The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 27A new team at the top
The Legion and the arch-enemy were the teams on a bye this week. But the Area Code FC moves up and the Three Sparks move down. Inherently wrong. But the algorithm does not lie. Even so, results elsewhere largely went in the Legion’s favor in yet another wild week.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note | This Week |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 3 | 2 | 12-10-5 | 23.97 | The Switchbacks have scored 11 goals in the last 3 games and are in cruise control. 4-2 over Tampa Bay this week. Out of 2nd only on tiebreakers. | v. Charleston (Sat.) |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 5 | 3 | 8-9-11 | 20.00 | Pittsburgh rode its typically stingy defense to a 2-0 win over Rhode Island and finally moved into playoff position. | @ Tampa Bay (Sat.) |
| 3 | Charleston Battery | 2 | -1 | 16-4-8 | 19.90 | In the battle of #2 v. #2 Charleston came out on top 2-1 over Sacramento Republic. They stay 3 points behind Louisville but have played 2 more games. | @ Colorado Springs (Sat.) |
| 4 | Louisville City | 1 | -3 | 19-5-2 | 18.59 | Not the typical gaudy Lou City score but they still beat Loudoun 1-0 comfortably. A hefty 12-1-0 at home. | @ Tulsa (Sta.) |
| 5 | Phoenix Rising | 12 | 7 | 8-8-9 | 15.58 | Phoenix peppered Tulsa with 16 shots but needed a PK for the 1-0 win. They move 3 points clear of Tulsa in 7th. | @ Sacramento (Sat.) |
| 6 | North Carolina FC | 17 | 11 | 8-9-9 | 14.91 | North Carolina were up 2 in 7 minutes, up 4 by half-time and ended 5-0 winners over Oakland. It could have been worse. Still just 10th though. | v. Memphis (Sat.) |
| 7 | Hartford Athletic | 6 | -1 | 8-12-6 | 14.88 | Hartford and Indy played to a tedious 0-0 draw whose only highlight was a foot save by Renan Ribeiro. | @ Miami (Sat.) |
| 8 | San Antonio | 15 | 7 | 7-12-7 | 14.40 | #10 v. #11 in the West was settled by a PK. San Antonio beats Monterey Bay 1-0. Both are in a 3-way tie with Orange County. | @ Oakland (Sat.) |
| 9 | Las Vegas Lights | 10 | 1 | 10-8-8 | 13.45 | Las Vegas Lights were on a bye this week. | @ Tulsa (Wed.) v. Monterey Bay (Sat.) |
| 10 | Sacramento Republic | 9 | -1 | 11-6-8 | 13.10 | SacRep scored first but ultimately went down 1-2 in Charleston in a tightly-fought game. Their hold on the #2 slot is weakening. | v. Phoenix (Sat.) |
| 11 | New Mexico United | 8 | -3 | 16-7-3 | 12.59 | The 1-0 home win over Miami was as close as the score suggests. Still, United is 10 points clear at the top of the west. | @ Detroit (Sat.) |
| 12 | Memphis 901 | 14 | 2 | 11-10-6 | 11.58 | Memphis 901 were on a bye this week. | @ North Carolina (Sat.) |
| 13 | El Paso Locomotive | 16 | 3 | 5-15-6 | 10.83 | El Paso’s second straight 0-0 draw, this time with Detroit, wasn’t as boring as the Hartford-Indy contest, but it was close. | @ Indy (Sat.) |
| 14 | Rhode Island FC | 7 | -7 | 8-6-13 | 10.30 | Rhode Island were held to just 2 shots, neither on target, and both late in the second half. They lose 0-2 in Pittsburgh | @ Orange County (Sat.) |
| 15 | Loudoun United | 13 | -2 | 9-10-7 | 9.03 | Loudoun took almost 70 minutes to even get a shot off and never got one on target in the 0-1 loss in Louisville. They drop to 9th. | v. Birmingham (Sat.) |
| 16 | Detroit City | 11 | -5 | 10-8-9 | 8.14 | Detroit fails to take advantage of a weak opponent and ends 0-0 in El Paso. They remain 4th but just barely and have played more games. | v. New Mexico (Sat.) |
| 17 | Oakland Roots | 4 | -13 | 12-11-4 | 6.90 | Oakland’s big win over New Mexico didn’t give them much of a boost. They get embarrassed 0-5 in North Carolina. They edge down to 4th. | v. San Antonio (Sat.) |
| 18 | FC Tulsa | 18 | 0 | 7-9-9 | 6.03 | Tulsa managed no shots in the first half and only 5 in the second, with just 1 on target. GK Johan Peñaranda kept the game a 0-1 loss. | v. Las Vegas (Wed. v. Louisville (Sat.) |
| 19 | Indy Eleven | 20 | 1 | 10-9-7 | 5.83 | Indy’s run of poor performances continued in the 0-0 draw in Hartford. They remain in 5th by dint of results elsewhere. | v. El Paso (Sat.) |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 19 | -1 | 12-7-7 | 4.12 | The Rowdies got 2 consolation goals but were thumped by Colorado Springs 2-4. a weak 1-3-1 in the last 5 games and they also lose manager Robbie Neilson to a red card. | @ Birmingham (Wed.) v. Pittsburgh (Sat.) |
| 21 | The Miami FC | 22 | 1 | 3-22-2 | 3.56 | Miami did not give up without a fight but could not repeat last week’s win and lose 0-1 in New Mexico. First team eliminated. | v. Hartford (Sat.) |
| 22 | Birmingham Legion | 21 | -1 | 10-11-5 | 1.18 | Birmingham Legion were on a bye this week. | v. Tampa Bay (Wed.) @ Loudoun (Sat.) |
| 23 | Monterey Bay Union | 23 | 0 | 7-13-7 | -0.89 | No shots on goal doom the Union to a 0-1 loss to San Antonio. They have just 1 point in 5 games under new head coach Jordan Stewart. | @ Las Vegas (Sat.) |
| 24 | Orange County | 24 | 0 | 8-14-4 | -3.94 | Orange County were on a bye this week. | v. Rhode Island (Sat.) |
