Editing Oakland Invaders (section)

===1985 season===
As early as 1984, Taube had come to believe the USFL should move to the fall. He began looking for new investors when it became apparent that the USFL was going to vote to switch to fall play in 1986, knowing he would be competing directly with the [[San Francisco 49ers]]. However, unlike other USFL teams who would be going head-to-head against NFL teams, Taube had reason for optimism. The Raiders had successfully built their own niche market and fan base in Oakland for two decades, and there was at least a chance the Invaders could have survived in the same manner.  He nearly merged his team with the [[Arizona Outlaws|Oklahoma Outlaws]].  However, talks collapsed when Outlaws owner William Tatham demanded that his son, Bill Jr., be given control over the merged team's football operations.

Taube then approached the [[Michigan Panthers]], who had been one of the league's strongest teams during its first two years. Some observers reckoned them as an NFL-quality team; indeed, the Panthers had made a better account of themselves on the field than the [[Detroit Lions]].  However, Panthers owner [[A. Alfred Taubman]] was a strong supporter of spring football, and had no desire to directly compete with the Lions. Knowing that he would not even begin to be able to go head-to-head with the Lions even if he'd been inclined to do so, he had begun putting out feelers for a merger partner when it became clear that the move to the fall was a foregone conclusion.

Taubman and Taube and quickly reached a deal for a merger. The Invaders would be the surviving team, but Taube sold controlling interest in the merged team to Taubman while remaining chairman of the board.  The merger was formally announced after the owners approved moving to the fall.

The new team, bolstered with key players from the Panthers such as [[Bobby Hebert]], went a league-best 13–4–1 in the regular season and advanced all the way to the 1985 USFL championship game.  The championship game was a rematch of sorts with [[Chuck Fusina]]'s [[Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars|Stars]], who now played in [[Baltimore]]; the Panthers had upended the Stars in the league's inaugural title game. The Invaders were in the midst of a potential game-winning drive when a personal-foul penalty derailed their momentum, allowing the Stars to defeat Hebert's Invaders 28–24, and claim indisputable bragging rights as the league's all-time best team.

Despite reaching the championship game, the team's attendance fell again, to a barely sustainable 17,509. Soon after the championship game, Taubman decided to pull out. The loss of Taubman's wealth left the Invaders without nearly enough resources for the move to the fall, and they suspended operations for the 1986 season.  As it turned out, the championship game was the last USFL game ever played, as the league was effectively killed by an antitrust suit against the NFL in which it only won $3 in damages.

