Power Rankings

Bad form to put your own team at #1? Maybe. Do I care? No. Sushi Gang had a fantastic comeback victory against the best QB in the league, holding Iron Grey to 6 second half points after an emphatic and highly inspirational halftime pep talk (rant?) from captain Jordan. Everyone came together nicely- Chico had a great first game back after a long hiatus, Smiffy snagged a TD, and Liam had a gnarly 4th down sack on the 2 yard line. It’s hard not to notice the striking similarities to Duke, the best team in college right now, and a team that has edged out wins against rival teams and absolutely steamrolled others. The question is, will being extremely short handed these next few weeks be a hindrance?

No QB, no problem for these guys this week. Ben continues his tradition of missing week 1, but replacement captain Tiger, backup QB Paul, and the rest of White Load-Us got it done without him this weekend, edging out Seafoam after blowing a two score lead. When Paul returns back to receiver, White will have loads of targets for Ben- Paul, Ivan, Connor, Austin…dang this team is deep. Speaking of deep, Ben always seems to have one of those teams that will always go deep in the playoffs, but not quite get it done…a la Houston, who has made 4 straight Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8s, and a Final 4…but can’t quite get over that hump to win it all. I don’t want to say that white has a cupcake schedule, but…they’ll be a top team in these rankings for weeks to come.

Cam is another one of those guys who always puts together a good season (if his team stays healthy and stops dropping balls), and week 1 showed another dominating effort. Brandon, Ross, and Keenan tallied INTs while Cam spread the ball around nicely, with 5 different players scoring. Sounds exactly like a dangerous Maryland team, who leads all of NCAA in games where 5 players score double digits. These Hoes Ain’t Royal certainly have the depth this year, but it’s only fair to question if opposing teams will eventually catch onto the fake pitches leading to another early playoff exit. Honorable mention to Cam who attempted to decline a penalty that didn’t even get called leading to some sass from head ref Jason.

While Iron Grey is 0-1 on paper…as usual, JC doesn’t lose to divisional opponents (hasn’t happened since May 2023), meaning that 0-1 record really doesn’t mean anything when it comes to playoff seeding. Despite his best one man efforts (him running down and diving at our receiver at halftime after 4 laterals to stop a TD as time expired was one of the most athletic things I’ve ever seen at Carter Barron), he’s going to need his receivers to not drop so many balls if they’re going to be on the right side of these close games (shoutout to Alex D for the great hands all game). Speaking of close games, JC has 18 1 possession wins dating back to Spring 2023 (most in DCGFFL), including a heartbreaking loss in last season’s championship with 16 seconds left….similar to Purdue, who after a heartbreaking loss in last year’s finals, has a very low scoring margin of +7 this season.

An Aaron/Luis combo is a dangerous one. Aaron showed last year he can easily throw 6 TDs in a game, and despite only getting 1 sack this week (probably due to Jim throwing 80 screens), Luis will easily be back atop the sack leaderboard soon. Once Nick and Ryan start joining in on the scoring barrage, this team may make a run at the season scoring record. Cedric and Bryan both scored and added an INT and the Emerald Edgers went 4/4 on extra points and allowed 0 themselves. It’s the little things that win ballgames, such as Wisconsin’s 83% free throw percentage. The burning question is… Will the Edgers have what it takes to finally go all the way?

Ben M was once again thrown into the backup QB role to start the season, and unlike last fall, came out victorious. Outside of one bad ball thrown right to the defender, he was able to do just enough on both sides of the ball (3 TDs and 2 sacks) to lead his short handed team to victory. Oriya has finally learned that leaving his team at the end of the season for his vacations is not ideal, so I expect this team to remain winning when he returns thanks to a solid group of receivers in Alonzo, Chad, and Ben. There are certainly plenty of teams in this league who people love to root against. But who would ever root against this group of nice guys? Patrick, Pete, Chad, Marc…I mean you can’t help but root for Citron My Face, just like Texas Tech. People hate Duke, Michigan State, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee…but who on earth hates the Red Raiders?? They’ll go far this year.

