CCA Power Rankings – Week 5

The CCA Ranking Committee and Editors will be providing weekly updated Power Rankings for the twenty CRL Spring teams with info, results, and outlooks for teams throughout the rest of the season. The rankings combine both East and West Conference teams and are based on our opinions as of 4/27. Rankings are completed by bennyS, Vitali, Parkour Penguin, Jamaican, Jbob, and Noxes. Rankings are formatted by: Rank (change) School Name (Overall Record) (Week Record)

1. (-) Northwood University (13-1) (2-0)

• • Northwood are back with another undefeated week and have secured the #1 seed in the East after Akron faltered in a few series. All three players have been firing on all cylinders, although they have been looking less invincible as the season goes on. Both opponents this week were able to take a game off the Timberwolves, as Durham and Florida Poly both proved they could go toe to toe. For now though, Northwood is still closing out their series and bringing home the wins.

2. (+2) University of North Texas (11-1) (2-0)

• • For the first time all season, we have a change in the top two. UNT continued rolling forward with two more wins in week four, aided by a massive collapse from LSU. Luciuhh continues to snipe the net for UNT, currently sitting second in all of CRL in shot percentage. If he continues that pace, and dbanq and 2Fast continue their strong play as well, this is a scary group that could contest Northwood for a national championship.

3. (-) Akron Zips (10-5) (2-3)

• • A tough week brought Akron back down to earth a bit, but rankers can’t set aside their strong history and playoff prowess as we head into the final week of the regular season. The Zips might be sitting behind FPU in the East standings at the time of writing, but their final week looks quite winnable, which would allow them to sneak back into that second seed. Regardless, losing to OSU, Florida Poly, and Durham in the same week can not leave Akron overly confident, and gives reason to worry for many rankers as a first-round matchup in the playoffs between Akron and FPU becomes more and more likely.

4. (+2) Florida Poly (12-6) (5-2)

• • The first team to complete their regular season, the Phoenixes have caught fire at the perfect time, finishing their last week of the season 5-2 and securing a spot in the playoffs as a top-three seed. They’ve beaten Akron, they’ve beaten OSU, and they’re the only team this season to take two games off of Northwood in a series. You may have missed your chance to cheer for an underdog, but there’s no reason not to jump on the bandwagon for this exciting, and explosive team.

5. (-3) Louisiana State University (9-4) (0-4)

• • In the last rankings, LSU were lauded as the only undefeated team remaining, but now just one week later the Tigers find themselves down in fifth after a week the whole team would love to forget about. With their four losses split between two days, it’s hard to tell if LSU just had a few rough days and will be back stronger than ever. On the other hand it could be a sign that other teams are starting to figure them out. Ayjacks continues to lead the west in goals/game, but if teams find ways to stifle his scoring ability, they may continue to find wins against the Tigers.

6. (+1) Arizona Wildcats (9-5) (2-2)

• • It was a mixed bag week for Arizona, but they’ll move up a spot due to current record and game differential putting them in a good place heading into the last week of the regular season. They share the same game differential as LSU, despite being a full series loss behind them, so the possibility is certainly there for Arizona to sneak into the two seed in the west with a win over LSU. They do have a tough week ahead of them though, which could easily see them drop into fourth, or if Oregon pops off, maybe even on the outside of the playoffs.

7. (+2) Ohio State University (10-6) (2-1)

• • OSU currently sits with a strong hold on the fourth seed, but need to be careful in the final week with UCF and USF chomping at their heels. Lucky for them that’s exactly who they have left to play in week five, so their fate will be entirely in their hands. Win both series, and they’re in the playoffs. They did lose to USF in the last week so it may be harder than it sounds, but recent wins over Akron and Virginia will help to give the Buckeyes a bit more confidence.

8. (-) UT Dallas (8-6) (3-0)

• • There are just too many good teams in CRL, and no room for UTD to move up, despite beating the sixth seed Arizona twice in the last week. They’ll still slot in behind them due to overall record, but UTD is heating up at the right time, and they’ll have a somewhat easier final week than Arizona, meaning they could leapfrog them at the last moment. The biggest thing holding Dallas back is their game differential. If things line up we could see a three-way tie for second through fourth place with 12-6 or 11-7 records, which would leave Dallas in the fourth seed.

9. (+5) University of South Florida (7-7) (3-2)

• • Two huge wins over UCF, as well as a victory over OSU will move USF up to fifth in the East standings, and raise them five spots on the power rankings. The Bulls still have a tough road ahead of them if they want a shot at playoffs, but they’ve proven they deserve to be in the top ten with a strong showing this week.

10. (+2) University of Oregon (6-5) (3-2)

• • Another new team enters the top ten, as Oregon gets five more games under their belt as we head into week 6. A split series with MS&T as well as wins over LSU and CSUF prove that they deserve to be in the conversation for the West playoffs. More than any team in the West, they have an opportunity to really change how the division shapes up with seven series still to be played. Theoretically an undefeated end of the season could give the Ducks a playoff spot, although they will need a lot of things to go their way.

11. (-6) UCF Knights (7-7) (3-3)

• • Rankers have finally come to terms with the Knights as their struggles continue. Still not technically eliminated from the playoffs, it’d take a miracle for UCF to make it in.

12. (+1) UNC Charlotte (6-9) (2-2)

• • Although UNCC are eliminated from playoffs, they still remain a step ahead of the bottom of the East, after beating Durham College in the past week. A win over UCF is also big for them, but due to having less games left to play then UCF at their current record, they’ll still slot in behind them.

13. (-3) CSUF Titans (5-9) (1-2)

• • The Titans have slid out of playoff contention, and although spood continues to be one of the highest scoring players in CRL, the wins just were not there for CSUF. The rankers hopes and dreams could only last for so long and finally they will start to slide down the rankings.

14. (+6) Missouri S&T (6-9) (4-1)

• • Too little too late is painful to say after an exciting 4-1 week for MS&T, but unfortunately it’s true as their playoff dreams are all but extinguished. That said, they are a very exciting team, and if they can perform like this a bit earlier in future events they certainly look like they could be a playoff team.

15. (-4) UT Arlington (6-10) (0-2)

• • A loss to UNT won’t do much for them in either direction, but their loss to MS&T will be enough to move UTA down past them. Not even Sambas 450+ points/game is enough to save UTA’s ranking this time.

16. (+3) Durham Lords (4-13) (2-4)

• • One great day for Durham and one bad day for Durham. A win over Stockton confirms they won’t be the worst team in the East, while a win over Akron shows they can take down the best. Losses to Florida Poly, UNCC, and Northwood the next night mean they won’t move up any further though.

17. (-2) Texas Tech University (4-8) (1-1)

• • Still a lot of games for TTU to play, but they’ll also be against some of the top Western Conference teams, so things aren’t looking great for them. SpaceKitten does have the best shooting percentage in all of CRL though, so if he can start putting more balls in the net we might see TTU move up a few spots.

18. (-1) University of Virginia (4-10) (1-2)

• • Virginia has had some decent showings throughout the season, but could never put it all together, and it looks like their season will end towards the bottom. One last matchup with Stockton made sure they wouldn’t be at the bottom of East.

19. (-1) Washington State University (3-10) (0-2)

• • They still have to play LSU and UNT in their final week so things aren’t looking promising for WSU. They’ve shown they belong in CRL, but haven’t shown they can fight for the top yet.

20. (-4) Stockton University (2-11) (0-3)

• • The rankers tried to hold out hope for a Stockton comeback, but after losing to Durham and Virginia last week it seems all but over for this semester. They still have a few more games left where they can do some damage, but they still remain far far away from the playoffs.