ArenaFan Final 2015 Regular Season Power Ranking

Mike Delrio
Wednesday August 12, 2015

The team with the higher position in the ArenaFan Power Ranking won every game on the final Saturday of the 2015 Arena Football Season, meaning the Top 6 remained the same from the Week 20 ranking.

San Jose, Philadelphia, Arizona, Orlando and Jacksonville all won and remain in the Nos. 1-5 spots. Cleveland lost, but remains No. 6 because the loss was against the Soul. Tampa Bay continued to underperform, losing by 19 points to Orlando and dropping to No. 8 this week-down a notch. On the strength of their win against Las Vegas to earn their way into the playoffs, Spokane jumped Tampa Bay and sits at No. 7. The bottom third of the ranking remains Portland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New Orleans

Final 2015 Regular Season Power Ranking

1. San Jose SaberCats (17-1) (LW: W @ LA 60-38) – San Jose finished the regular season with one loss, and is now three wins away from a 20-win season and an AFL title. The SaberCats are the top seed in the National Conference, and will play the Thunder in the first-round of the playoffs. Portland was awarded a wildcard spot after the league reversed an early decision and disqualified Las Vegas from the postseason.

2. Philadelphia Soul (15-3) (LW: W @ CLV 48-33) – Philadelphia has been the best team week in and week out in the American Conference, and is the No. 1 seed heading to the second season. After beating Cleveland on the road to end the regular season, Philadelphia will host the Gladiators in the opening round of the playoffs,

3. Arizona Rattlers (14-4) (LW: W vs. PO 67-39) – Arizona has been the second-best team in the National Conference this season, and will meet Spokane looking to advance to the conference title game.

4. Orlando Predators (12-6) (LW: W vs. TB 59-40) – Orlando will play South Division rival Jacksonville to open the playoffs in what will be the second meeting in three weeks between the teams. The Predators are playing better, but the Sharks have a deeper roster with more talent across the board.

5. Jacksonville Sharks (10-8) (LW: W vs. NO 36-33) – Jacksonville closed out the regular season with a three-point, come-from behind home win against a team with 3.5 wins that was playing the last game in franchise history. The effort is the latest in what has been a Jekyll and Hyde season for the Sharks, a team many projected as the best in the American Conference during preseason. The on-field results have been below the talent on the roster, and the lackluster effort against New Orleans is just the latest example.

6. Cleveland Gladiators (8-10) (LW: L vs. PHL 48-33) – Cleveland lost five of their last six games, yet find themselves the No. 4 seed in the playoffs thanks to the collapse of Tampa Bay. The Glads will play the Soul for the second week in a row, this time on the road.

Have your own opinion about who should be ranked where in the power rankings? You can have your say, too! Vote in our ArenaFan.com Power Poll. Rerank the teams however you see fit every single week. Results will show up on the front page of ArenaFan.com!

7. Spokane Shock (7-11) (LW: W @ LV 51-34) – Spokane locked up the third seed in the National Conference by defeating Las Vegas, and will travel to Arizona in a bid to upset the Rattlers.

8. Tampa Bay Storm (7-11) (LW: L @ ORL 59-40) – After going .500 over the first two-thirds of the season, Tampa Bay posted a 1-5 record over the final third to finish fifth in the conference. The Storm played worse than Portland, the team at No. 9, over the final month of the season but finished ahead of the Thunder because they posted two more wins in a tougher conference.

9. Portland Thunder (5-13) (LW: L @ AZ 67-39) – Portland had a good last month of the season, and has been rewarded with a No. 4 seed in the National Conference after Las Vegas was disqualified from the postseason.

10. Los Angeles KISS (4-14) (LW: L vs. SJ 60-38) – Los Angeles failed to qualify for the playoffs.

11. Las Vegas Outlaws (5.5-12.5) (LW: L @ SP 51-34) – Las Vegas had the opportunity to lock up a wildcard, but the loss to Spokane brings the Outlaws season to an end.

12. New Orleans VooDoo (3.5-14.5) (LW: L @ JAX 36-33) – New Orleans showed heart in a road loss to Jacksonville that is likely the final game in the history of the franchise.

Playoff Opening Round Game of the Week: No. 5 Jacksonville @ No. 4 Orlando

The team with the higher power ranking won six of six games in Week 20, 80 of 102 (78.4%) for the season.