The Apricocks came out swinging against the defending champs AJ and Twon, picking off AJ en route to a rout that was not as close as the final score may have shown. Wyatt was zinging passes left and right to nearly his entire team, with over 33% of his players in attendance scoring, including rookie Christian who added the INT to a TD and extra point. Losing star Jamal to an injury with an undisclosed timeline dropped them a spot in the rankings though, as it’s too soon to know whether or not he’ll be out for a prolonged period of time…similar to Morez Johnson of Illinois who was the best shooter on the team before going down with a hand injury. Plus, Illinois is basically Neon Orange, so this one just fits.

Mast4Mast started the year off strong, with Dawson and Trey combined for all 26 points, with Joe adding a sack. However, their offensive line allowed 3 sacks themselves, but as long as the pressure on QB John doesn’t lead him to throwing interceptions at his historical rate, I can see these guys making a solid run at a top 4 seed in the playoffs. You can’t say that captain Trey isn’t loyal. In the last 4 seasons, he’s had a grand total of 2 different QBs. The first time with John, they rattled off a late season comeback and even upset the 2 seed in the playoffs. This year, they decided they wanted to win a game before week 7, taking down Red in overtime on a, depending on who you ask, controversial spot call. I know we all love loyalty… so let’s compare Navy to Gonzaga, lead by coach Mark Few who has been with the team since 1999. They’ve never won it all, but have had some decent teams over the years.

The Foamboys have a solid roster. Morgan, Everett, Nolan, and Adam tallied up the scorecard this week with sacks, interceptions, and touchdowns. The big question mark is their QB Bryan, who apparently is going to attempt to play through shoulder pain. He missed week 1, with captain Morgan attempting to play QB before quickly realizing that was the worst decision possible. Emergency QB Jonathan fared well, only throwing 2 INTs (better than some of the emergency QBs last season who threw 5 INTs+ per game…), but their 6 point loss was to a team without their QB either. If Bryan misses more games (along with their other planned absences these next two weeks), will their offense be able to do much? Or is this all a ploy by Bryan to get a good supplemental pick and get him a 3rd championship in 6 seasons? So many question marks, just like St John’s, a team who many experts don’t believe in but others think they are a final 4 candidate. Bet on them wisely…

Yes, Texas Orange won, but…it wasn’t pretty, and it was against a 1st time QB (who admittingly is still a crazy athlete). Despite picking off Andre three times, Daniel got sacked 3 times, allowed a safety, and threw two picks himself. Andrew G did prove that some time away from JC for the first time in forever could be a good thing, catching two TDs plus an INT. Bradley added two sacks and an XP while Mike also contributed on both sides of the ball. Despite TeamArrange showing that Texas Orange actually lost this game for 2 days until it was “fixed” (suspicious…), I do think this team will win a few more games (including next week), but after that, the schedule gets real tough. If Daniel can keep his cool on the field unlike his named counterpart at UConn, I think this team has the chance for a .500 season.

I’ll be honest. As I was reffing this game and Cardinal went up by 2 scores and Nick’s punt (yes, somebody in this league punted) went 6 yards, I thought they were in trouble. But these guys buckled down and finished the game nicely, courtesy of some nice throws by Nick, a TD by Paul G, Patrick grabbing balls left and right (first time a rookie has intercepted multiple passes in a debut game since at least 2022), and rusher Will R deciding this is finally the season where he won’t commit multiple penalties per game (although he is adamant I am the only person who ever throws flags on him). Nick P was due for this one. After his Fall 2023 rookie season where he finished as the #2 seed, he went a combined 1-17 in the regular season these last two seasons. Sound like Missouri? A year after finishing 0-18 in SEC games, Missouri found their groove, spending most of the year ranked and beating 3 top 5 teams…before losing their last 3 games of the regular season to limp into the March Madness (just like Nick was limping after taking a leg to the kneecap on a 4th down QB sneak).

This is a good team, filled deep with travel players. Andre will get his bearings down as a new QB, and with a great defense (Noah with 3 sacks, Josh and Andre with an INT each), Blue Out They Back will cause enough turnovers that games will have to go their way eventually. Plus, I do think Andre is a great QB who is probably one of the top 2 run threats in the league. Especially if they are able to add yet another weapon in supplemental, this is not a team I’d like to face in the playoffs, just like UC San Diego, a team that has the best turnover margin in all of the NCAA by a wide margin.

