PLAYOFFS?! Don’t talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me? PLAYOFFS?!
by Alana Klein
Highlights of the Week
- Albany was dominant in shutting out Beaumont for more than a half. The Renegades “slow down the game” strategy was working, as only the third drive of the game made it into the 2nd quarter. They were, however, unable to finish many of their drives, which is necessary for that strategy to work.
- Nashville v. Michigan turned into a shootout, with Nashville prevailing in the end.
- Kentucky dispatched with Oregon in Redmond and the teams will face each other in just a matter of a few days, with Kentucky playing host next weekend.
- The Bombers fought valiantly and almost took Minnesota to OT.
Into the record books
- Nashville v. Michigan was in the top 10 of most combined points in AF1 history.
‘The Numbers Game’ Stat of the Week
- Over the past season-and-a-half, there have been 8 times that a team has scored 50+ points and not recorded a win. Albany has been the opponent (who gave up 50+ points but still won) in 4 of them. That’s incredible to think about. That’s 1 out of every 5 games. What’s even more incredible is that same ratio (4 times, or 1 out of every 5 games), they’ve allowed 2 TDs or fewer. Additionally, there have been exactly 3 instances in which a defense has given up exactly 12 points … and Albany’s defense is responsible for all 3 of those.
Tiebreakers clinched this week
- Albany clinched the head-to-head outright over Beaumont.
- Nashville clinched the head-to-head outright over Michigan.
Playoff scenarios
* I’ve discovered that my playoff scenarios coming into the week were inaccurate. However, I worked a little magic with my spreadsheet and everything is all hunky-dorey.
- Albany clinched at a minimum a #4 seed.
- Nashville clinched a playoff berth.
- Kentucky clinched a playoff berth.
* Now that we have playoff berths being handed out, this naturally means that some spots in the standings are no longer possible for teams to achieve. These are the best possible finishes for the team.
| Team | Best Possible Finish |
|---|---|
| Albany Firebirds | 1st |
| Beaumont Renegades | 2nd |
| Kentucky Barrels | 1st |
| Michigan Arsenal | 4th |
| Minnesota Monsters | 1st |
| Nashville Kats | 1st |
| Oceanside Bombers | 5th |
| Oregon Lightning | 4th |
| Washington Wolfpack | 2nd |
Standings
| Place | Team | Win % | Points per Game | Established Tiebreakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Albany Firebirds | 1.000 | 53.00 | Head to Head: Beaumont Minnesota Oceanside Oregon Washington |
| 2 | x – Nashville Kats | 0.857 | 59.29 | Head to Head: Oceanside Oregon |
| 3 | x – Kentucky Barrels | 0.750 | 47.25 | Head to Head: Michigan Nashville Oceanside |
| 4 | Minnesota Monsters | 0.714 | 39.43 | Head to Head: Michgan Oceanside |
| 5 | Washington Wolfpack | 0.429 | 32.29 | |
| 6 | Beaumont Renegades | 0.286 | 35.00 | Head to Head: Washington |
| 7 | Michigan Arsenal | 0.250 | 40.75 | Head to Head: Oregon |
| 8 | Oceanside Bombers | 0.125 | 42.00 | |
| 9 | Oregon Lightning | 0.125 | 25.75 | |
x – Playoff berth y – 1st round bye z – 1st round bye + home field e – Eliminated |
NOTE: I use points per game instead of total points because there will not at any point in the season be a time when all teams have played the same number of games until the final whistle of the final game. Therefore, PPG is a more accurate indication of where teams would stand at this point in time instead of using the “Total Points” tiebreaker.
# In the event of a tie between 3+ teams:
- Compare head-to-head results in a round robin-style elimination.
- Compare total points scored in a round robin-style elimination.
- If a team can be seeded after a step, remove that team from the tiebreaker and (if there are still 3+ teams) start over with head-to-head, repeating the process until there are only 2 teams remaining.
- Revert to 2-team tiebreaker rules.