As we approach the midseason point the madness has begun to creep in with multiple upsets, a team getting their first victory, division races begin to heat up and we have sawed after seeing in Louisiana. Week 7 looks to be a bloodbath for our current Top 16 and so get a good look at the rankings this week as they will most likely be a good bit different come this time next week. But for now let’s get into the breakdowns.

VOTING BREAKDOWN

This week as the votes began to roll in the 1 & 2 of Florida and Arizona was clear but rest of the list was uniform but close. Mexico City 7 Canton were in a battle for 3^rd. Baltimore & Minnesota had lost but it looked like a tight race with Houston and the bottom four teams looked like a tossup between six different franchises. And then the big question was how high was D.C. going to move up? The two high votes turned into five top 10 ballots and pushed them into the “playoff seeds” of the rankings. Mexico & Canton went back and forth and have seemingly come down to Blotner’s 3 and 9 placement to give the Aztecs the edge for now. Baltimore somehow lost, albeit by a point, and managed to stay firm at 5 and Minnesota overcame a ranking of 15(!) by Cherry to not drop any further than 6^th after a two point loss. The Atoms fell back out but the way they are playing they should be back and I am personally a little surprised they couldn’t hold on to at least a spot at 16.

upset city

#24 Chicago Warriors (1-5)
Color me surprised that the Warriors couldn’t turn a resounding upset victory over then #10 Lexington into at least a vote or two but instead got as high as 17 and not moving up from 24^th on the rankings. Tulsa doing…I mean Lexington doing Lexington things but this is the Chicago we were expecting to see out of the gate, but I guess all those DBs that left or were coaxed away in the offseason really did more to their strength in seasons’ past than most expected. Getting a bye after your first win in my eyes feels like a bit of a momentum killer but with Mexico City coming up afterwards maybe you do need that extra week to clean up the champagne and lock in for win #2.

#8 Fort Worth Toros (3-2)
I don’t know if I want an angry Forth Worth this week that came into their game vs Mexico City having not lost to them in the past 5 matchups and not once during this 4k23 era. Add to that the fact that Fort Worth has been upset in back-to-back games and hasn’t quite looked like themselves as they have only scored 14 points in the past two weeks after scoring 92 points in 3 weeks. Hard to say what has been plaguing the Toros but their road to the playoffs and more does not get any easier as they welcome a high flying Arizona team that keeps finding ways to win and mainly behind their defense.

week 7 premier matchups

#4 Canton Classics @ #3 Mexico City Aztecs(-3.5) | O/U 45.5 | AUGUST 25th 6:30 PM EST
There are so many big time matchups up and down the schedule for this week but this is the one that sticks out for me. Canton is here in Season 23 trying to get back at a chance for the promised land after seeing their ring deposit run away like Vandelay. Meanwhile, Mexico City had missed the playoffs for the 3^rd straight season after almost never missing it in their long history and came into this season hoping to begin to turn it around and sneak in. Canton looks poised to get back but Mexico City is back like they never left and could really solidify their positioning as well as the general scare factor of facing them with a win here. Being at home is the best you can ask for when playing Canton but it is not always enough for a team that will not just lay down and I can see a smash mouth shootout in the future here.

#16 Lexington Miners @ #10 Charleston Predators(-7.5) | O/U 41.5 | AUGUST 25th 9:15 PM EST
Because we are all children who still laugh when anyone mentions 69. Charleston invites Lexington to their house on a school night as they look to use their whole depth chart in the secondary to stifle Gabe and their offense and overpower their defense. Lexington’s signature win still hasn’t cropped up for them and this could be their best shot at one with only a few such teams left to go that would fir the bill. The enigma that is the Miners continues and anything could happen but the Predators should have no problem taking care of business here.