PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
(Note: I added two teams to the bottom of the rankings on Day -6 to reflect the fact that two of the CPU teams have separated themselves a bit from the rest.)
#01 Hawaiian Kings
S69: Rookie League #1 - 16-0, league champion, Rookie Tourney runner-up
S70: Prep League #1 - 16-0, league champion, Prep Tourney champion
#1 until somebody does something about it. Can anyone do anything about it? Probably not.
#02 ECE Respawn
S69: Rookie League #3 - 15-1, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 14-1-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
In the regular season, ECE was dominant, second only to Hawaii, though their tie with New Orleans was a bit odd. But when the playoffs came around, they folded like lawn chairs under the pressure, dropping an embarrassing 13-3 loss to the 7-9 Adriatic Sea Wasps in the opening round. Still, I think the Adriatic loss was a bit of an anomaly, and their strong regular season performance is a better indicator of how good ECE truly is. And ECE remains the only team with a sliver of a chance of taking down Hawaii right now... but when I say "sliver," I mean sliver. Close losses are still losses.
#03 Palm Bay Palookas
S69: Rookie League #2 - 12-4, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 11-5, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #3 in Prep Tourney
(Full disclosure: this is my team, so I may be biased.) Palm Bay's losses last season were all understandable: Hawaii, ECE and New Orleans are all strong teams, and Palm Bay took care of business against everyone else. But their 76-7 playoff drubbing at the hands of Hawaii shows they still have a ways to go.
#04 All-American Crimson Lancers
S69: Rookie League #4 - 15-1, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 10-6, lost in the playoff semi-finals, Prep Tourney runner-up
All-American was strong overall last season, but with no wins over the top 3 teams in the league and a couple of surprising losses to lower teams, I have questions about their consistency. But All-American is always a tough opponent, win or lose.
#05 Adriatic Sea Wasps
S69: Rookie League #2 - 10-6, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #1 - 7-9, league runner-up
In Rookie, Adriatic developed a reputation as a team that could push any opponent to the brink, though they were never able to turn any of those gritty performances into upset wins. That reputation took a hit in Prep as the close losses turned into bigger losses all season long, and it was starting to look like Adriatic was getting left behind. Then came the playoffs, and suddenly Adriatic knocked off ECE and All-American before coming up short against Hawaii. That showed us what Adriatic is capable of when they're at their very best. Question is, can they keep it up, or was this just Adriatic getting hot for 2 games? I don't want to underestimate a team that made the league title game, but I need to see more from Adriatic before I can justify ranking them higher, even if that means putting them below the teams they knocked out of the playoffs.
#06 New Orleans Jazz Cats
S69: Rookie League #2 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #4 in Rookie Tourney
S70: Prep League #1 - 10-5-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
The Jazz Cats looked quite strong in Rookie but seemed to take a step backwards in Prep. Their two tight wins over Palm Bay and their tie with ECE were offset by their amazing upset loss to Huntsville, their tight losses to All-American and Monmouth, and their early exit from the playoffs and Prep Tourney. But with their demotion to League #2, the Jazz Cats have a great chance to pick up a trophy against an actually-decent roster of opponents.
#07 Monmouth Evil Monkeys
S69: Rookie League #1 - 12-4, lost in the playoff semi-finals
S70: Prep League #1 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
Monmouth's defense in S70 was quite solid, good enough to keep almost every game in reach. Problem is, their offense frequently struggled, and they dropped several games they really should've won and exited the playoffs early, resulting in a demotion down to League #2. Still, if Monmouth can improve their offense and catch a couple of breaks, they could have a nice season.
#08 Montlake Huskies
S69: Rookie League #1 - 9-6-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #3 - 15-1, league champion
Playing in a craptacular league last season, Montlake's only real opponent was the Paris Smexies, but Montlake won 2 games out 3, including a 53-3 shellacking of Paris in the playoffs. But they lost by 49 to Palm Bay in the Prep Tourney, and back in Rookie they struggled to keep their head above water in a tough league. Montlake should be able to make the playoffs, but their ceiling is most-likely the 4-seed and an early exit.
