The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 29Getting down to the wire now
The rankings can do weird things at times. The #1 team is the only one not to move despite drawing with a weak opponent, who actually dropped in the rankings. A few other teams moved in directions counter to their performances as well. Not to mention the #2 slot being a real shocker. And the playoff races in both conferences are heating up big time.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note | This Week |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 1 | 0 | 13-10-6 | 22.58 | The 4-game win streak is over in surprising fashion: 1-1 in E Paso. And the Switchbacks were probably the slightly weaker side on the day, | v. Loudoun (Sat.) |
| 2 | Hartford Athletic | 4 | 2 | 10-12-7 | 17.94 | Hartford scored early and got a short-handed goal to down Oakland 2-0. No losses in the last 7 and they are knocking on the door of the playoffs. | @ Tampa Bay (Sat.) |
| 3 | Detroit City | 11 | 8 | 12-8-9 | 15.99 | Detroit were in control even before the Phillip Goodrum red card, going on to win 2-1 over Louisville. Wins over both conference leaders the past 2 weeks. | @ Monterey Bay (Sat.) |
| 4 | Louisville City | 2 | -2 | 20-6-2 | 15.96 | Lou City looked like they were phoning it in in the 1-2 loss in Detroit. They did wake up a bit late but not enough. Still comfortable at the top of the East. | v. Memphis (Sat.) |
| 5 | Phoenix Rising | 7 | 2 | 9-9-9 | 15.78 | Phoenix scored early and often as they cruised to a 4-0 win over San Antonio. Looking a little more like defending champions at last. | @ Orange County (Wed.) v. Las Vegas (Sat.) |
| 6 | Charleston Battery | 8 | 2 | 17-5-8 | 15.58 | Nick Markanich set a new USL scoring record as the Battery rolled over Tampa Bay 3-1. Closing in on Lou City now but have played 2 more games. | Bye |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 6 | -1 | 8-10-11 | 15.07 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds were on a bye this week. | v. Birmingham (Sat.) |
| 8 | North Carolina FC | 13 | 5 | 9-10-9 | 14.43 | North Carolina continues to be unpredictable. They win 2-0 over Indy and remain in playoff contention with a game in hand. | @ El Paso (Sat.) |
| 9 | New Mexico United | 15 | 6 | 18-8-3 | 14.32 | New Mexico easily handled SacRep 3-1 in midweek but needed an own goal to best a combative Loudoun 1-0. 12 points clear now. | @ Sacramento (Sun.) |
| 10 | Las Vegas Lights | 9 | -1 | 11-8-10 | 13.87 | The Lights completely outmuscled SacRep for the 2-1 win. 11 points in the last 5 games and the home playoffs are very much a possibility. | @ Phoenix (Sat.) |
| 11 | Memphis 901 | 12 | 1 | 12-10-7 | 11.12 | Memphis 901 were on a bye this week. | @ Louisville (Sat.) |
| 12 | San Antonio | 3 | -9 | 8-13-7 | 10.39 | San Antonio had just 1 shot on goal as they got plowed under 0-4 in Phoenix. Still in playoff contention but this is hardly a typical San Antonio team. | v. Rhode Island (Sat.) |
| 13 | Loudoun United | 10 | -3 | 10-11-7 | 9.97 | You won’t see a worse own goal than Keegan Hughes’ howler. Otherwise Loudoun played New Mexico at least even but ended up 0-1 losers. | @ Colorado Springs (Sat.) |
| 14 | Sacramento Republic | 5 | -9 | 12-8-8 | 8.16 | Sacramento got their butts handed to them 1-3 in New Mexico Wednesday. Then they were worse Saturday, losing 1-2 in Las Vegas. Home playoff at risk now. | v. New Mexico (Sun.) |
| 15 | Birmingham Legion | 20 | 5 | 12-12-5 | 7.80 | Not scoring until the 94th minute is not a good sign against the league’s weakest team. But Darwin Matheus introduced himself in a big way. | @ Pittsburgh (Sat.) |
| 16 | Indy Eleven | 14 | -2 | 11-10-7 | 7.41 | Indy’s slide down the standings was briefly interrupted last week against El Paso but resumed with a listless 0-2 loss in North Carolina. | v. Miami (Sat.) |
| 17 | El Paso Locomotive | 16 | -1 | 5-16-7 | 6.71 | Eric Calvillo blew a penalty kick and the Locomotive ended splitting points with Colorado Springs 1-1. Still not eliminated though. | v. North Carolina (Sat.) |
| 18 | Rhode Island FC | 17 | -1 | 9-7-13 | 6.41 | Rhode Island gave up n early goal but then pummeled the Tulsa net with 24 shots to eventually win 2-1 and get back on the right track. | @ San Antonio (Sat.) |
| 19 | Orange County | 24 | 5 | 9-14-5 | 5.32 | In a game that neither team could afford to lose, Orange County tied with Monterey Bay 0-0. It wasn’t interesting. | v. Phoenix (Wed.) |
| 20 | FC Tulsa | 18 | -2 | 7-11-10 | 4.85 | Another loss: 1-2 in Rhode Island. Just 1 point from the last 5 games but somehow they are still in playoff contention. | @ Oakland (Sun.) |
| 21 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 19 | -2 | 13-9-7 | 4.83 | The Rowdies lost 1-3 to Charleston. That’s 5 losses in the last 7 games and they could be at risk of losing a home playoff spot. | v. Hartford (Sat.) |
| 22 | Monterey Bay Union | 23 | 1 | 7-13-9 | 3.33 | 0-0 with Orange County. That’s 452 minutes since their last goal, and 10 games since their last win. | v. Detroit (Sat.) |
| 23 | The Miami FC | 22 | -1 | 3-24-2 | 0.74 | Miami probably thought they were going to escape the Magic City with a point but got kneecapped by a golazo. Loss #24. | @ Indy (Sat.) |
| 24 | Oakland Roots | 21 | -3 | 12-13-4 | -3.35 | Oakland go down 0-1 to a 10-man Hartford and lose their 3rd straight without scoring. Not good but the playoff line is way below them. | v. Tulsa (Sun.) |
