USFL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW & PICK

BY ADAM GREENE

Well, we did it. While the stands may have been empty for nearly every game, those of us watching the USFL on our viewing devices and, maybe more importantly, those of us who placed bets upon the games made sure that the league would return for a second season.

Last week FOX announced that we were being blessed with another year of the USFL. It will remain an eight-team league, with no expansion. What will change is that we’ll get legitimate home games outside of Birmingham as each team will lay claim to its namesake as a home base, presumably.

It’s good news. The last three attempts at non NFL Europe spring football, two XFLs and one AAF. never made it to a second season. The AAF didn’t get to complete its first. The second XFL was well received, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down too before it made it to the finish line.

What should be interesting next season is that we’ll have two spring leagues, with Dwayne Johnson’s version of the XFL kicking off the week after the Super Bowl in 2023. They’ll be the only show in town until April, when the USFL makes its return. They should only overlap for a few weeks.

To celebrate that, let’s take a look at the odds, totals and lines for our first modern USFL Championship game.

PHILADELPHIA STARS AT BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (-4.5, O/U: 46)

The Stars used a fourth quarter comeback to down the favored New Jersey Generals 19-14 in the first round of the USFL playoffs. The Stallions dominated the overmatched New Orleans Breakers in their opening round playoff game, 31-17.

Case Cookus was pretty much garbage in the victory for Philadelphia. He completed 50 percent of his passes for 133 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He rushed four times for 39 yards and a score. Diondre Overton caught two passes for 65 yards.

For the Stallions, J’Marr Smith had a solid enough day, going 17 of 27 for 190 yards and a TD with no picks. He added seven carries for 48 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Adrian Hardy hauled in five passes for 74 yards. Osirus Mitchell had four grabs for 64 yards and a TD.

It’s a huge disappointment that the New Jersey Generals didn’t make it to the final game. All throughout the second half of the season they looked like the best team in the USFL and picked up the postseason awards to prove it. Where they couldn’t prove it is on the field. When it counted most, Philly had their number.

Birmingham made it all the way to Week 9 before losing a game in spite of playing at times like they couldn’t wait to hang that “L” around their necks. Smith’s play has been all over the place and if he was facing off against Luis Perez or De’Andre Johnson that might matter. With Cookus taking the field for the Stars? Not so much.

I’m riding with Birmingham in this one, but the spread is probably a little too large. Stallions 24, Stars 20

Last week

Straight up: 1-1

Against the spread: 2-0

Season

Straight up: 26-16

Against the spread: 21-21

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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