I’ve learned my lesson from Fall 2023 and will NOT be commenting on QB Andrew’s lack of rushing TDs. Jordan Mahoney continued where he left off after his breakout fall season, scoring 2 touchdowns, with Shaq and Nick adding one a piece. The Red Bottoms have a great rushing attack with Ed and Brandon combining for 3 sacks, but these and Matt’s usual steller play on both sides of the ball weren’t enough to overcome not being able to score on 4 straight pitches from the 4 yard line or “terrible spots by the refs” and pull out a victory. Jeff Walz and Louisville are always known to not bite their tongue when it comes to questionable calls, but I do think the Bottoms have enough talent to snag a mid range seed in the playoffs similar to the Cardinals.

Eeks. What to say about this team…losing by 2 TDs is unheard of for a Twon/AJ team. The Dune Baddies defense was as porous as their jersey color, allowing Wyatt to throw all over them. Bernard was able to register a sack and Adrian added a TD, but outside of that…not much to write about here. If opposing teams can lock down the reigning MVP Twon, I am not sure if AJ feels comfortable yet with his other targets. With PJ and Z being probably one of the best offensive lines in the league, AJ won’t get sacked much, but not getting sacked doesn’t lead to points being scored (as we saw this week). The Baddies are just like Kentucky, a historically great team who just….might not have it this year.

Juan is taking a break from captaining but not taking a break from sheer domination, logging two TDs and an INT. Zak Sealy is currently tied for the league lead in sacks with 3, but outside of those two lighting up the scorecard, there wasn’t much else here going for The Black Cockus. Justin added an INT and Kevin snagged a TD, but their defense was overall unable to stop a fast paced Aaron offense. A favorable upcoming schedule will give the Cockus’ at least their first win or two, but this may be one of the teams that is kind of just “there” all season. Just like Creighton, they’ll win some games, they’ll lose some games. Nobody hates them, nobody really loves them, they’re…just there.

Grape Expectations turned sour quickly for this crew, despite a respectable two sacks against a very mobile opposing QB from Jeremy and Mike. A big welcome back goes out to Andy, who returned to the field after a brief fatherhood break to score a TD, along with Brandon. 3 INTs thrown by Austin were the difference maker here though, which always seem to be a debilitating factor, similar to Michigan, who turn the ball over more than any other team likely heading into the tournament next week. Like Michigan, Purple has the potential to win some big games, but only if they can keep the ball in their own hands. If not, another 8am playoff game is coming…which Austin does have history doing well in (remember Deep in the Bush?). He just needs to pass the ball…to his own team.

Going up 14-0 and then losing 28-14 isn’t pretty. But, maybe it could’ve been predicted when QB Scott (welcome back!) had to pull a “this is my offense, let me call the shots” after captain Evan offered a…different perspective on whether they should go for 1 or 2. Matt was able to pace the offense (for the first two drives at least) with a TD and an XP, but the offense fell flat from there, with 2 interceptions and a sack given up by an otherwise very productive offensive line. Cardinal does have a formidable rush (if they can figure out which puck to rush from), and I really wanted to compare this team to St John’s as a nod to Scott who won the DCGFFL championship years ago (St John’s was a team that was good way before all of the league twinks were even born, sucked for awhile, but the return of an older legend has brought them back into glory), but…St John’s has actually won games this year. So, instead, the Sins will be Kansas, a preseason top team who also used to be good, but also a team that has also blown major leads this year and has fallen drastically in the rankings.

A year after making the Final Four together, the Brian/Thomas combo nearly gooseegged for a solid 1 win this past season. After a lackluster performance against a team that was missing their QB, it is clear that these guys aren’t aging like a fine wine (granted, have to at least recognize T scoring all 19 of his team’s points…). A top pick in last fall’s supplemental draft wasn’t enough to turn their season around, and I’m expecting another top player being added to their team in a few weeks. Will this player to be named be the missing link, or will these fine guys be the next Mississippi State Valley Delta Devils, who are a combined 8-53 over the last two years? Honorable shoutouts to DJ who snagged another sack and Ricky+Ben for the INTs.