UFL Football: California Redwoods at New York Sentinels Preview

The battle for second place in the inaugural UFL regular season continues as the 1-2 California Redwoods travel to New York to face the 0-2 Sentinels on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm and the game can be seen on Versus.

This is the second time the Redwoods and Sentinels will face off. In their first meeting on October 17, the Redwoods beat New York 24-7 in California. Those interested can watch a full replay of this game here.

Things didn't go very well for the Redwoods the last time they took the football field. California was dominated 34-7 by the class of the UFL, the Florida Tuskers, on October 22. In this game, the Redwoods managed only 196 yards of total offense and they turned the ball over five times. Quarterbacks Mike McMahon and Shane Boyd were both terrible, completing a combined nine of 30 pass attempts for 104 yards and four interceptions (two apiece).

The good news for California Redwoods fans? They're playing the undisputed worst team in the UFL. In their first two games of the UFL season, the New York Sentinels were outscored 59-20 by the Florida Tuskers and the Redwoods. New York has a weak offensive line, a pass rush that is non-existent for 45 minutes of the football game and a secondary that is "meh" at best.

The Redwoods-Sentinels game will be about offense, mostly because of the questions surrounding both team's ability to score. Other than the first quarter against the Tuskers, New York's offense has been anemic, scoring only when the football game is no longer in doubt. California, meanwhile, has a potential UFL star in running back Cory Ross. Ross is averaging 4.1 yards a carry and has three touchdowns. The problem with this, of course, is the fact that the Redwoods have no real quarterback. It's quite difficult to get into any sort of rhythm in the running game when opposing defenses know they can put nine guys in the box due to the quarterback's inability to hit an open receiver.

New York's quarterback, Quinn Gray, has been fine but hardly spectacular. In two UFL games, Gray has completed 24 of 54 pass attempts for 276 yards, two TDS and two interceptions. In contrast to California, Gray hasn't had much help from his running game. Cecil Sapp is averaging seven yards a carry but that's only on ten carries. As a team, the Sentinels enter the game rushing for only 3.5 yards a carry. They yet to score a rushing touchdown this UFL season.

Two positive notes for the New York Sentinels? They're playing the first home game in the young history of the UFL franchise. The Sentinels also had a week off to prepare for a Redwoods team that was just embarrassed last week.

Unfortunately for New York fans, I just can't see the Sentinels making up the 17 point difference we saw a few weeks ago. This contest should be a slightly better football game but the New York offense will need to prove it can play for four consecutive quarters before I pick them to win a UFL game.

California 24

New York 14

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