggest games.
St. Louis Battlehawks -2.5 (-120)
Orlando Guardians +3.5 (-110)
Las Vegas Vipers ML (+140)
Parlay odds: +796
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St. Louis Battlehawks -2.5 (-120) over San Antonio Brahmas
The Battlehawks are the favorite to win the league this year at most sportsbooks and have some instantly recognizable names on their roster. The biggest name is probably AJ McCarron from Alabama, who has played mostly a backup role and the majority of his career with the Bengals. As far as notable players on the other side, the Brahmas have Jack Coan from Notre Dame and Wisconsin at quarterback and Kalen Ballage at running back. Coan did put up respectable numbers in college, but he was never really given a chance in the NFL, while Ballage shined in college and never got a chance to be the number one RB on the Miami Dolphins.
The Battlehawks are up against a team with no XFL experience and a head coach who has never coached before at any level. Even with his limited NFL experience, St. Louis has a 3-time national champion at quarterback. It’s hard not to take the Battlehawks to win by at least a field goal here, given their experience against what is a brand new Brahmas team.
Orlando Guardians +3.5 (-110) vs Houston Roughnecks
Oddsmakers have the Roughnecks as -3.5 favorites, but I’m not sure that’s at all justified given what they bring into this game. This team has Wade Phillips as its head coach, but Phillips hasn’t coached in any capacity since 2019 so I think there will be a bit of an adjustment period. At quarterback Brandon Silvers sits atop the Roughnecks their depth chart, but the last time we saw him play in the XFL was in 2020 — when he averaged just 5.2 yards per attempt.
Between Paxton Lynch and Deondre Francois, Orlando has 2 quarterbacks who are both very mobile, which could prove to be the difference in this game. With this being the first week of the season, passing games will likely be a bit sloppy early on — meaning teams with dual-threat quarterbacks will have a clear edge over the opposing defenses. The Guardians’ signal-callers will be able to make things happen with their legs once plays break down, which should be enough to keep this one close.
Las Vegas Vipers ML (+140) over Arlington Renegades
To close out our mega parlay, I’m going with the Las Vegas Vipers on the money line. Las Vegas has some recognizable names like Martavius Bryant, Geronimo Allison and Vic Beasley, while the Renegades don’t have the same level of recognizable names on their roster. For the Renegades, Bob Stoops was the only coach retained from the 2020 XFL campaign — but it wasn’t a great season for him. In fact, the Renegades finished with a 2-3 record in 2020 under Stoops and clearly lacked consistent offense in all their losses. Due to the lack of home-field advantage for these teams, I think there is value on the underdogs. With a low total projected for this contest, both teams should struggle to score — which has me leaning toward backing the Vipers outright.
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