The Birmingham Stallions have won the first two championships of the USFL 2.0.
The Stallions won their second straight title with a 28-12 victory over the Pittsburgh Maulers on Saturday night.
In two seasons with 24 total games, the Stallions have posted a 21-3 record under coach Skip Holtz.
League MVP Alex McGough once again led the way for Birmingham with four touchdown passes and 64 rushing yards. Receiver Dion Cain, MVP of the championship game, caught four passes for 70 yards and three scores. In two postseason games, McGough threw eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. He added 148 rushing yards.
Pittsburgh took an early 3-0 lead, but Birmingham went ahead 7-3 and never trailed again, pulling away from a 14-9 halftime score for the final margin. The Stallions defense kept the Maulers out of the end zone; Pittsburgh’s 12 points came on four field goals by Chris Blewitt.
For the second year in a row, the title game was played in Canton, Ohio.
The USFL initially debuted in 1983. Fox revived the league last year. The games are televised by both Fox and NBC. The championship game appeared on NBC and the Peacock.
And so ends the relay of football seasons that began with the NFL, continued a week after the Super Bowl with the XFL, and ended after a few overlapping weekends with the USFL.
The next step for USFL players is to see to what extent their efforts in four-letter spring and summer leagues result in tryouts and/or roster spots with NFL teams. McGough, a seventh-round pick of the Seahawks in 2017, has done enough to at least earn some consideration.
