USFL Championship Picks -- Backup QB's have brought Stallions, Stars to title game

  • In Charles Jay
  • Sun, Jul 3rd, 2022 2:00:33 pm
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


J'Mar Smith leads the Birmingham Stallions against the Philadelphia Stars and Case Cookus with the USFL title on the line in Canton.

The Birmingham Stallions have established themselves as the best team in the first season of the revival of the USFL. And they can conclude an interesting ride as they take on the Philadelphia Stars in the league's championship game, which kicks off at 7:30 PM ET. They're playing it at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, and FOX Network will carry it live, as they have done with games every week.

BetOnline patrons who have followed this league know that all the regular season games have been played in Birmingham, so there was naturally some speculation as to how much it would play to the Stallions' advantage to be "home," or whether such an edge even existed.

Maybe we got our answer. Skip Holtz's team lost only once all season, to the Houston Gamblers, and they did it just the way they were comfortable with - by using the ground game - and not only did they score a decisive win over the New Orleans Breakers in the semi-final playoff game,winning 31-17, they also took care of business in an earlier meeting with Philadelphia, beating the Stars by a 30-17 count with a 377-253 yardage margin.

The Stars finished the regular season with only a 6-4 mark, but they did make progress over the course of the season for coach Bart Andrus, who has been in just about every developmental league there is, and brought many of the players from his Spring League championship entry with him.

They provided some drama in their semi-final, getting an 87-yard punt return TD from special teams ace Maurice Alexander in the fourth quarter to register a 19-14 decision over the New Jersey Generals, who had beaten them twice in the regular season.

Here's the way the numbers look for BetOnline customers. As you can see, Birmingham is favored, and there has been some action coming in their direction:

Birmingham Stallions -4.5 (-115)
Philadelphia Stars +4.5 (-105)

Over 45 Points -110
Under 45 Points -110

You'd have to say that J'Mar Smith has been something of a surprise star for the Stallions, considering that even though his college coach at Louisiana Tech (Holtz) was the man in charge, he was sitting behind Alex McGough on the depth chart at quarterback.

Smith took over the job due to injury, and he was an ideal guy, not only since he knew the offense, but because his dual threat talents fit in with what they were doing. The Stallions achieved almost a perfect balance between passes and rushing plays, and Smith threw for 1573 yards while avoiding a lot of costly turnovers (just six INT's). The ground game was second best in the league (also averaged 4.6 yards per carry), and its effect was felt in the earlier meeting between these two, as Birmingham controlled the ball for 38 minutes.

If this team can get the ball moving over ground, they will have won more than half the battle, as the Stars led the USFL with a +8 turnover ratio, with cornerback Channing Stribling (7 INT's) the main ballhawk.

Case Cookus, like Smith, was a second-string quarterback who was pressed into service after in injury. In Philadelphia's case, it was Bryan Scott, who was the MVP of the Spring League for Andrus. Cookus threw for 1335 yards and a dozen touchdowns and ran for over 200 yards.

The Stars have run the ball only about 40% of the time, but when they do, they've been effective, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Will the Stallions force them to the ground here? Birmingham allowed a whopping 222 rush yards to the Generals in the season opener, but they tightened up on defense as the season progressed, as they've held the last nine opponents under 20 points.

Philadelphia might have to break a special teams play (they are the best return team in the USFL) or force a few turnovers in order to keep pace.

Aside from the fact that they have the ability to control the clock with a running game paced by CJ Marable and Bo Scarbrough (both former NFLers), Birmingham has another decided edge in that they have the better defense. The Stallions were #1 in the USFL in yards allowed, while the Stars were dead last. That's why Holtz and his team are favored, and that's why we're laying the points.


We know you liked the USFL; and BetOnline can get you ready for the NFL with a whole bunch of futures for the coming season........ They make it so easy to open up an account too. Use your credit card, or any cryptocurrency you choose!


Sign-up for the OSGA Newsletter!

Every week get news and updates, exclusive offers and betting tips delivered right to you email inbox.