#09 Jersey Mets
S69: Rookie League #1 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #3 in Rookie Tourney
S70: Prep League #1 - 7-9, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
Jersey looked strong in Rookie, but came crashing down to earth in Prep and looked absolutely terrible. They've been demoted down to League #2, joining New Orleans and Monmouth, and both teams will still present a stiff challenge for the Mets.
#10 Sydney Sharks
S69: Rookie League #2 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 14-2, league champion
Sydney had one good game in Rookie and looked lackluster for the rest of that season. In Prep, they ended up in a CPU-loaded league with just one other human team, the Jersey HighRollers, and Sydney managed to lose to them twice in the regular season before finally knocking them off with a close win in the playoffs, and their 70-0 loss to ECE in the Prep Tourney shows that the Sharks simply don't have much of a bite.
#11 Paris Smexies
S69: Rookie League #2 - 8-8, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #3 - 15-1, lost in the playoff semi-finals
Paris's Rookie season looked rather unsteady, and they spent Prep in a mostly-CPU league with just one other human-team, Montlake. Paris split their regular season games with the Huskies and then lost to them in the playoffs by 50. They played a lot of Tourney games and scrims last season, but their results in those games showed they still can't be counted among the best teams of this tier yet. But their conference this season includes Adriatic, Sydney, and the HighRollers, so a few lucky breaks against those teams could give Paris an opening to move up a bit.
#12 Hood Rich Dotballers
S69: Rookie League #4 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals
S70: Prep League #1 - 6-10, did not reach the playoffs
In 2 seaons so far, Hood's resume is completely lacking in impressive wins, a big reason why they missed the playoffs in Prep and got demoted to League #2. They'll make the playoffs for sure, but they probably won't last long there.
#13 Jersey HighRollers
S69: Rookie League #1 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 16-0, lost in the playoff semi-finals
For their entire existence, the HighRollers have struggled against mid-level teams and have been thoroughly out-classed by top teams, without exception. I would be shocked if they make the playoffs, and if they do, they'll be out in the first game.
#14 The 4th Street Gang
S69: Rookie League #3 - 13-3, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #1 - 1-15, did not reach the playoffs
4th Street's only win last season was against a CPU team, and almost all of their losses were by at least 30 points. Even with a demotion to the easier League #2, I'm not expecting much life from the Gang.
#15 Plainview Bulldogs
S69: Rookie League #1 - 3-13, did not reach the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 14-2, league runner-up
As a one-owner non-boosting team, Plainview faces an uphill battle this season. They're only in Elite #1 this season because they were in a mostly-CPU league last season and had a conference all to themselves against CPU rosters. In their 4 games against human rosters last season, all were losses by over 100 points. The Bulldogs will pose a threat to absolutely no one this season.
#16 Westbank Generals (CPU) (replaced The Houston Roughnecks)
S70: Regional Pro team that sold and reset at the end of the season
The last slot in University Elite #1 was briefly held by The Houston Roughnecks, but they got Support to move them up to Regional Minor, and Support slotted in this CPU team to take their place. Since then, a motley crew of under-leveled human-owned dots has assembled themselves here, and I'm half-expecting someone to buy the team and make a go at it, so I decided to go ahead and officially rank them. However, they really won't pose a threat to anyone except teams with fully-CPU rosters... even the Plainview Bulldogs should be able to beat Westbank.
#17 Marlborough Mountaineers
S70: team did not exist
This is a newly-generated team that did not exist at all last season, and was purchased by Strong101 to stash his players. There's just one problem: all of his players are 40 days old and Level 16, which would make them perfect for Prep but leaves them terribly underleveled for University League #2. The roster also has a couple of older players on the roster, but really this team would've been better off kicking the older dots off the roster and swapping down to Prep for S71. They'll be able to beat the CPU teams in University League #2, but that's it, and their entry into the University Tourney is laughable.
NON-COMPETITIVE TEAMS
Teams that are either CPU-owned, or human-owned with mostly-CPU rosters:
Ubu Jary
Slim Jimbos
Voodoo Daddies
College Station Aggies
LA Rams
Carthage Clash
Ridgeville Reapers
(Note: I added two teams to the bottom of the rankings on Day -6 to reflect the fact that two of the CPU teams have separated themselves a bit from the rest.)
