On Saturday, the Birmingham Stallions professional football team defeated the Pittsburgh Maulers in the 2023 USFL Championship Game 28 to 12. This is the second year in a row that the Stallions have finished the season as the champion in the two-year history of the new USFL.
Stallions Quarterback Alex McGough won the MVP award for the USFL this season before the game was even played. In the game, McGough led the Stallions with 243 yards passing, including four passing touchdowns. McGough led the entire league this season in both touchdown passes and points.
Three of those championship game touchdowns were caught by wide receiver Deon Cain, earning Cain the MVP of the championship game.
‘It was the chemistry we had developed, you know. I think it was just the chemistry we developed right from the jump,” McCough said. “Me and Deon trained together in Tampa, so we had that instantly. It was built on reps with Deon in practice. It was built being roommates in training camp. It shows what you can do with a group effort. A group effort will go longer than an individual effort ever will.”
“I give glory to God,” Cain said. “I could not do it without my teammates and my fans. I just wanted to be a team guy. I am just grateful for the opportunity that Skip and the Stallions gave me this year.”
While the Stallion’s offense ran up and down the field, their defense held Pittsburgh to just 202 total yards.
The Stallions are coached by Skip Holtz, who is well-known to fans of college football.
The Stallions finished 8 and 2 in the regular season. They then defeated the New Orleans Breakers in the South Division Championship Game to advance to their second straight USFL title game.
Car racing is Alabama’s only major league professional sports event, though the state is well known for its collegiate sports teams – particularly football.
Alabama is home though to minor league baseball teams, and several summer league football teams have given Birmingham a franchise over the years, including the World Football League, the original USFL, the expanded Canadian Football League, the Alliance of American Football League, and the original XFL have all had teams in Birmingham.
The 1980s version of the USFL’s Stallions was probably far and away the best pro team Birmingham ever had. Coached by the late Rollie Dotsch and quarterbacked by Cliff Stoudt with former San Francisco 49er and Auburn University star running back Joe Cribbs – the Stallions (like that version of the USFL overall) played a version of football at or near the level of the NFL at the time. This current USFL is not seeking to supplant or merge with the NFL, but it does have powerful backing from TV networks looking to produce affordable original programming in an environment where there are 200 channel options and dozens of streaming services competing for viewers. Fans of the Stallions hope the league will return for season three.
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