Vaughn Dalzell shares his best bet for the USFL Championship between the Birmingham Stallions and Pittsburgh Maulers.
Stallions (-7) vs. Maulers: O/U 46.0
All season long, Birmingham has been the best team in the USFL and Pittsburgh has been a surprise team.
The Maulers have made obvious improvements to the offense each week and own the strongest defense and special teams units in the league.
Only two of Pittsburgh’s six losses have come by more than six points this season but after Birmingham’s 47-22 win over New Orleans, this -7 and -7.5 lines are pretty sharp, but maybe not sharp enough.
When these teams met earlier this season in a 24-20 win for Birmingham, the Stallions’ QB Alex McGough posted 157 passing yards and threw two of his five interceptions on the year.
However, since that Week 4 meeting, McGough and this offense improved drastically, which is scary for Pittsburgh.
McGough was named MVP and posted 2,104 passing yards and completed 67.4% of his passes. He recorded a USFL-high 20 passing touchdowns, in addition to 403 rushing yards and five scores.
The Stallions’ offense also has playmakers like TE Jace Sternberger (517 Rec Yards, 7 TDs), RB CJ Marable (760 Total Yards, 5 TDs) and WR Davion Davis (575 Rec Yards, 4 TDs).
The Stallions are attempting to build a dynasty and by playing their starters in a comeback win during a meaningless Week 10 game, Birmingham was all but locked in to win the title, in my opinion.
Pittsburgh was outgained in yards by Michigan and their new quarterback last week, 410-291, but the Panthers’ three turnovers handed the Maulers a victory. Birmingham won’t be so friendly with the football.
I played Birmingham -7 at -120 odds and would go to -7.5. If they win, we also cash a Stallions USFL Championship ticket at +185 odds, so go Stallions, coming from a Maulers’ fan.
Birmingham is 20-3 over the last two seasons and won five games this year by 14 or more points.
Lastly, shout out to Damon Llyod and Dondrea Tillman of Birmingham. I covered both players at the Indiana University of PA while I was an undergraduate and it’s cool to see them doing well at the next level.
Pick: Stallions -7 (1u)
How to watch the 2023 USFL Championship: Pittsburgh Maulers vs Birmingham Stallions:
- When: Saturday, July 1 at 8:00 PM ET
- Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Peacock