#01 Hawaiian Kings
S69: Rookie League #1 - 16-0, league champion, Rookie Tourney runner-up
S70: Prep League #1 - 16-0, league champion, Prep Tourney champion
#1 until somebody does something about it. Can anyone do anything about it? Probably not.
#02 ECE Respawn
S69: Rookie League #3 - 15-1, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 14-1-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
In the regular season, ECE was dominant, second only to Hawaii, though their tie with New Orleans was a bit odd. But when the playoffs came around, they folded like lawn chairs under the pressure, dropping an embarrassing 13-3 loss to the 7-9 Adriatic Sea Wasps in the opening round. Still, I think the Adriatic loss was a bit of an anomaly, and their strong regular season performance is a better indicator of how good ECE truly is. And ECE remains the only team with a sliver of a chance of taking down Hawaii right now... but when I say "sliver," I mean sliver. Close losses are still losses.
#03 Palm Bay Palookas
S69: Rookie League #2 - 12-4, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 11-5, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #3 in Prep Tourney
(Full disclosure: this is my team, so I may be biased.) Palm Bay's losses last season were all understandable: Hawaii, ECE and New Orleans are all strong teams, and Palm Bay took care of business against everyone else. But their 76-7 playoff drubbing at the hands of Hawaii shows they still have a ways to go.
#04 All-American Crimson Lancers
S69: Rookie League #4 - 15-1, league champion
S70: Prep League #1 - 10-6, lost in the playoff semi-finals, Prep Tourney runner-up
All-American was strong overall last season, but with no wins over the top 3 teams in the league and a couple of surprising losses to lower teams, I have questions about their consistency. But All-American is always a tough opponent, win or lose.
#05 Adriatic Sea Wasps
S69: Rookie League #2 - 10-6, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #1 - 7-9, league runner-up
In Rookie, Adriatic developed a reputation as a team that could push any opponent to the brink, though they were never able to turn any of those gritty performances into upset wins. That reputation took a hit in Prep as the close losses turned into bigger losses all season long, and it was starting to look like Adriatic was getting left behind. Then came the playoffs, and suddenly Adriatic knocked off ECE and All-American before coming up short against Hawaii. That showed us what Adriatic is capable of when they're at their very best. Question is, can they keep it up, or was this just Adriatic getting hot for 2 games? I don't want to underestimate a team that made the league title game, but I need to see more from Adriatic before I can justify ranking them higher, even if that means putting them below the teams they knocked out of the playoffs.
#06 New Orleans Jazz Cats
S69: Rookie League #2 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #4 in Rookie Tourney
S70: Prep League #1 - 10-5-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
The Jazz Cats looked quite strong in Rookie but seemed to take a step backwards in Prep. Their two tight wins over Palm Bay and their tie with ECE were offset by their amazing upset loss to Huntsville, their tight losses to All-American and Monmouth, and their early exit from the playoffs and Prep Tourney. But with their demotion to League #2, the Jazz Cats have a great chance to pick up a trophy against an actually-decent roster of opponents.
#07 Monmouth Evil Monkeys
S69: Rookie League #1 - 12-4, lost in the playoff semi-finals
S70: Prep League #1 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
Monmouth's defense in S70 was quite solid, good enough to keep almost every game in reach. Problem is, their offense frequently struggled, and they dropped several games they really should've won and exited the playoffs early, resulting in a demotion down to League #2. Still, if Monmouth can improve their offense and catch a couple of breaks, they could have a nice season.
#08 Montlake Huskies
S69: Rookie League #1 - 9-6-1, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #3 - 15-1, league champion
Playing in a craptacular league last season, Montlake's only real opponent was the Paris Smexies, but Montlake won 2 games out 3, including a 53-3 shellacking of Paris in the playoffs. But they lost by 49 to Palm Bay in the Prep Tourney, and back in Rookie they struggled to keep their head above water in a tough league. Montlake should be able to make the playoffs, but their ceiling is most-likely the 4-seed and an early exit.
