Power Rankings & Strength of Schedule

So the final standings are set for 2014, and the playoff pressure is on; All that matters now, is winning. Really, that's all that ever mattered. But lets take a quick peek at who, over the course of the season, really put together the best team. Stripped of weekly variance and matchups, lets see the season's power rankings, and also examine lady luck's broad strokes.

Rank	Team	W-L-T	Pts For	Pts Agnst	Streak	Waiver	Moves
*1	Phoenix Uprising	10-3-0	2465.48	2212.37	W-1	11	54
*2	South Park Cows	10-3-0	2357.87	2203.02	L-1	13	53
*3	New York's Finest	9-4-0	2240.21	2129.19	W-2	10	51
*4	Les Tres Petites	7-6-0	2249.92	2124.49	L-1	9	25
*5	Margaritaville PH	7-6-0	2224.45	2166.28	L-1	6	38
*6	Indiana Turbanators	7-6-0	2198.12	2275.22	W-1	7	43
7	Pawnee Pride	7-6-0	2122.87	2170.48	W-1	3	50
8	Oniontown Massacre	6-7-0	2247.87	2216.43	W-3	2	45
9	Manitoba Moosecrew	6-7-0	2164.46	2335.47	L-1	12	24
10	Hill Valley McFlys	6-7-0	2155.60	2063.39	W-3	8	56
11	California Swag	5-8-0	2113.05	2232.04	L-5	14	40
12	OAKWOOD DRIVER	5-8-0	2078.99	2132.80	L-3	4	26
13	HoChiMinhLeadFarmers	4-9-0	2231.13	2232.27	W-1	1	33
14	Saskatoon Sasquatch	2-11-0	2023.02	2379.59	L-10	5	32

POWER RANKINGS: (POINTS FOR)
1. Phoenix Uprising: 2465.48
2. South Park Cows: 2357.87
3. Toronto LTP: 2249.92
4. Oniontown Massacre: 2247.87
5. New York's Finest: 2240.21
6. HCM City Lead Farmers 2231.13
7. Margaritaville Parrots: 2224.45
8. Indiana Turbanators 2198.12
9. Manitoba Moosecrew 2164.46
10. Hill Valley McFlys 2155.60
11. Pawnee Pride 2122.87
12. California Swag 2113.05
13. Oakwood Drivers 2078.99
14. Saskatoon Sasquatch 2023.02

Six of the top eight teams made the playoffs, but the two that did not were major outliers: The Massacre, with the fourth most points in the league, were clearly better than their middling record suggests, while the Lead Farmers were much better over the course of the year than their bottom feeder status suggests. Conversely, the Pawnee Pride played over their head this season, securing a winning record despite lacking the points to back up their claim, and finishing without a date to the dance because of it. Otherwise, we're more or less in line with the records: They are who we thought they were.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: (POINTS AGAINST)
1. Saskatoon Sasquatch: 2379.59
2. Manitoba Moosecrew: 2335.47
3. Indiana Turbanators: 2275.22
4. HCM City Lead Farmers: 2232.27
5. California Swag: 2232.04
6. Oniontown Massacre: 2216.43
7. Phoenix Uprising: 2212.37
8. South Park: 2203.02
9. Pawnee Pride: 2170.48
10. Margaritaville Parrots: 2166.28
11. Oakwood Drivers: 2132.80
12. New York's Finest: 2129.19
13. Toronto LTP: 2124.49
14. Hill Valley McFlys: 2063.39

As far as luck goes: Saskatoon had none. The worst team in the league also had the worst run of it, never getting a break. (That's how ten game losing streaks are made.) Manitoba had a rough go as well: if a few things had broken more fortuitously for them, they might be preparing for a playoff game right now. Indiana hung on despite a flurry of body blows; their relatively low point total and high strength of schedule had them living in the margins all season, but ultimately falling on the right side of the razor's edge. The next few teams  (HCM, CAL, and OT) are all free to shake their fist to the sky and curse their luck: They weren't bad, but this just wasn't their year. In the middle we have the league's two double digit winners: Their teams are quality, and the deck wasn't stacked against them. Certainly, a major variance here is that each team did not have to face themselves, so the better team's schedules look arbitrarily deflated- thus, their ranking is about right. On the lucky side of things we have four of the seven teams that finished over .500; Then the Drivers who suffered most of their bad luck in the personnel aspect. At the very bottom of the chart is Hill Valley, who squandered a cake walk. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE.