Top Four Stay Locked In While Beaumont and Michigan Capitalize on a Chaotic Week
Seven weeks into the season, one thing has become undeniable: the AF1’s top tier is remarkably stable.
For another consecutive week, the top four teams in the rankings remain unchanged, with the Albany Firebirds, Kentucky Barrels, Nashville Kats, and Minnesota Monsters continuing to separate themselves from the rest of the league.
But behind them, Week 7 delivered another reshuffling of the middle tier — with Beaumont and Michigan both climbing after important wins, while Washington’s momentum cooled after a heartbreaking late-game loss.
The Top Tier Holds Firm
The biggest story at the top of the rankings might be what didn’t happen.
For the fifth straight week, the same four teams occupied the top tier of the rankings:
- Albany
- Kentucky
- Nashville
- Minnesota
Since Week 3, the Albany Firebirds, Kentucky Barrels, Nashville Kats, and Minnesota Monsters have consistently separated themselves from the rest of the league, with only a brief swap between Kentucky and Nashville earlier in the season.
At this point, the gap between the AF1’s upper tier and the rest of the field is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The Nashville Kats reinforced that reality this week with a convincing 58-28 road win over the Minnesota Monsters in Minnesota’s first home game in franchise history.
The Monsters entered the week riding strong momentum, but the Kats showed exactly why the gap between No. 3 and No. 4 still exists.
Michigan Continues to Build Momentum
The Michigan Arsenal continue to quietly strengthen their position in the rankings.
After pushing Albany to the brink last week, Michigan followed it up with a solid 53-33 win over the Oregon Lightning, moving up one spot to No. 5.
What makes Michigan’s position even more impressive is the path they’ve taken to get here. Through seven weeks, the Arsenal have already faced teams currently ranked in the top four a staggering five times. Easily one of the toughest schedules in the AF1 so far this season.
Despite that gauntlet, Michigan continues to stay competitive week after week, and the recent results are beginning to reflect it.
Beaumont Delivers the Week’s Biggest Moment
No moment in Week 7 was bigger than Beaumont’s dramatic final-minute victory over Washington.
Trailing late, the Beaumont Renegades delivered a thrilling kick return score in the final minute to secure a 42-35 win over the Washington Wolfpack.
The win pushes Beaumont up two spots to No. 6 while halting some of Washington’s recent momentum after the Wolfpack’s breakout rise in Week 6.
For Beaumont, it was exactly the kind of close-game finish that can reshape perception in a tightly packed middle tier.
Washington Comes Back to the Pack
After last week’s explosive jump up the rankings, the Washington Wolfpack came back down slightly following the heartbreaking loss to Beaumont.
Still, despite the drop from No. 5 to No. 7, Washington remains far more competitive than they appeared earlier in the season. Just a few weeks removed from being the unanimous No. 9 team in the league, the Wolfpack continue to prove they belong in the crowded middle tier.
Bottom Line
The top of the AF1 has become remarkably stable.
Albany continues to lead. Kentucky and Nashville remain firmly behind them. Minnesota still owns the clear No. 4 position despite this week’s loss.
But beneath that structure, the middle tier remains fluid every single week.
One late kick return flipped Beaumont and Washington. Michigan continued climbing after another strong performance. Oceanside stayed competitive with Kentucky despite another loss.
And as always in the AF1, one drive, one bounce off the net, or one late-game play can still completely reshape the rankings next week.
Power Rankings Voter Update
AF1 Fan Zone expanded its voting panel over the past two weeks.
Gus Dixon joined in Week 6 as the team’s resident TikTok contributor, bringing short-form video coverage and analysis to the AF1 Fan Zone channel. Make sure to follow AF1 Fan Zone on TikTok for his weekly content.
Alana Klein joined the voter pool in Week 7, adding a statistics-driven perspective to the rankings process. Fans can catch her weekly analysis in The Numbers Game series right here on AF1FanZone.com.
Official AF1 Fan Zone weekly rankings data