#09 Jersey Mets
S69: Rookie League #1 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals, finished #3 in Rookie Tourney
S70: Prep League #1 - 7-9, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
Jersey looked strong in Rookie, but came crashing down to earth in Prep and looked absolutely terrible. They've been demoted down to League #2, joining New Orleans and Monmouth, and both teams will still present a stiff challenge for the Mets.
#10 Sydney Sharks
S69: Rookie League #2 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 14-2, league champion
Sydney had one good game in Rookie and looked lackluster for the rest of that season. In Prep, they ended up in a CPU-loaded league with just one other human team, the Jersey HighRollers, and Sydney managed to lose to them twice in the regular season before finally knocking them off with a close win in the playoffs, and their 70-0 loss to ECE in the Prep Tourney shows that the Sharks simply don't have much of a bite.
#11 Paris Smexies
S69: Rookie League #2 - 8-8, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #3 - 15-1, lost in the playoff semi-finals
Paris's Rookie season looked rather unsteady, and they spent Prep in a mostly-CPU league with just one other human-team, Montlake. Paris split their regular season games with the Huskies and then lost to them in the playoffs by 50. They played a lot of Tourney games and scrims last season, but their results in those games showed they still can't be counted among the best teams of this tier yet. But their conference this season includes Adriatic, Sydney, and the HighRollers, so a few lucky breaks against those teams could give Paris an opening to move up a bit.
#12 Hood Rich Dotballers
S69: Rookie League #4 - 13-3, lost in the playoff semi-finals
S70: Prep League #1 - 6-10, did not reach the playoffs
In 2 seaons so far, Hood's resume is completely lacking in impressive wins, a big reason why they missed the playoffs in Prep and got demoted to League #2. They'll make the playoffs for sure, but they probably won't last long there.
#13 Jersey HighRollers
S69: Rookie League #1 - 9-7, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 16-0, lost in the playoff semi-finals
For their entire existence, the HighRollers have struggled against mid-level teams and have been thoroughly out-classed by top teams, without exception. I would be shocked if they make the playoffs, and if they do, they'll be out in the first game.
#14 The 4th Street Gang
S69: Rookie League #3 - 13-3, lost in the opening round of the playoffs
S70: Prep League #1 - 1-15, did not reach the playoffs
4th Street's only win last season was against a CPU team, and almost all of their losses were by at least 30 points. Even with a demotion to the easier League #2, I'm not expecting much life from the Gang.
#15 Plainview Bulldogs
S69: Rookie League #1 - 3-13, did not reach the playoffs
S70: Prep League #2 - 14-2, league runner-up
As a one-owner non-boosting team, Plainview faces an uphill battle this season. They're only in Elite #1 this season because they were in a mostly-CPU league last season and had a conference all to themselves against CPU rosters. In their 4 games against human rosters last season, all were losses by over 100 points. The Bulldogs will pose a threat to absolutely no one this season.
#16 Westbank Generals (CPU) (replaced The Houston Roughnecks)
S70: Regional Pro team that sold and reset at the end of the season
The last slot in University Elite #1 was briefly held by The Houston Roughnecks, but they got Support to move them up to Regional Minor, and Support slotted in this CPU team to take their place. Since then, a motley crew of under-leveled human-owned dots has assembled themselves here, and I'm half-expecting someone to buy the team and make a go at it, so I decided to go ahead and officially rank them. However, they really won't pose a threat to anyone except teams with fully-CPU rosters... even the Plainview Bulldogs should be able to beat Westbank.
#17 Marlborough Mountaineers
S70: team did not exist
This is a newly-generated team that did not exist at all last season, and was purchased by Strong101 to stash his players. There's just one problem: all of his players are 40 days old and Level 16, which would make them perfect for Prep but leaves them terribly underleveled for University League #2. The roster also has a couple of older players on the roster, but really this team would've been better off kicking the older dots off the roster and swapping down to Prep for S71. They'll be able to beat the CPU teams in University League #2, but that's it, and their entry into the University Tourney is laughable.
NON-COMPETITIVE TEAMS
Teams that are either CPU-owned, or human-owned with mostly-CPU rosters:
Ubu Jary
Slim Jimbos
Voodoo Daddies
College Station Aggies
LA Rams
Carthage Clash
Ridgeville Reapers
Edited by Novus on Jan 6, 2019 11:33:47