====1985 schedule and results====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Week
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Day
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Date
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Opponent
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Venue
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Attendance
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|TV
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Result
! style="background:#0073CF; color:#FFBC3D;"|Record
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="9" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Oakland Invaders|border=2}}"|Preseason
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 1
| Saturday
| February 2
| vs. [[Arizona Outlaws]]
| [[Mesa, Arizona]]
| 
|
| '''W''' 10–3
| 1–0
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 2
| Saturday
| February 9
| vs. [[Arizona Outlaws]]
| [[Mesa, Arizona]]
| 
|
| '''W''' 12–0
| 2–0
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 3
| Sunday
| February 17
| vs. [[Arizona Outlaws]]
| [[Fresno, California]]
| 10,204
|
| '''W''' 31–13
| 3–0
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="9" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Oakland Invaders|border=2}}"|Regular Season
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 1
| Sunday
| February 24
| [[Denver Gold]]
| [[Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum]]
| 23,622
| —
| '''W''' 31–10
| 1–0–0
|-style="background:#ffc"
! 2
| Sunday
| March 3
| [[Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars|Baltimore Stars]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 20,495
| —
| '''T''' 17–17 {{Small|(OT)}}
| 1–0–1
|-style="background:#fcc"
! 3
| Sunday
| March 10
| [[Houston Gamblers]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 16,037
| —
| '''L''' 7–42
| 1–1–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 4
| Sunday
| March 17
| [[Jacksonville Bulls]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 16,678
| [[ESPN on ABC|ABC]]
| '''W''' 42–36
| 2–1–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 5
| Sunday
| March 24
| at [[Memphis Showboats]]
| [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]]
| 28,773
| —
| '''W''' 31–19
| 3–1–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 6
| Sunday
| March 31
| at [[Los Angeles Express (USFL)|Los Angeles Express]]
| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]]
| 11,619
| —
| '''W''' 30–6
| 4–1–1
|-style="background:#fcc"
! 7
| Saturday
| April 6
| at [[Portland Breakers]]
| [[Civic Stadium (Portland, Oregon)|Civic Stadium]]
| 23,388
| —
| '''L''' 17–30
| 4–2–1
|-style="background:#fcc"
! 8
| Saturday
| April 13
| at [[Birmingham Stallions]]
| [[Legion Field]]
| 44,500
| [[ESPN]]
| '''L''' 17–20
| 4–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 9
| Monday
| April 22
| [[San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL team)|San Antonio Gunslingers]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 18,215
| ESPN
| '''W''' 27–20
| 5–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 10
| Friday
| April 26
| [[Arizona Outlaws]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 12,972
| ESPN
| '''W''' 27–11
| 6–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 11
| Sunday
| May 5
| at [[Orlando Renegades]]
| [[Camping World Stadium|Florida Citrus Bowl]]
| 21,085
| —
| '''W''' 21–7
| 7–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 12
| Saturday
| May 11
| [[Los Angeles Express (USFL)|Los Angeles Express]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 12,482
| ESPN
| '''W''' 27–6
| 8–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 13
| Saturday
| May 18
| at [[San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL team)|San Antonio Gunslingers]]
| [[Alamo Stadium]]
| 7,118
| —
| '''W''' 24–21
| 9–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 14
| Thursday
| May 23
| at [[Denver Gold]]
| [[Mile High Stadium]]
| 12,372
| ESPN
| '''W''' 31–16
| 10–3–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 15
| Sunday
| June 2
| [[Portland Breakers]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 12,740
| ESPN
| '''W''' 38–20
| 11–3–1
|-style="background:#fcc"
! 16
| Saturday
| June 8
| at [[Arizona Outlaws]]
| [[Sun Devil Stadium]]
| 10,591
| —
| '''L''' 21–28
| 11–4–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 17
| Saturday
| June 15
| [[New Jersey Generals]]
| Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
| 24,338
| ESPN
| '''W''' 34–29
| 12–4–1
|-style="background:#cfc"
! 18
| Monday
| June 24
| at [[Houston Gamblers]]
| [[Houston Astrodome]]
| 15,797
| ESPN
| '''W''' 31–21
| 13–4–1
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="9" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Oakland Invaders|border=2}}"|Playoffs
|-style="background:#cfc"
! Quarterfinal
| Sunday
| June 30
| [[Tampa Bay Bandits]]
| Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
| 19,346
| [[ESPN on ABC|ABC]]
| '''W''' 30–27
| —
|-style="background:#cfc"
! Semifinal
| Saturday
| July 6
| at [[Memphis Showboats]]
| [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]]
| 37,796
| ABC
| '''W''' 28–19
| —
|-style="background:#fcc"
! USFL<br>Championship
| Sunday
| July 14
| vs. [[Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars|Baltimore Stars]]
| [[Giants Stadium]]
| 49,263
| ABC
| '''L''' 24–28
| —
|}
Sources<ref>[https://www.statscrew.com/football/results/t-USFLOAK/y-1985 statscrew.com 1985 Oakland Invaders Game-by-Game Results Retrieved December 30, 2018]</ref><ref>[http://www.usflsite.com/1985season.php usflsite.com 1985 USFL Season Retrieved December 30, 2018]</ref><ref>[https://www.profootballarchives.com/1985usfloak.html profootballarchives.com 1985 Oakland Invaders (USFL) Retrieved December 30, 2018 ]</ref>