SFL Power Rankings: New Kids on the Block

by Hunter Norwood

Last week there were more questions than games heading into Week 4 and I was hoping to get a few answered and while some were I feel as though even more were created through the chaos. The top 3 teams all lost, Queen City is looking like a top 8 finisher, Lexington is still as much of an enigma as Tulsa was, Vancouver & Washington look to be on a collision course and the voters don’t know who is #1. A “boring” week turned into upset city and this season looks like it will be turning everything we know about team history on its head. What will this week bring?

voting breakdown

So statistical models are back to the rankings and it’s not Elo this time but my personal Strength Rating 2.0! This rating and the original are both housed on the Premier Stats Cheat Sheet(possible link?) and I’ve decided to go with this over Elo mainly due to the more present nature of the rating. Elo gets there but it does so later in the season and I feel this is a good gauge of where teams stand now as well as the fact that last season it ranked most playoff teams in the top 12 and had Mexico City over Canton despite how dominant Canton looked at the time. Now, aside from that, Vancouver took the lead on 1st place voting with Washington close behind but not too close on points. Vancouver’s defense looks impenetrable but I would like to see them face off against a higher flying offense first before I feel confident in their championship aspirations. Washington, on the other hand, has faced a gauntlet of teams and have come out unscathed but are still having trouble convincing a few voters that they’re a top 5 squad. Same could be said for Bossier City who had a bye and has played lights out but against lesser competition. Would a win over an unranked Indianapolis be enough to close the gap on Washington? 

a fall from grace?

#13 Baltimore Vultures (2-2)

The North division used to be pretty cut and dry. Baltimore would dominate most teams, sweep the division and have only D.C. to worry about getting anywhere close to usurping the throne. Now? Baltimore is 0-2 in the division, has yet to win on the road with another away game upcoming and three teams are 3-1 above them. I don’t see anything drastic like Baltimore missing the playoffs but to enter the field without a division title to win most tiebreaker procedures could put them in a tight spot and potentially on the road throughout. The season is still young with many games to be played in and out of the division with these upstart North teams to come back down to Earth but we’ve entered new territory in the battle for the North crown in a season that is shaping up to be new territory for a majority of the league landscape.

WEEK 5 PREMIER MATCHUP

#8 Houston Headhunters @ #2 Washington Trident(-4.5) | O/U 35.5 | FEB. 2ND 9:00 PM EST

Houston comes into this matchup with a win over the defending champs last week and with only a close loss to Albuquerque being the one blemish to their record they are looking to add another trophy to their resume against Washington. The Trident have seen off the last three opponents and enter this game undefeated but have got close to faltering a few times. The best teams find ways to win though no matter how it may look in the box score and the Trident defense will be relied upon heavily for this one to slow down a Houston offense that is averaging nearly double what Washington is allowing. Houston was able to rely on home cooking to take down a #1 team; can they secure some catering out in Washington this week?