A close race for the Fan Controlled Football Playoffs comes to an end on Saturday.
As the final week of the regular season begins, two teams have secured a playoff spot and one team is eliminated. This means that five teams are fighting for the last two places.
And traditional tiebreak rules like head-to-head matchup or point difference don’t apply in FCF, a 7-on-7 indoor league where fans set the rules and determine their team’s offensive plays. Should a tiebreak occur, fans of the teams involved will play an important role in attempting to help their team advance to the playoffs through a man up showdown. More on that later.
Here are the current standings and schedule for Saturday, with all games airing on NBC LX:
WEEK 7 SCHEDULE
Bored Ape FC v Kingpins, 1pm
Shoulda Been Stars vs Glacier Boyz, 3 p.m
Ritter von Degen around 8oki, 7 p.m
Zappers vs. Beasts, 9 p.m
The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs. For Terrell Owens and the Knights, that means it’s won and in.
Owens picked up his first league win last week as the Knights posted a single-game record 66 points. A win over 8oki would give the Knights a 5-2 record to secure the second playoff berth in the Ballerz division. A win for 8oki would mean a 4-3 finish for both teams, forcing a tiebreak showdown between the two.
That could mean TO going into a one-on-one situation with the Knights’ season at stake.
Per the recently introduced Fan Controlled Football “Man Up Showdown” tiebreaker rule, a quarterback and a skilled player compete in one-on-one situations against a defensive back trying to make an endzone catch, similarly as in FCF with two point conversions. Each team plays alternately with a player of different skills for three rounds in a format similar to that of a soccer shootout. If the two teams remain tied after three rounds, it goes to sudden death, with the first team to score and make a stoppage emerge victorious.
Each team’s fan with the highest Fan IQ, built and tracked based on successful play calling and other factors throughout the season, helps determine which players will be used and the distances they will run. The FCF flies the top fan of any team potentially involved in a tiebreak to Atlanta, where they stand on the sidelines with head coach Shawn Liotta during penalty shootouts when necessary to make personnel and game decisions.
Last season’s league champions as the Wild Aces, the Shoulda Been Stars secured the top spot in the OG division.
The Glacier Boyz, league runners-up last season, need a win over the Stars to advance to the tiebreak against the winner of the Zappers-Beasts matchup.
If the Glacier Boyz lose to the Stars, it creates a win-and-in final for the Zappers and Beasts, with the victorious team taking last place in the playoffs with a 3-4 record.
The Zappers have won back-to-back games after starting the season 4-0 and trading Owens. Who will play quarterback for the Zappers in the finals remains a mystery after Jason Stewart, who came in for Owens as part of the deal, was cut after celebrating his touchdown last week by smoking a joint on the field.
Maybe Johnny Manziel comes to the rescue. Or maybe Michael Vick will reconsider and play for FCF.
Watch Fan Controlled Football every Saturday on NBCLX wirelessly, via cable, on LX.com and on your favorite streaming platform.
