The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 5A few contenders begin to emerge in a mostly even league
We have been both busy and under the weather this week, so posts have been, well, delayed. As a result, this one will have to be a quickie with no major comments. However, this week does mark the return of the Forge Factor, and with it there are a few big swings in the rankings, as strength of schedule now comes into play. We have also tweaked the factor’s algorithm this season. In addition to reviewing performance over the past three games, we will also look the 2 games before that, giving 50% credit for the 4th game and 25% credit for the 5th game. 6 teams have played only 4 games, and 3 have played only 3, so for those slow starters the extra game or two are not yet taken into account.
There was only one draw this week, and of course it had to be a 0-0 affair between the top two teams in the league. 4 teams were on a bye, so the rankings are affected by that as well.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | Sacramento Republic | 1 | 0 | 3-0-2 | 23.76 | Sacramento Republic tied with San Antonio 0-0 this week. |
| 2 | San Antonio | 2 | 0 | 3-0-2 | 20.86 | San Antonio tied with Sacramento Republic 0-0 this week. |
| 3 | Oakland Roots | 18 | +15 | 2-1-1 | 16.33 | Oakland Roots beat Indy Eleven 3-0 this week. |
| 4 | Charleston Battery | 6 | +2 | 2-0-2 | 15.81 | Charleston Battery beat Hartford Athletic 3-2 this week. |
| 5 | El Paso Locomotive | 10 | +5 | 2-3-1 | 14.95 | El Paso Locomotive beat Orange County 1-0 this week. |
| 6 | Birmingham Legion | 3 | -3 | 3-1-1 | 14.93 | Birmingham Legion lost to Phoenix Rising 1-2 this week. |
| 7 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 5 | -2 | 3-1-1 | 14.83 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks beat Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1-0 this week. |
| 8 | San Diego Loyal | 4 | -4 | 3-1-1 | 13.94 | San Diego Loyal beat FC Tulsa 2-1 this week. |
| 9 | Phoenix Rising | 20 | +11 | 1-1-2 | 12.70 | Phoenix Rising beat Birmingham Legion 2-1 this week. |
| 10 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 7 | -3 | 1-0-3 | 12.58 | Rio Grande Valley Toros were on a bye this week. |
| 11 | Monterey Bay Union | 9 | -2 | 2-2-1 | 11.57 | Monterey Bay Union beat New Mexico United 4-2 this week. |
| 12 | FC Tulsa | 11 | -1 | 1-2-3 | 9.60 | FC Tulsa lost to San Diego Loyal 1-2 this week. |
| 13 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 14 | +1 | 1-1-3 | 8.38 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds lost to Colorado Springs Switchbacks 0-1 this week. |
| 14 | Indy Eleven | 8 | -6 | 1-1-2 | 7.65 | Indy Eleven lost to Oakland Roots 0-3 this week. |
| 15 | Las Vegas Lights | 23 | +8 | 0-0-3 | 6.50 | Las Vegas Lights were on a bye this week. |
| 16 | Hartford Athletic | 19 | +3 | 0-3-2 | 5.92 | Hartford Athletic lost to Charleston Battery 2-3 this week. |
| 17 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 16 | -1 | 1-2-2 | 5.70 | Tampa Bay Rowdies beat The Miami FC 2-0 this week. |
| 18 | Loudoun United | 21 | +3 | 1-2-1 | 5.40 | Loudoun United were on a bye this week. |
| 19 | New Mexico United | 15 | -4 | 1-2-0 | 5.38 | New Mexico United lost to Monterey Bay Union 2-4 this week. |
| 20 | Louisville City | 17 | -3 | 3-2-0 | 4.53 | Louisville City beat Detroit City 1-0 this week. |
| 21 | Detroit City | 22 | +1 | 1-4-0 | 4.45 | Detroit City lost to Louisville City 0-1 this week. |
| 22 | Orange County | 12 | -10 | 0-2-3 | 3.22 | Orange County lost to El Paso Locomotive 0-1 this week. |
| 23 | The Miami FC | 13 | -10 | 0-2-3 | 0.68 | The Miami FC lost to Tampa Bay Rowdies 0-2 this week. |
| 24 | Memphis 901 | 24 | 0 | 0-2-1 | -0.77 | Memphis 901 were on a bye this week. |
