8th Man Rankings AND : Region Preview: West
I could go on a whole rant about the 8th Man rankings
but I will say right now that the start of the season is the time in which you generally AVOID putting down teams that are entirely new community teams at the top of the rankings.
West Regionals (November 23-24, 2013; Tempe, AZ)
Favourite: USC
This regionals is USC's to lose. We all remember USC's dominance lsat fall against UCLA, Miami, Lost Boys, etc. The Lost Boys will have to deal with new players and the struggles of being a community team - which I am sure they will do admirably but the question still remains: will they do it in time for Regionals in the fall.
Between USC and UCLA, UCLA has a lot more rebuilding to do. As for who will end up atop the power rankings next April, I cannot say, but as for now USC remains the clear favourite to win the Western Regional.
Dark Horse: Arizona State
No one seems to realize this, but ASU was the better Arizona team at the end of the year. Not NAU. Arizona State had the misfortune of being placed in the death pool with LSU and Miami, whereas NAU had a relatively easier path to the Elite 8. And while we will go in more detail when the EOSR (eventually :P) covers Middle Tier 2, ASU has always been the better team. That was last year, and that made ASU the 4th best quidditch team in the West. ASU will be graduating only 6, and while they are all key players, their recruitment is by far some of the strongest in the region. Not to mention, they will have the advantage of playing on home turf in Tempe. ASU wins the dark horse category for the Western Region.
