USFL 2022 Championship: Stars vs. Stallions Odds, TV Schedule, Live Stream

The matchup for the 2022 USFL Championship has been set. The Philadelphia Stars are scheduled to take on the Birmingham Stallions this Sunday in Canton, Ohio, to determine the inaugural champion of the new United States Football League.

The new USFL has ties to the original league we last saw in action in 1985, and its eight teams are named after classic franchises. While the spring startup hasn't drawn a huge television following or large live crowds, the qualify of football, especially late in the season, has been solid.

Sunday will provide fans new to the USFL the perfect chance to finally get in on the action—and Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks has already announced that the league will return for a second season in 2023.

Below, you'll find everything you need to know about Sunday's championship game, including preview information, scheduling info and the latest odds.

Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, Ohio

When: Sunday, July 3

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: Fox, Fox Sports App

Odds, Over/Under: Birmingham -4.5, 45.5

*Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

This first season of the new USFL was a bit of a journey. The quality of football wasn't terrific in the beginning, though an abbreviated training-camp schedule likely played a big role in that.

NBC Sports' Paul Burmeister recently dove into that topic in a guest column for ProFootballTalk:

"Training camp was incredibly brief by preseason football standards. It lasted only two weeks and wasn’t preceded by any form of OTAs or minicamps. That’s not nearly enough time for any facet of the game to develop, especially the one that most everyone wants to see the most: the passing game. And because of that, the offensive execution for the first part of the season suffered."

As the season wore on, though, teams began to jell, and the action on the field got better and better. By season's end, the games were both a lot of fun and meaningful while providing a tremendous showcase for NFL hopefuls.

The Stallions, Stars, New Jersey Generals and New Orleans Breakers emerged from the 10-game regular season with playoff berths. Last weekend's playoff competition was downright intense.

The Stars managed to upset the 9-1 Generals thanks to a couple of key fourth-quarter plays—an 88-yard punt-return touchdown by Maurice Alexander Jr. just inside of the two-minute warning. and a game-sealing interception by cornerback Amani Dennis on the ensuing drive.

The 9-1 Stallions got a few big plays of their own—including a DeMarquis Gates pick-six and a Victor Bolden Jr. kick-return touchdown—to blow past the Breakers.

The Stallions have been the USFL's most dominant team all year—and its only true home team, as most games have been played at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama—but the Stars have a legitimate opportunity to play spoiler.

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Final Regular-Season Standings

North

New Jersey Generals 9-1

Philadelphia Stars 6-4

Michigan Panthers 2-8

Pittsburgh Maulers 1-9

South

Birmingham Stallions 9-1

New Orleans Breakers 6-5

Tampa Bay Bandits 4-6

Houston Gamblers 3-7

Playoff Results

Philadelphia Stars 19, New Jersey Generals 14

Birmingham Stallions 31, New Orleans Breakers 17

The Stallions are favored for a reason. Not only did they tie for the league's best record in the regular season, but they also have a tried-and-true formula for winning football games.

Birmingham has a stellar defense coupled with a strong ground game. The defense hasn't surrendered more than 20 points in a game since Week 2. The backfield duo of Bo Scarbrough and C.J. Marable is tremendous.

However, this isn't the only advantage Birmingham boasts. The Stallions also have a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in J'Mar Smith and a college connection that yields great chemistry.

Smith, wideout Adrian Hardy and fullback Bobby Holly are just some of the Stallions standouts who played under head coach Skip Holtz at Louisiana Tech.

When the Stars and Stallions played back in Week 5, Holtz replaced Alex McGough with Smith at quarterback, and Birmingham ripped off 23 unanswered points.

For Philadelphia to pull off the upset, it will need a huge game from quarterback Case Cookus—and the Northern Arizona product has shown that he's capable of having them.

In Week 8 against the Michigan Panthers, Cookus completed 20 of 26 attempts for 297 yards and four touchdowns. However, Cookus was far less efficient last week against the Generals.

Cookus did rush for a touchdown, but he also completed just 10 of 20 attempts for 133 yards with an interception.

The Stars will need mistake-free football—and their fair share of big offensive plays—in order to outlast the Stallions. Birmingham has the talent and the scheme to dominate a physical, low-scoring game.

Expect the Stallions to try grinding out the game on Sunday, while Philadelphia tries to turn it into a track meet. This is one that could go either way—especially if turnovers and special-teams breakdowns are involved—but the pace will likely determine who has the true advantage.

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